Undergraduate Program
Welcome to the Communication Studies Undergraduate page!
B.A. in Communication Studies
The Department of Communication Studies offers a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Communication Studies. This program develops your competence in communication, and expands your expertise to a specialty of your choice. You can choose from courses in several areas, including public relations, advertising, social media, organizational communication, media production, and rhetoric. Your dedicated program advisor will assist you throughout the duration of your study to help you choose the best coursework for your career path. Read more about program requirements.
Careers after Graduation
The Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies will give you a variety of career options, including sales and promotion, public relations, social media marketing, media production, media performance, training and consulting, human resources, and politics. Many graduates also pursue advanced degrees and professional training in law, business management, communication, and the media. Our majors often complete a minor in fields such as media and society, journalism, political science, psychology, English, peace and conflict studies, theater, studio art, or women's studies.
Program Requirements
Required lower-division courses (18 semester hours)
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Prerequisites for all communication studies courses except for COM 310 and COm 315 |
| COM 216: Small Group Communication | A prerequisite for COM 304 |
| SPK 208: Public Speaking | Must be taken to satisfy the general education communication requirement |
| COM 212: Mass Communication |
Limited substitutions may be made to the required lower-division courses with the advisor's written consent. View all lower division courses
Upper-division courses (21 semester hours)
Work with your advisor to select seven appropriate courses at the 300 and/or 400 level from the listing of department course offerings. Every semester, a listing of those courses that the department plans to offer will be posted and distributed to advisors. This listing will project two years into the future and will be updated at the beginning of each academic year. COM 300 and COM 400 may not be used to satisfy the upper-division course requirements. View all upper division courses
Applied area (24-27 semester hours)
Foreign language/culture requirement (0-15 semester hours)
Students must fulfill the foreign language/culture requirements of the Bachelor of Arts degree as specified in the West Chester University Undergraduate Catalog. You can complete four courses in a language of your choice (101, 102, 201, and 202), or two courses in the language (101, 102) and three culture cluster courses. Culture clusters are courses taught in English that focus on the culture of the language you’ve been studying. If you already speak some foreign language, you may be able to satisfy some of the course requirements by taking a language placement test.
A grade of C or better is required in WRT 120 and 121, and a grade of C- or better is required in the 202-level course of a foreign language. If you choose the culture cluster option to fulfill your language requirement, you must earn C- or better in the 102 level of the language course and in all the culture cluster courses.
General education (48 semester hours)
Grade Requirements
A grade of C or better must be earned in a COM course in order for it to meet a department requirement. Also, a 2.5 average or better must be earned in the aggregate of lower- and upper-division courses before graduation will be recommended.
Students who exhaust their course repeat options and have not earned a grade of C or better in all the prerequisite communication courses will be advised that they will not be able to complete the requirements for a B.A. in Communication Studies. The department chair will offer an exit interview and help them to identify available alternatives.
For more information regarding our undergraduate program, please contact our department chair Dr. Michael Boyle. You can also access our Undergraduate Handbook here .
Minor Programs
The Department of Communication Studies offers two minor programs:
Minor in Communication Studies: This six-course (18-credit) program makes an excellent complement to nearly any B.A. or B.S. degree offered at WCU. Take this program to build understanding of human communication and develop strong communication skills.
Minor in Media and Culture: This six-course (18-credit) program is a great choice for anyone preparing for a career in fields like broadcasting, public relations, or social media.
Advising
Each student majoring in Communication Studies is assigned to a faculty advisor. Students are encouraged to meet with their advisors on a regular basis to plan and monitor their degree progress. Read more
Switching into Communication Studies
Current West Chester University students interested in becoming Communication Studies majors must have a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA and must have completed the three-course prerequisite core (COM 219, 224, and SPK 208) with a grade of C or higher. Selection for admission will be made at the conclusion of the semester in which you completed the prerequisite core, after grades are posted.