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Department of Communication Studies |
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The Undergraduate Major in Communication Studies provides:
Faculty Undergraduate Advising:Students can choose any fulltime faculty member as an advisor. The office hours schedule for all faculty will be posted outside the department office (MZ 220) by the third week of the semester. Students wishing to be Communication Studies majors should contact the Department for change of major deadlines and to schedule an appointment with the Undergraduate Advising Coordinator or the Department Chair. The change of major takes place in Spring of each year. Why study communication?Communicating well and understanding the communication process are essential to professional success in many fields: law, business, teaching, advertising, sales, and government among them. A 1988 survey of more than 1700 business executives ranked the ability to communicate as the primary requirement for new employees. People communicate to influence, to persuade, and to express. Learning to communicate effectively is one important reason for majoring in Communication Studies--but it's not the only reason. Studying the communication process helps us understand how the human mind works. Analyzing the messages in advertisements, television programs, and political speeches helps us understand our society better. Studying communication in everyday relationships, groups, and organizations shows us how these systems are created and maintained. Comparing American cultural patterns and communication styles with those of other societies prepares us to engage in competent communication with citizens of diverse backgrounds both at home and abroad. Communication Studies asks how, why, and with what consequences people communicate. Communication Studies majors acquire knowledge and methods that apply to both their private and public lives. By becoming competent communicators, they gain valuable tools for lifelong learning. Why major in Communication Studies at Cal State Northridge?The department offers an excellent faculty, including some who have won the university's Distinguished Teaching Award, and a family atmosphere. The faculty make a special effort to get to know their students outside the classroom at events such as faculty-student softball games, parties, and the yearly department graduation reception. Students gain experience through internships at a variety of fascinating companies such as the entertainment firms: The Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios, and Motown; advertising agencies such as Foote, Cone, Belding; public relations firms such as Rogers & Cowan, and business enterprises such as Great Western Savings. The strong forensics program offers students the chance to debate and make presentations in front of groups. In recent years, the debate team has competed in Holland, Canada, Russia, and China. A Performance Ensemble program (formerly known as Readers' Theater), provides training in performance. The department also takes pride in its active Student Communication Association and the Communicating Common Ground program, design to improve race relations in area high schools. After graduationCommunication Studies majors enter a variety of careers, in many cases right after college and in some cases after graduate study. The most frequent career choices include business, as manager, sales representative, employee trainer, or buyer; human resources; law (after law school); medicine, as an administrator or counselor; education, as a teacher, trainer, counselor, or administrator; government, as a speech writer, campaign director, or legislative assistant; media, as an administrator; public relations and advertising; arts and entertainment, as a performer, administrator, or fundraiser; social and human services, as a counselor, mediator, minister, or social worker, usually after additional study; and international relations and negotiations. A brief history of Communication StudiesThe systematic study of communication has its origins in ancient Greece and Rome, when rhetoric-- now considered one aspect of communication--became one of the original liberal arts. In modern times, social sciences such as psychology and sociology have influenced the field, providing insight into individual and group communication as well as nonverbal and intercultural communication. More recently, the discipline has studied topics such as these: the influence of mass communication media on people's ideas and actions, the role of communication in national development, how social and cultural norms are expressed in pop culture, and the role of language in communicative behavior. Skills and characteristics of Communication Studies MajorsStudents learn to analyze the impact of words and other means of communication in a variety of contexts - business and politics among them--and cultures. In general, successful majors have an interest in how language works and how people interact. Depending on the course of study chosen, strengths in analysis, critical thinking, or working with people are also emphasized. B.A. Program in Communication StudiesThe Departmental Major provides a broad course of study that includes Communication Studies courses and those of other departments concerned with human communication. |
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