General Communication
Communication Major
Students majoring in communication learn different ways in which communication has been conceptualized and investigated, as well as ways in which members of the communication discipline have used their knowledge and scholarship to engage a variety of social problems. Students are given opportunities to study how effective communication enhances well-being and relationships, promotes civic engagement, and allows for effective participation in a global community.
Courses focus on organizing principles and patterns of social life through observation, analysis, and criticism of human interactions, communication behavior, mediated systems, and technological innovations. This major is firmly grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and is intended to prepare students to be effective members of society, as well as valued employees in whatever careers that they may choose to pursue. Graduates have often found positions in occupations such as sales, human resources, training, education, and consulting, or have pursued advanced academic or professional degrees in fields such as law, management, and marketing.
IMPACTED PROGRAM
Communication is an impacted major at SDSU. Students can only be admitted to the pre-major, and will be restricted from taking certain classes available only to majors, until the impaction criteria are met. Transfer students must meet the impaction criteria.
Major Requirements
Preparation for the Major
Must be taken for a grade. Minimum GPA 2.75 and minimum grade of C required. General Education oral communication requirement (3 units) and six units selected from:
Major Requirements
- Complete one of the following:
- Foreign language - (3rd semester of one foreign language for those choosing the Liberal Arts and Sciences degree) OR
- Mathematics competency - (3 semesters of college mathematics or a 3-course statistics sequence for those choosing the Applied Arts and Sciences degree).
- Complete the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement by scoring a 10 or higher on the Writing Proficiency Assessment OR by completing RWS-305W with a grade of "C" or higher.
- Complete a minimum of 36 upper division units, following the below schedule (select the items from this list to view course detail):
- Foundations of Communication
6 units, prerequisite for all 400-level courses:- COMM 300 - Conceptualizing Communication (3 units)
- COMM 350 - Investigating Communication (3 units)
- Conceptualizing Communication
9 units from the following, *At least 6 units must be completed before taking COMM 495 Capstone:- COMM 321 - Introduction to Health Communication (3 units)
- COMM 371 - Intercultural Communication (3 units)
- COMM 415 - Nonverbal Communication (3 units)
- COMM 450 - Rhetorical Theory (3 units)
- COMM 492 - Persuasion (3 units)
- Investigating Communication
6 units from following - *Must be completed before taking COMM 495 Capstone:- COMM 420 - Quantitative Methods (3 units)
- COMM 441 - Critical and Cultural Methods (3 units)
- COMM 462 - Ethnography (3 units)
- COMM 465 - Conversational Interaction (3 units)
- Communication Electives
Any 12 units from following:- COMM 301 - Competitive Intercollegiate Forensics (1-3 units)
- COMM 307 - Communication in Professional Settings (3 units)
- COMM 405 - Performance as Communication (3 units)
- COMM 406 - Organizational Communication (3 units)
- COMM 407 - Communication Perspectives on Interviewing (3 units)
- COMM 421 - Health Communication and CBSL (3 units)
- COMM 422 - Politics of Health Communication (3 units)
- COMM 423 - Patient-Provider Interaction (3 units)
- COMM 424 - Health, Families, and Communication Relationships (3 units)
- COMM 425 - Theory and Research in Health Communication Campaigns (3 units)
- COMM 426 - Communication in Health Risk and Crisis (3 units)
- COMM 427 - Health Communication and Cultural Communities (3 units)
- COMM 428 - Communicating Health and Well-Being at Work (3 units)
- COMM 445 - Relational Communication (3 units)
- COMM 446 - Communication and Rhetorical Movements (3 units)
- COMM 452 - Interaction and Gender (3 units)
- COMM 470 - Argumentation Theory (3 units)
- COMM 482 - Communication and Politics (3 units)
- COMM 484 - Language Dynamics and Human Interaction (3 units)
- COMM 485 - Communicating Leadership (3 units)
- COMM 496 - Experimental Topics (3 units)
- COMM 499 - Special Study ( units)
- COMM 508 - Media Literacy (3 units)
- COMM 555 - Conflict Management Communication (3 units)
- Communication Capstone
(3 units; must have completed 300, 350, and required Conceptualizing & Investigating units)- COMM 495 - Conceptualizing and Investigating Communication (3 units)
Preparation for the Major
Must be taken for a grade. Minimum GPA 2.75 and minimum grade of C required. General Education oral communication requirement (3 units) and six units selected from:
Major Requirements
- Complete one of the following:
- Foreign language - (3rd semester of one foreign language for those choosing the Liberal Arts and Sciences degree) OR
- Mathematics competency - (3 semesters of college mathematics or a 3-course statistics sequence for those choosing the Applied Arts and Sciences degree).
- Complete the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement by scoring a 10 or higher on the Writing Proficiency Assessment OR by completing RWS-305W with a grade of "C" or higher.
- Complete a minimum of 36 upper division units, following the below schedule (select the items from this list to view course detail):
- Foundations of Communication
6 units, prerequisite for all 400-level courses:- COMM 300 - Conceptualizing Communication (3 units)
- COMM 350 - Investigating Communication (3 units)
- Conceptualizing Communication
9 units from the following, *At least 6 units must be completed before taking COMM 495 Capstone:- COMM 321 - Introduction to Health Communication (3 units)
- COMM 371 - Intercultural Communication (3 units)
- COMM 415 - Nonverbal Communication (3 units)
- COMM 450 - Rhetorical Theory (3 units)
- COMM 470 - Argumentation Theory (3 units)
- COMM 492 - Persuasion (3 units)
- Investigating Communication
6 units from following - *Must be completed before taking COMM 495 Capstone:- COMM 407 - Communication Perspectives on Interviewing (3 units)
- CCOMM 420 - Quantitative Methods (3 units)
- COMM 441 - Critical and Cultural Methods (3 units)
- COMM 462 - Ethnography (3 units)
- COMM 465 - Conversational Interaction (3 units)
- Communication Electives
Any 12 units from following:- COMM 301 - Competitive Intercollegiate Forensics (3 units)
- COMM 307 - Communication in Professional Settings (3 units)
- COMM 405 - Performance as Communication (3 units)
- COMM 406 - Organizational Communication (3 units)
- COMM 407 - Communication Perspectives on Interviewing (3 units)
- COMM 445 - Relational Communication (3 units)
- COMM 446 - Communication and Rhetorical Movements (3 units)
- COMM 452 - Interaction and Gender (3 units)
- COMM 482 - Communication and Politics (3 units)
- COMM 485 - Communicating Leadership (3 units)
- COMM 490 - Internship (3 units)
- COMM 496 - Experimental Topics (3 units)
- COMM 499 - Special Study ( units)
- COMM 508 - Media Literacy (3 units)
- COMM 540 - Communicating Science in the Public Interest (3 units)
- COMM 555 - Conflict Management Communication (3 units)
- (9 Units) from 421-428 can apply to the Communication Major Electives (Note: All Health COMM classes must have COMM 321 as a prerequisite):
- COMM 421 - Health Communication and CBSL (3 units)
- COMM 422 - Politics of Health Communication (3 units)
- COMM 423 - Patient-Provider Interaction (3 units)
- COMM 424 - Health, Families, and Communication Relationships (3 units)
- COMM 425 - Theory and Research in Health Communication Campaigns (3 units)
- COMM 426 - Communication in Health Risk and Crisis (3 units)
- COMM 427 - Health Communication and Cultural Communities (3 units)
- COMM 428 - Communicating Health and Well-Being at Work (3 units)
- Communication Capstone
(3 units; must have completed 300, 350, and required Conceptualizing & Investigating units.- COMM 495 - Conceptualizing and Investigating Communication (3 units)
Degree Learning Outcomes
- FOUNDATIONAL COMPETENCIES: Ability to comprehend, identify, & competently employ skills in argumentation, writing, verbal communication, listening, nonverbal communication, public presentations, teamwork and collaboration, conflict management, and professional interaction
- DISCIPLINARY COMPETENCIES: Comprehension of the nature, function, scope, delineations, and history of the communication discipline (with emphasis on its SDSU instantiation)
- THEORETICAL COMPETENCIES: Ability to identify, differentiate, analyze, and modify major theories in the field, as well as formulate original theoretical creations
- RESEARCH COMPETENCIES: Ability to comprehend and differentiate the major research paradigms, and ability to propose and conduct original research
- APPLIED COMPETENCIES: Ability to translate communication knowledge into applied contexts, policies, projects, interventions, or presentations
- CULTURAL COMPETENCIES: Capacity for applying multiple perspectives toward self-understanding, in relation to self and others’ (co)cultures, group affiliations, and identities
- CRITICAL COMPETENCIES: Ability to identify relevant evaluative criteria and apply them competently to self-reflection, ethical progress, and actual or envisioned communication situations and/or scenarios
