On this
page, we will answer six of the most important questions asked by
undergraduate students in our department:
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How do I change my major to
Communication Studies?
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How do I choose a class schedule?
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What is expected of me as a student?
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When do I need to meet with an advisor?
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How do I graduate?
We also
have some
additional documents that will be useful to you as you begin your
program in our department. These include advising sheets listing the
major requirements for the B.A. program, a department
application to the major, and the University Change of Major form.
These forms can be requested from the department and the last two documents are especially important as they must be
completed before we can process your change of major.
Some students enter CSUN,
either as first-time freshmen or transfer students, with Communication
Studies as their declared major. The majority of our students,
however, change their major to Communication Studies after entering
CSUN, and therefore, have to complete the following administrative
process.
There are five steps to
changing your major to Communication Studies:
[1] Complete the Department
Application to the Major (included in this packet).
The Department Application helps us serve you by providing the
department with your contact information as well as a brief summary of
your academic background and objectives. The Department Application is
also the document we use to initiate your student file in the
department.
[2] Complete the University
Change of Major Form (included in this packet).
The University Change of Major Form is needed for the Office
of Admissions and Records to recognize your status as a Communication
Studies major. On this form, you will need to list your Option
selection precisely, both by name and SIMS Code. The proper name for
the B.A. program is “Departmental Major” and the SIMS Code is 129365.
[3] Get a University DARS
Report.
A DARS Report is an advising document that lists both the
requirements you will need to fulfill to graduate and the courses you
have completed to meet these requirements. A DARS Report may be
obtained from the Office of Admissions and Records or from our
department office. You must present a photo ID to obtain a DARS Report
and you must allow for 24 hours of processing time for the DARS
report.
[4] Schedule an appointment with the department Chair or Undergraduate advising Coordinator.
The Department of Communication Studies accepts new majors during the third week of Spring or Fall semesters. Contact the department office for the precise deadlines. During this period, students wishing to change their major to Communication Studies need to meet with either the Department Chair or the department's Undergraduate Advising Coordinator. Again, the department office will assist students in scheduling these appointments.
[5] Submit completed
paperwork to the department office for processing.
The final step in declaring Communication Studies as your major is
submitting the Department Application, your DARS Report, and your
signed University Change of Major form to the department office. Once
you submit these forms, the department will create a student file
for you and forward your change of major form to the Office of
Admissions and Records.
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Developing a semester class schedule can be a challenge in our
department. Right now there is extensive demand for Communication
Studies courses and this often results in classes filling up quickly. Still, with a little
perseverance and careful planning, almost all of our majors make good
progress toward their degree each semester. Here are some general
guidelines that will help you build a better semester class schedule.
[1] Take required courses as
soon as they are available to you.
The B.A. program in Communication Studies consists of three different sets of requirements: core
requirements, divisional requirements, and electives. These different
requirements reflect different ranges of choices available to
students. Students must take all core courses; students are given
limited choices among a small set of divisional courses; and students
are given greater choices among a relatively large set of elective
classes. As you are building your class schedule, you’ll want to take
required courses as soon as you can get them. If you begin your major
by completing all your electives courses, you will find it much more
difficult to build a class schedule in later semesters, as you will
have far fewer courses to choose from.
Another good reason to take
required courses as soon as they are available to you concerns the way
in which the department schedules classes. In an effort to accommodate
as many different student schedules as possible, the department
rotates all course offerings. One semester a course may be on a MWF
schedule; the next time it is offered, the course will be on a T TH
schedule; and the time after that, the course will be scheduled in the
evening. Thus, if you can only take courses in the evening or on MWF,
for example, it may be several semesters before a course is available
to you again.
[2] Consider off-hour
sections.
Like any other service offering, demand for courses varies
depending on when the courses are scheduled. The peak demand hours for
courses in our major are: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on MWF; 9:30 a.m. to
12:45 p.m. on T TH; and 7:00 p.m. to 9:45 in the evening. If you can
take classes at other times—earlier in the morning or in mid-to-late
afternoon—you will find these classes easier to get, either through
TTR or through “crashing” the course. Other ways to avoid peak-hour
demands include taking classes on Saturdays, on-line, or during winter
and summer sessions.
[3] Remember that all
upper-division Communication Studies courses count as electives.
As you look over the advisement sheet, you will note that
many Communication Studies courses are listed but that some others are
not. Some students assume that only courses listed on the option sheet
will count toward their major, but this assumption is incorrect. Any
upper-division Communication Studies course will count in the
electives section. This includes not only
traditional lecture-discussion courses, but also internships, service
learning courses, and directed activities. Considering these courses
will give you more choices in building your class schedule.
[4] Investigate ways of
improving your TTR date.
Students in many university service programs receive priority
registration in recognition of their contributions to the campus
community. These include: University Ambassadors, members of the U.S.U.
Board, Health Center student volunteers, registration workers, and
members of the CSUN forensics team, among others. Such programs not
only serve the campus and provide valuable leadership opportunities,
they may also improve your ability to get classes through TTR.
[5] Apply for graduation on
time.
Another way to improve your TTR date, at least in your last
semester, is to make sure that you file your Undergraduate Graduation
Application on time. The deadline for filing this form is roughly
thirteen months prior to your anticipated graduation date. The
specific deadline is listed each semester in the schedule of classes.
If you file your Undergraduate Graduation Application before the
deadline, you are assured that TTR will recognize your status as a
graduating senior and will give you priority over
students of other class standings.
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The Department of Communication
Studies prides itself in being a community, reflecting both a
diversity of backgrounds and interests and a common set of goals and
values. Accordingly, we expect our students, faculty and staff to be
good department citizens. In your role as a student, this involves
four specific responsibilities:
[1] Be an active learner.
Students are expected to be active learners. This entails coming to
class on time and prepared, asking for clarification when needed,
answering questions asked by the instructor and other students,
handing in all assignments, and doing your best work at all times. If
you do all of these, you will not only advance your own education, you
will also improve the learning environment for all the students and
faculty in our department.
[2] Uphold high ethical
standards.
Students are expected to uphold high ethical standards, especially as
they relate to issues of academic honesty. Our department is committed
to academic honesty as a value and is aggressive in pursuing
disciplinary action against violators of the university policy. This
policy is described in detail in both the University Catalog and the
schedule of classes. You should be familiar with this policy and
follow it closely. If you have any questions about what may or may not
constitute plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty, please
ask any faculty member for clarification. Your commitment to the
integrity of your coursework will further contribute to the positive
learning environment we seek to maintain in our department.
[3] Be a supportive and
respectful colleague.
Students are expected to be supportive and respectful colleagues. This
entails helping others, being polite and patient, honoring the rights
of others to voice their viewpoints, respecting their opinions, and
exercising good manners. There are many pressures on students, faculty
and staff. It is important we remember our commitment to each other as
fellow members of the department.
[4] Become involved in
department activities.
The department offers a wide variety of co-curricular activities,
including the forensics team, the reader’s theatre program, the
Aronstam department library, and our service learning programs and courses.
Students are expected to contribute to the department by participating
in these programs or by attending their events. If your involvement in
the department is limited to your coursework in your classes, you will
be shortchanging both yourself and the department.
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Students are free to select any
full-time faculty member of the department as an advisor and may
change advisors at any time. As noted above, the department office can
provide you with a list of faculty and their office hours. On this
list, full-time faculty are designated with a double asterisk (**).
Students with special needs or problems may be referred to the
department’s Undergraduate Advising Coordinator or to the College of
Arts, Media, and Communication Student Resource Center.
If you follow your
B.A. program
requirements precisely, you may not need much advising. However, we
recommend that you consult with an advisor once a semester to ensure
that you are making good progress toward your degree. If you make
errors in following your B.A. program requirements, these errors can
generally not be remedied after the fact. Therefore, it is to your
advantage to pursue regular advising.
Also note that, although the
Department of Communication Studies does not require that students
receive advising before registering for courses, other programs or
offices of the university might. Student athletes, disqualified
students, and students receiving certain scholarships are examples of
students who may be required to receive advising.
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There are ten requirements you
need to fulfill before you can graduate from CSUN. These requirements
are described in detail in the University Catalog, but here we will
present a brief summary. In order to graduate, you must:
[1] Complete General
Education (G.E.).
General Education may be completed by taking coursework at CSUN,
community colleges, or courses corresponding to CSUN G.E. courses
taken at other colleges and universities. If you took a significant
portion of your general education coursework at a community college,
you should ask your community college if they can certify completion
of all or part of CSUN’s G.E. plan. This may reduce the total number
of units needed to complete your G.E. requirements.
[2] Complete nine units of
upper division General Education from at least two different sections
(A-F) of CSUN’s General Education program.
Even if you are fully certified in general education from a
community college you must complete nine units of upper division G.E.
coursework. Upper division G.E. courses are courses that are included
in CSUN’s G.E. plan and that are 300- or 400-level courses. These
courses must come from at least two different sections of CSUN’s G.E.
plan.
[3] Complete Title V,
American Institutions.
You must complete coursework in U.S. history, U.S. government, and
California state and local government. Courses fulfilling these
requirements may also fulfill other G.E. requirements.
[4] Pass the Upper Division
Writing Proficiency Exam (WPE).
You may take this exam at any time after reaching 56 units and having
passed the lower division writing requirement. You must take the exam
no later than the semester in which 90 units are completed.
[5] Complete the major.
You must complete all major requirements as described on your option
sheet and your DARS report.
[6] Earn a minimum of 120
total units.
All units taken at or accepted by CSUN for university credit count
toward your total units. Courses below the university level do not
count (at CSUN, these courses have numbers beginning with “0"). Also,
courses that are taken more than once count only once, unless
additional credit is explicitly permitted for the course. See
individual course descriptions in the catalog for details.
[7] Earn at least 40 upper
division units.
All upper division units taken at or accepted by CSUN count toward
this requirement. Typically, the completion of the major and the upper
division General Education requirement satisfy this requirement.
[8] Meet CSUN’s residency
requirements.
A minimum of 30 units must be taken at CSUN in order to earn a
degree from CSUN. Of these 30, 24 must be upper division, 12 must
count toward the major, and 9 must count toward General Education.
[9] Meet CSUN’s grade point
average requirements.
Each student must have a minimum grade point average of 2.0 in all
units that count towards the bachelor’s degree. In addition, each
student must have a 2.0 average in all units taken at CSUN and in all
upper division units that count toward the major.
[10] Be an applicant for
graduation the semester in which you graduate.
Your Undergraduate Graduation Application should be filed with the
Office of Admissions and Records roughly thirteen months prior to your
anticipated graduation date, but no earlier than the semester in which
you will reach senior standing (90 units). The form requires a faculty
advisor’s signature and a fee for processing.
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