Undergraduate Degree - Program Requirements

Below you will find the requirements to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies. To complete the undergraduate major (42 units), students must take the department’s core requirements (15 units), three units from each of the divisional bands (15 units), and the electives (12 units).  Select 12 units of upper division courses in Communication Studies and/or from approved electives in other departments. At least six units of the electives must come from courses in the Department of Communication Studies. See list below for approved outside electives.

Department Core Requirements (15 units)

Complete these five courses.

• 3 Units - COMS 301 Performance, Language, and Cultural Studies
• 3 Units - COMS 321 Rhetorical Discourse
• 3 Units - COMS 327 Rhetorical Theory
• 3 Units - COMS 351 Communication Theory
• 3 Units - COMS 356 Intercultural Communication

 

Divisional Requirements (15 units)

Select one course from each of the following five divisional bands.

Communication Practices and Methods:

• 3 Units - COMS 303 Narrative in Performance
• 3 Units - COMS 309 Advanced Public Speaking
• 3 Units - COMS 421 Business, Professional, and Technical Communication
• 3 Units - COMS 425 Theories of Argumentation and Deliberation
• 3 Units - COMS 430 Rhetorical Criticism
• 3 Units - COMS 450 Communication Research Methodology

Communication Contexts:

• 3 Units - COMS 325 Legal Argumentation
• 3 Units - COMS 443 Rhetoric in Business
• 3 Units - COMS 444 Political Rhetoric
• 3 Units - COMS 451 Interpersonal Communication
• 3 Units - COMS 453 Organizational Communication
• 3 Units - COMS 454 Communication and Technology

Communication, Language and Meaning:

• 3 Units - COMS 304 Poetry in Performance
• 3 Units - COMS 320 Communicative Functions of Language
• 3 Units - COMS 350 Nonverbal Communication
• 3 Units - COMS 404 Theories of Interpretation
• 3 Units - COMS 420 Language and Symbolic Processes
• 3 Units - COMS 431 Persuasion

Communication, Culture and Society:

• 3 Units - COMS 345 Rhetoric of Popular Culture
• 3 Units - COMS 360 Communication and the Sexes
• 3 Units - COMS 435 Rhetoric of Women
• 3 Units - COMS 428 Freedom of Speech
• 3 Units - COMS 442 Rhetoric of Peace and Conflict
• 3 Units - COMS 446 Rhetoric of Crime and Punishment

Communication and Community Leadership:

• 3 Units - COMS 323 Group Communication
• 3 Units - COMS 400C Directing Oral Performance
• 3 Units - COMS 401 Performance and Social Change
• 3 Units - COMS 437 Communication for Youth Institute
• 3 Units - COMS 495 Internship in Organizational Communication
  

Electives (12 units)

Select 12 units of upper division courses in Communication Studies and/or from approved electives in other departments. At least six units of the electives must come from courses in the Department of Communication Studies. See list below for approved outside electives.

Administrative Management

• MGT 360 Management & Organizational Behavior
• MGT 464 International Business Management
• POLS 360 Public Administration
• POLS 462 Ethics in Politics & Administration
• POLS 465 Administrative Behavior
• POLS 467 Urban Administration
• SOC 340 Sociology of Work
• SOC 400/L Organizational Analysis
  

Cultural Studies

• DEAF 360 American Deaf Culture
• WS 350 Gender, Race, Class & Sexuality
  

Interpersonal Relations

• FCS 432 The Child & the Family
• FCS 441 Human Sexuality
• HIST 351 History of Sexual Behavior
• PHIL 303 Sexual Ethics
• SOC 452 Sociology of LGBT
• SOC 440 Sociology of Aging
  

International Relations

• HIST 485 Diplomatic History of the US
• POLS 420A-H International Relations
• POLS 421 Politics of Development
• POLS 422 International Politics
• POLS 427A-B Model United Nations
• POLS 428 International Organization
• POLS 429 United States Foreign Policy

Language Studies

• CHS 433 Language Acquisition of the Chicano/a & ESL Speakers
• CHS 482 Language of the Barrio
• ENG 405 Language Differences & Language Change
• PAS 395 Bilingualism in the African American Community
• PSY 305 Cultural Determinants of Psychological Processes

Law School

• BLAW 308 Business Law II
• PHIL 390 Philosophy of Law
• POLS 426 International Law
• POLS 455 Criminal Procedures
• POLS 457A-B Constitutional Law I & II
• POLS 458 Administrative Law
• PSY 386 Role of Psychology in the Legal Process
• SOC 304 Deviance
• SOC 438 Diversity & Crime

Media Studies

• CHS 306 Chicana/o in Film
• CTVA 305 History of Broadcasting
• CTVA 319 Criticism in Cinema & Television Arts
• CTVA 400 Media & Society
• JOUR 400 Law of Mass Communication

Performance Studies

• AAS 325A-B Asian American Creative Studies
• FLIT 424 Drama of Greece & Rome
• TH 322 A-C World Drama
• TH 371 Creative Drama

Politics/Public Service

• POLS 361 Introduction to Public Policy
• POLS 405 Public Policy Formation
• POLS 441 Interest Groups
• POLS 443 The Legislative Process
• POLS 444 Elections & Voting Behavior
• POLS 466 Politics of Public Spending
• SOC 454 Policing Society

Public Relations

• CTVA 301 Design of the Media Message
• CTVA 384 Electronic Media Advertising
• CTVA 475 Audience Analysis
• JOUR 310 Article Writing
• JOUR 340 Principles of Public Relations
• JOUR 350 Photojournalism
• MKT 304 Introduction to Marketing Management

Research/Graduate Study in Communication

• HIST 401 Oral History
• PSY 320/L Statistical Methods in Psychological Research
• SOC 364/L Social Statistics
• WS 301 Feminist Theories & Methods Sales/Marketing

Sales/Marketing

• CTVA 475 Audience Analysis
• MKT 304 Introduction to Marketing
• MKT 346 Marketing Research
• MKT 348 Consumer Behavior
• MKT 440 Integrated Marketing Communications
  

Training/Human Relations

• SOC 340 Sociology of Work
• PSY 350 Principles of Learning
• PSY 356 Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• MGT 360 Management and Organizational Behavior
• MGT 380 Employment Practices
• BLAW 308 Business Law II