Communication and Public Service (ComPS)
The concentration in Communication and Public Service engages students in public
service through a special program combining individual research opportunities with
hands-on experience in the public arena. Classes, seminars, internships, field experiences,
and individual research projects provide students with opportunities to meet and
learn from current and former officeholders, journalists, and public servants who
have been leaders in government and civil society.
Course Requirements
The program is closely matched to the undergraduate Communication. ComPS students
must complete the following 14 courses:
- Two introductory courses required for Communication majors
- One methods course required for Communication majors
- Two intermediate Communication courses
- Two advanced Communication courses
ComPS Specific Requirements
- One core course, either Comm 323 (Contemporary Politics, Policy and Journalism (or
Comm 395 (Communication and the Presidency).
- Two specifically designated ComPs courses, from the following:
- Comm 266 Intro to Political Communication
- Comm 299 Communication Internship (Section taught in the summer as part of the Annenberg
Washington Summer Program)
- Comm 300 Public Space, Public Life
- Comm 322 History and Theory of Freedom of Expression
- Comm 323 Contemporary Politics, Policy and Journalism
- Comm 335 The Future of News and the Young Audience
- Comm 374 Communication and Congress
- Comm 378 Journalism and Public Service
- Comm 410 New Media and Community Life
- Comm 413 Communication Law, Policy and Public Interest
- Comm 428 Conventions, debates and Campaigns
- Comm 429 Elections and Mass Media
- Comm 481 Social Networks
- A cluster of three cognate courses from the following departments: Anthropology,
Economics, Education, Health and Societies, History, Legal Studies, Political Science,
Sociology, Urban Studies, and Women’s Studies. No more than one introductory class
is permitted in the cluster.
- A capstone thesis project completed for credit in the senior year. Students choose
the topic of the capstone thesis from a range of public policy or public service
issues. Research may involve funded travel to selected archives or fieldwork sites.
Students graduating with a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher may designate
the capstone as a senior honors thesis in public services.