Graduation Requirements for the Major

Note: the graduation requirements listed below apply only to students matriculating prior to fall 2015. For students matriculating in fall 2015 and after, the major in communication will no longer be offered at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

A.  Major Requirements (33 credits)

The major in communication is offered by the School of Communication and Information (SC&I). Students majoring in communication are required to earn 33 credits in the Department of Communication, including the two core courses required for admission to the major (04:189:101, and either 102 or 103). The remaining 27 credits include 9 credits of required foundation courses (04:192:200, 201 and 300); 3 credits of intermediate-level courses (either 04:192:354, 355 or 357); 6 credits of approved 400-level courses; and 9 credits of 300- or 400-level electives.

Please refer to the SC&I section of the catalog for communication for a full description of the requirements of the major.

B.  SEBS Core Requirements for Students Majoring in Communication (43 credits)

SEBS majors in communication must complete the SEBS core, involving a total of 43 credits, plus a SEBS minor or certificate program (21 or more credits, depending on the student's choice). With careful planning, however, it may be possible for a student to use up to 15 credits of courses that fulfill the major requirements to also fulfill some of the SEBS core requirements. Students are strongly urged to consult both with their academic adviser and with an assistant dean at SEBS for guidance in developing a plan of coursework. One semester of statistics (01:960:___ or equivalent) is also required to fulfill the SEBS Quantitative Skills requirement.

I. School Mission: Interdisciplinary Critical Analysis (3 credits)

One 3-credit Junior/Senior Colloquium (See the 

for a description of this requirement.)

II. Introductory Life and Physical Sciences (7 credits)

See suggested courses in the SEBS Degree Requirements chapter. Students should be aware that their choice of a SEBS minor or certificate program (see item C. below) could have implications for their selection of these introductory life and physical science courses.

 III. Humanities and the Arts (6 credits)

               See suggested courses in the SEBS Degree Requirements chapter.

               IV. Multicultural and International Studies (6 credits)

See suggested courses in the SEBS Degree Requirements chapter. Students should note that this SEBS requirement could be fulfilled with any two of the following 3-credit courses that could also be used to fulfill the communication major requirements: 04:192:359 (Intercultural Communication); 04:192:345 (International Communication); 04:192:405 (Communication and Gender); and 04:192:434 (Intercultural Communication Workshop).

               V. Human Behavior, Economic Systems, and Political Processes (9 credits)

See suggested courses in SEBS Degree Requirements chapter. Students should be aware that their choice of a SEBS minor or certificate program (see item C. below) could have implications for their selection of these Human Behavior, Economic Systems, and Political Processes courses.

               VI. Oral and Written Communication (6 credits)

See suggested courses in SEBS Degree Requirements chapter. Students should note that 3 credits of the requirement could be fulfilled by any of the one of the following courses that could also be used to fulfill the communication major requirements: 04:193:359 Persuasive Communication or 04:192:380 Public Speaking or 04:192:381 Argumentation or 04:192:407 Health Communication.

VII.  Experience-Based Education (3 credits)
This requirement could be fulfilled with an appropriate 3-credit cooperative education placement or 3 credits of 04:192:491,492 Independent Study in Communication, neither of which can count toward the 33 credits of requirements for the major. However, the requirement could also be met by either 04:192:369 Internship in Communication (3) or 04:192:470 Research in Communication (3), both of which could also be used toward the 33 credits of requirements of the major.

D.  Unspecified Electives (up to 34 credits)

In addition to courses meeting the above requirements, students can take any other courses offered by the university, for which they meet the course eligibility requirements, to bring their total number of credits to the minimum of 128 required for graduation.