Loyola Marymount University Bulletin 2011-2012 > College of Communication and Fine Arts > Communication Studies

Communication Studies

Up one level:

In this section:

Communication Studies Model Four-Year Plan

Faculty

Co-chairpersons: Wenshu Lee, Dean Scheibel

Professors: Wenshu Lee, Abhik Roy, Dean Scheibel, Philip C. Wander (President’s Professor)

Associate Professors: Barbara J. Busse, Jay B. Busse, Paige Pettyjohn Edley, Michele Hammers, Patricia Oliver, Kyra L. Pearson, Nina Maria Reich

Assistant Professor: Craig O. Rich

Mission

The Communication Studies Department encourages in its faculty and its students an education that fosters the development of the whole person, while promoting a commitment to social justice and cultural diversity. Our curriculum and faculty confront the most pressing contemporary political, social, and moral issues of our time.

To this end, our program prepares students to communicate effectively in the service of human dignity, civic engagement, and global equity. It seeks out and cultivates a faculty committed to generating scholarship and creating a curriculum balancing communication theory and practice. We strive to create an environment that facilitates faculty involvement in scholarship, outreach, and leadership in local, national, and international arenas.

Drawing on the unique cultural, commercial, and civic mix in the Los Angeles area, our program takes critical and creative approaches to personal and professional experience. Our faculty prepares students to distinguish themselves in a variety of professions, including education, law, social advocacy, politics, and non-profit and corporate communication. Our overriding goal, however, transcends professional achievement. It is to offer our students and ourselves the tools to make our global community a more equitable and just place to live and work.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students majoring in Communication Studies should know:

Basic communication theories and principles
The significance of cultural differences in communication practices
Basic methodological strategies used in Communication Studies.

Students majoring in Communication Studies should be able to:

Demonstrate an ability to write and speak effectively
Critically analyze, assess, and interpret scholarly and everyday discourse.

Students majoring in Communication Studies are encouraged to value:

Critical orientation to the study of communication practices
Diversity issues in communication
A broad understanding of the relationships among communication, social justice, and ethics.

Major Requirements: (42 semester hours) (CMST)

Lower Division Requirements:

12 semester hours of lower division: CMST 130, 170, and 203 and 204 (both completed with a grade of C [2.0] or better). CMST 100 or 206 must be taken to fulfill the communication skills requirement in the University core.

Upper Division Requirements:

30 semester hours of upper division: Satisfactory completion of CMST 351, 352, 451, and 452 (all four completed with a grade of C [2.0] or better). Six courses of "communication applications" selected from CMST 330, 335, 336, 375, 376, 385, 386, 387, 393, 490, or 495.