Mission Statement

The Communication Studies Department provides students from across the LMU community with the communication competencies necessary to pursue their personal, professional, and civic goals. Our faculty and students examine how messages and meanings are produced, interpreted, and consumed. In particular, our program rigorously engages the following:

• The production and evaluation of communication messages,

• The role of communication in shaping the performance of identity and community,

• The processes and technologies by which people relate to and collaborate with each other, and

• The importance of principled advocacy across our personal, professional and public lives.

Throughout all aspects of our program, we encourage self-reflection and critical engagement with disciplinary subject matter and contemporary social and political events at the local and global level. We encourage our students and faculty to nurture personal habits of lifelong learning and service.

In addition, our students and faculty produce scholarship that advances our knowledge of human communication, enhances the quality of public deliberation, and bridges the gap between our curriculum and real world experiences. To serve these goals, the Communication Studies Department creates an environment where students and faculty pursue scholarship, community engagement, and leadership in civic, corporate, and international arenas.

Finally, we develop students’ professional competencies and enable them to maximize their post-graduation opportunities for career development. In seeing professional development as a shared responsibility, students are empowered to cultivate their communication skills outside of the classroom through engaged forms of learning and professional development.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon and after graduation, a Communication Studies major will:

(Foundations)

1. Explain, analyze, and critique basic communication theories and principles.
2. Demonstrate ethical approaches to the production, delivery, and analysis of message across interpersonal, group, organizational, public, and global contexts.
3. Assess the needs, interests, and values of an audience.
4. Evaluate argumentative claims and reasoning processes.
5. Support their analyses and arguments with evidence and reasoning.
6. Retain and assess information as active listeners.

(Competencies)

1. Research topics, organize/outline the material, and deliver oral presentations that are designed to influence audience understanding, belief, and action.
2. Research topics, organize/outline the material, and revise written products that are created to influence audience understanding, belief, and action.
3. Research topics, organize/outline the material, and revise visual products that are created to influence audience understanding, belief, and action.
4. Utilize electronic technology as a tool for designing and delivering oral, written, and visual messages to influence audience understanding, belief, and action.

(The Research Experience)

1. Utilize electronic technology as a tool for effective research.
2. Evaluate the credibility of evidence and sources of information.
3. Demonstrate proper citation of sources.
4. Explain, analyze, and critique the methods used to produce communication research and information in communication and other academic disciplines.
5. Compile information and generate new knowledge through the following research approaches: participant observations, focus group, interviewing, survey, and textual analysis.

(Moving Beyond the Classroom)

1. Demonstrate time-bound problem-solving attitude.
2. Explain, analyze, and critique a variety of everyday communicative texts.
3. Apply oral, written, visual and electronic communication skills in professional contexts.
4. Explain and assess the communication of power relations, cultural similarities, and cultural differences in intercultural and global contexts.
5. Articulate the relationships among communication, social justice, and ethics by participating, evaluating, and reporting on critical events concerning social justice.

Potential Career Pathway

A degree in Communication Studies (CMST) from Loyola Marymount University provides students with the opportunity to develop essential skills - Writing, Oral Communication, Critical Thinking, and Teamwork - that are in high demand in today’s challenging and ever-changing world.

Our program rigorously engages the following:

• The production and evaluation of communication messages,
• The role of communication in shaping the performance of identity and community,
• The processes and technologies by which people relate to and collaborate with each other, and The importance of principled advocacy across our personal, professional and public lives.
• With additional specific education and pre-professional training and experience, our graduates are prepared for a variety of entry-level positions emphasizing both internal and external communication management across corporate, nonprofit, and/or public fields.

CMST students take a variety of courses that allow for both depth and breadth of study. We feature a rigorous Internship Practicum course for our juniors and seniors. CMST students often pursue minors in fields such as business, journalism, political science, or the arts to complement their CMST coursework.

With careful academic planning, CMST graduates are prepared for a variety of entry-level positions emphasizing both internal and external communication management across corporate, nonprofit, and/or public fields.

Below are a few of those fields:

• Campaign Strategy
• Corporate and Non-profit Communication
• Social Media Management
• Training and Development
• Development/Fundraising
• Human Resources
• Public Relations, Advertising, Sales, and Marketing

Our graduates often successfully pursue additional education, including advanced degrees, in a variety of academic fields. These fields include:

• Communication Studies and related fields
• Mediation/Conflict Resolution
• Media Studies
• Education
• Law
• Business

Major Requirements: (42 semester hours) (CMST)

Communication Studies Model Four-Year Plan