Major Requirements for the Communication Major

As a Communication major, Ashley Bournival co-founded a student organization, Communication Students for Social Networking, which connects students with professionals in communication fields. Learn more.

The purpose of the Communication major is to prepare students to engage more knowingly with the communicative patterns, problems, and practices that they will encounter in their personal, professional, and civic lives. This purpose requires that students learn to move beyond commonplace and conventional understandings of “communication” and acquire sophisticated perspectives – workable orientations – for describing, analyzing, reflecting upon, and engaging with those patterns, problems, and practices. Accordingly, the major not only acquaints students with a variety of empirical, critical, historical, theoretical, and pragmatic perspectives toward communication phenomena, but encourages them to formulate workable orientations of their own for engaging with communication issues and questions. Students who graduate with a communication major are prepared to become thoughtful and proficient “communication decision-makers” during their post-graduate lives.

Students wishing to declare communication as a major should contact the director for majors, Professor Jennifer Borda, for application information and requirements.

Requirements - Effective Fall 2008
(for students entering the Communication major in the 2008-09 catalog year and beyond)

Majors must complete ten courses (40 credits) with a 2.00 overall average in the major. The distribution of required courses for the major is as follows:

Three introductory courses (12 credits).
CMN 455, 456, and 457. Majors must earn a grade of C or better in each introductory course.

Two 500-level communication analysis courses (8 credits), following 400-level prerequisites. The two 500-level courses must have different 400-level prerequisites.
Majors must earn a grade of C- or better in both analysis courses before taking 600-level courses. CMN 599 (Internship) cannot be used to fulfill an analysis course requirement.

Five upper-division courses (20 credits).
Students must choose to focus at least three of their upper-division courses on one of six thematic concentrations: Histories and Traditions in Communication; Political Communication and Public Space; Communication, Community and Everyday Life; Culture and Identities; Citizenship and Advocacy; and Visual Communication. At least two of the student’s five upper-division courses should be at the 700-level. Majors must earn a grade of C- or better in all upper-division courses.

A maximum of 4 credits of Independent Study (CMN 795) may be counted toward the major. CMN 799 (Honors Thesis) and CMN 796 (Commentary) cannot be used to fulfill an upper-division course requirement.

Transfer students must complete 20 credits of their communication course work at UNH to complete the major satisfactorily. Exchange and study abroad students may transfer no more than 10 approved credits from another institution to be applied toward completion of the communication major at UNH.

Requirements - Prior to Fall 2008
(for students entering the Communication major PRIOR TO the 2008-09 catalog year)

Students must complete 9 courses (36 credits), three at the introductory level, three at the intermediate level, and three at the advanced level.

• At the introductory level, majors must pass each introductory course, CMN 455: Introduction to Mass Communication, CMN 456: Propaganda and Persuasion (Intro to Rhetoric), and CMN 457: Introduction to Interpersonal Communication, each with a grade of C or better before enrolling in a 500-level communication course. CMN 402 cannot be used to fulfill the introductory requirement

• At the intermediate level, students must pass one intermediate, 500-level course in each of the communication major's three areas: media studies, rhetoric and public address, and interpersonal communication. CMN 599 cannot be used to fulfill the intermediate requirement

• At the advanced level, students may choose any three advanced, 600- or 700-level communication courses. A maximum of 4 credits of CMN 795.01: Independent Study may be counted. CMN 799, CMN 795.02, and CMN 795.03 cannot be used to fulfill the advanced level requirement. No advanced level course can be taken until all introductory (400-level) courses have been passed with a grade of C or better and at least one intermediate (500-level) course in the same area has been passed with a grade of C- or better. Professors may require additional pre-requisites for particular advanced courses

• All 500-, 600-, and 700-level courses must be passed with a grade of C- or better. Communication majors are also required to fulfill all General Education, Writing Intensive, and Foreign Language Requirements. Communication majors may not use any communication course to fulfill general education requirements

The department offers a Media Practices Option for communication majors who want to augment their major with training in media production and applied media communication through courses at UNH-Manchester Communication Arts Department.

The department offers a Business Applications Option for communication majors who want to augment the liberal arts focus of their major with professional training in such areas as marketing, advertising, and organizational behavior.

The department also offers Internships, which are designed to integrate classroom study and supervised practical experience in a work setting. Internship credits do not count toward completion of the Communication Major, but they do contribute to the total number of credits needed for graduation.