Undergraduate Programs
Public Communication >> Undergraduate Programs
SOC helps you take advantage of Washington's possibilities.
- Learn International Public Realations or Opinion Writing.
- Work with world-class faculty who are practicing professionals, writing books, appearing on newscasts, analyzing poll results and running focus groups.
- Pursue real world projects of your own, inside the classroom or out in field, through an internship with a PR firm, local sports teams or non-profit organization.
Public Communication Degree Requirements
Major Requirements
- 39 credit hours with grades of C or better within the School of Communication, including introductory courses, professional courses, media studies courses, internships, or independent study.
- Related course requirements taken outside the School of Communication, with grade of C or better.
- A minimum of 80 credit hours outside the field of communication, including 65 credit hours in the liberal arts and sciences, are required for the major.
Subject to the approval of an adviser, a maximum of credit hours in communication transferred from another University may be substituted for the required communication courses. Transfer students majoring in public communication are required to graduate with a total of 80 credit hours outside the field of communication.
Related Course Requirements
Students must complete the following with grades of C or better:
- Three credit hours in United States history (HIST-xxx)
- Three credit hours in economics (ECON-xxx) or MKTG-250
- A minor or second major outside the School of Communication
Communication Course Requirements (39 credit hours)
Core courses (9 credit hours)
- COMM-100/100G Understanding Mass Media (4:1)
- COMM-200 Writing for Mass Communication (Prereq: LIT-100, LIT-101)
- COMM-209 Communication and Society (Prereq: Sophomore Standing)
Professional Courses (15 semester hours)
- COMM-301 Public Relations (Prereq: COMM-200, COMM-209) (Students must earn a B or higher.)
- COMM-337 Public Relations Writing (Prereq: B or better in COMM-301)
- COMM-346 Public Relations Case Studies (Prereq: B or better in COMM-301)
- COMM 380 Public Communication Research (Prereq: B or better in COMM-301)
- COMM-437 Public Relations Portfolio (Prereq: COMM0337, COMM-346, COMM-380)
Select an additional 15 credits from the following, with no more than 9 credits from any one cluster
Skills
- COMM-105/105G Visual Literacy
- COMM-310 Public Speaking
- COMM-330 Basic Photography (Prereq: COMM-105 or ARTS-100)
- COMM-535 Magazine Writing
- COMM-327 The PR Presidency
- COMM-401 Legal Aspects of Communication
- COMM-509 Politics and the Media
- COMM-514 Censorship & the Media
- COMM-515 Media, Children and Society
- COMM-533 Ethical Persuasion
- COMM-534 Race, Gender & the Media
Human Communication
- COMM-300 Interpersonal Communication
- COMM-470 Organizational Communication
- COMM-472 Nonverbal Communication
- COMM-475 Group Communication Management
The Practice of Public Relations
- COMM-531 Political Communication
- COMM-536 Entertainment Communication
- COMM-537 Sports Communication
- COMM-539 International Public Relations
Experimental Education (3 credits only)
Selected Topics
- COMM-396/496/596 Selected Topics: (Check with SOC advisor to see into which major each individual topics course sits. Varies by semester, course subject, and course title.)
