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The major in communication is designed around two central goals: increasing knowledge about communication processes and their impact on society; and developing communication skills and competencies. In pursuing these goals, the Department of Communication has adopted a social and behavioral science orientation toward the study of human communication. All majors study communication in a wide variety of contexts, including interpersonal and mass communication in both mediated and face-to-face settings. A broad spectrum of classes enables students to critically analyze communication as well as recognize their own ethical responsibilities to self and community. The communication faculty is also committed to turning theory into effective skills for speaking, critical thinking, writing, and media production so that academic knowledge and experience extend beyond the classroom into future opportunities for our students.

AREA OF EMPHASIS AT DELAWARE

Students interested in communication at the University of Delaware enter as Communication Interest majors. Communication interest majors complete four required courses in the freshman and sophomore years. These courses are: Principles of Communication Theory (COMM256), Mass Communication and Culture (COMM245), Communication and Social Behavior (COMM330), and Introduction to Communication Research Methods (COMM301). The top 100 students annually, based on GPA in these four courses, will be admitted into the Communication major. The study of communication at Delaware is divided into two concentrations: mass communication and interpersonal communication. Mass communication focuses on the analysis and explication of mediated forms of communication, such as television, film, radio, newspapers, and books. The emphasis is on theories of communication that help explain the historical development of the mass media, and the effects of these media on social, institutional, and interpersonal formation. Students are able to acquire some experience in the techniques and methods of media production, but the emphasis is on theory and basic principles, rather than on specific preparation for a particular role in a communication organization. Interpersonal communication focuses on the forms of communication that occur among individuals and groups, and as part of organizational life in businesses, schools, and other institutional settings. Again, the orientation is toward theoretical principles that can be successfully applied toward understanding communication as it occurs within the widest range of personal, business, and social settings. Either concentration may include a five-course public relations sequence that can be used to satisfy the elective requirements toward the major. The focus on applied communication provided in this sequence can serve as a useful complement to the theoretical understandings that students bring with them from either of the two major concentrations.