Concentrations

Is a Concentration Right for You?

While not required for the Comm major, Concentrations give our students the opportunity to focus on key topics within the broad field of Communication. These optional Concentrations may also help students market themselves for employment or graduate school.

The four Communication concentrations are as follows:

• Communication, Culture, and Journalism Studies 
• Data and Network Science for Communication 
• Media, Audiences, and Persuasion 
• Politics, Policy, and Advocacy 

While each Concentration focuses on different aspects of the study and practice of communication, all involve the critical examination and application of relevant theories, frameworks, and methods to better understand the central role of communication in how we think, feel, and act as individuals and as local and global communities.

Students interested in pursuing one of these Concentrations should make an appointment to meet with a member of the Comm undergraduate advising team.  

Concentration Requirements

Of the 14 courses required for the Comm major, students who declare a Concentration take five courses approved for their Concentration: three Comm courses and two non-comm electives. Note:

• Two of the three Comm courses specific to the Concentration must be at the advanced level (3000-4999);
  • With department permission, COMM 3091 Communication Internship Seminar or COMM 4997 Honors & Capstone Thesis Proposal Seminar can be counted as one of the concentration-specific courses;
• Additional COMM courses approved for the Concentration may be substituted for non-comm electives;
• The deadline for declaring an optional Concentration is the last day to add a class in a students' final semester;

Concentrations & Approved Courses

Communication, Culture, and Journalism Studies

Courses in the Communication, Culture, and Journalism Studies concentration explore the ways in which communication is central to the construction, transmission, and negotiation of cultural meanings and values. Students will critically examine both historical and contemporary examples of media (mis)representation, explore how our increasingly globalized and digitized media landscape creates both rigidity and fluidity in cultural meaning-making, and gain an understanding of the critical role of journalism in knowledge production. CCJ courses enable students to expand their media literacy while improving their skills as cultural critics.

View Communication, Culture, and Journalism Studies Courses

Data and Network Science for Communication

Courses in the Data and Network Science for Communication concentration focus on the role and analysis of data, complex systems, and networks in digital communication and technologies (including recent advances like Generative AI). Students will gain an understanding of the role of digital media and social networks in disseminating information and influencing the communications, attitudes, and behaviors of social groups. DNS courses give students the opportunity to learn computational social science techniques to support research in this area, including social network analysis and methods from data science (information visualization, social media collection, quantitative data and textual analysis, and the use and roles of machine learning and AI) using various tools and programming languages (eg: Python and R).

View Data and Network Science for Communication Courses

Media, Audiences, and Persuasion

Courses in the Media, Audiences, and Persuasion concentration focus on both the social construction of audiences and the influence of mediated communication. Students will gain an understanding of how individual and collective attitudes, opinions, information-processing, and behaviors develop, and how audiences and messages interact to create effects. MAP courses teach students how to critically evaluate existing case studies – from TV shows, to social media ads, to political and public health campaigns – and will strengthen their abilities as effective creators of persuasive communications across multiple media platforms.

View Media, Audiences, and Persuasion Courses

Politics, Policy, and Advocacy

Courses in the Politics, Policy, and Advocacy concentration explore communication among and between political elites, policy influencers, advocacy groups, citizens, and the media. Students will gain an understanding of the opinions and behaviors of politicians and political institutions, as well as the publics who campaign locally, nationally, and internationally for socio-political change. PPA courses explore past, present, and evolving techniques and technologies of both top-down and bottom-up political communication and empower students to envisage themselves as effective civic actors.

View Politics, Policy, and Advocacy Courses 

Communication and Public Service (ComPS) Program

Another way to focus the Comm major is to join the Communication and Public Service Program (ComPS). ComPS is a specialized program that allows students to engage in public service by 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. The ComPS Program has specific requirements that differ from requirements for the major in Communication or a Communication Concentration. Read more about ComPS.

View Communication and Public Service Courses