Communication Studies

“The study of communication is unique among the arts and sciences. Unlike other programs, a major in communication prepares you for a profession as well as for a lifetime of learning skills capable of adapting your knowledge to new career opportunities. Perhaps most importantly, study in our major teaches you how to imagine and shape the world you want to enter.” —Dr. H.L. Goodall, Jr. 

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Welcome to the Department of Communication Studies!

Communication is the core of human life, and communication studies offers you an unlimited terrain of challenging, intriguing, and rewarding areas to explore. Whether you are already enrolled in one of our programs or considering your options and opportunities, please use our web site to explore ways that we can connect. Your journey through this web site will clarify who we are as scholars, teachers, and practitioners. You will find out how we put our mission and values into practice, hopefully in ways that speak to you. I hope you will begin or continue your adventures in communication with us. I invite you to find your voice and your future here, as a member of our communication community. You will find that we offer B.A. and M.A. degrees in Communication Studies.

Becoming a better communicator is a lifelong quest, and you will find mentors here eager to guide and accompany you. Communication requires constant attention, since we never perfect the art and science of understanding and interacting with others. Do you seek better ways to connect with your friends and loved ones? Have you ever wondered why you interact better with some people than with others in your job, your neighborhood, your friendship groups, or your family? Do you search for reasons why some messages persuade audiences while other presentations fall flat?

And, of course, communication carries consequences. If effective, it enriches and brings out the noblest aspects of humanity. If ineffective, communication can have catastrophic results. One of the biggest problems of our current time is polarization, which is the enemy of dialogue. We need to learn to reconnect with others, and overcome the perception that we are so different that we cannot collaborate with each other. Since communication has such vital functions, we study it in a wide variety of contexts: personal relationships, organizations, social and task-oriented groups, communities, public presentations, online, and more. But we do more than think about communication. We actively practice ways to use communication to uplift each other, improve our society, and develop our identities. That is why we are the first department in the nation selected by the National Communication Association to serve as the Center for Communication, Community Collaboration, and Change.

Are you a current student? Please explore this site to inform and simplify your life in our department. You will encounter many helpful resources as you navigate our electronic neighborhood. Thinking about joining us as a student, faculty, or staff member? Or connecting with the department in other ways? Please browse through the material here, which will orient you to how we approach communication as the key to crafting a better world. If you are an alumnus of our undergraduate or graduate program, we would love to stay connected with you. Please let us know how you are doing! Whatever your role or interest in our department, I invite you to contact me (or one of our fine faculty or staff) directly. We are happy to answer your questions and hear your input.

All the best,

—Christopher Poulos

Professor / Department Head