Undergraduate Course Catalog 2008-2009
College of Liberal Arts
» http://www.unh.edu/liberal-arts/
Communication (CMN)
» http://www.unh.edu/communication/
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Chairperson: Lawrence J. Prelli
Professor: Beverly James, Sheila McNamee, Joshua Meyrowitz, Lawrence J. Prelli
Associate Professor: Patrick J. Daley, Melissa D. Deem, James M. Farrell, John Lannamann
Assistant Professor: Jennifer L. Borda, Carol B. Conaway, Mardi J. Kidwell
Lecturer: R. Michael Jackson
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 Patrick Daley, for application information and requirements.
Communication Major
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 (12 credits). Majors must earn a grade of C or better in each introductory course.
Two 500-level 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 seven thematic concentrations: Communication Technology and Society; 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 advanced course requirement.
Transfer students must complete 18 credits of their communication coursework at UNH to complete the major satisfactorily. Exchange students may transfer no more than 10 approved credits from another institution to be applied toward completion of the communication major at UNH.
Rhetoric and Public Address Minor
The rhetoric minor consists of five courses (20 credits). Students must complete CMN 456, Propaganda and Persuasion, with a grade of C or better. Any additional four rhetoric courses with a grade of C- or better from the following list will satisfy the minor requirements; however, one of the listed 500-level courses is required prior to enrollment in any 600- or 700-level course: CMN 504, 507, 557, 600, 607, 645, 656, 657 (may be taken more than once, with different topics), 697, and 703.
Media Practices Option
This option is designed for qualified students who want to augment their communication major at Durham with training in media production and applied media communication through courses in the Communication Arts department at the Manchester campus. Qualified students who meet all requirements will graduate with a B.A. degree in communication with a media practices option. In addition to communication major requirements, students are required to take two designated media practices courses at the Manchester campus and complete a media practices internship (CMN 599). Students must maintain both an in-major and cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 to satisfactorily complete the media practices option.
Business Applications Option
This option is designed for qualified students who want to augment their communication major with professional training in such areas as marketing, advertising, and organizational behavior through courses at the Whittemore School of Business and Economics. Qualified students who meet all requirements will graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication: Business Applications, an achievement which will be recorded on their official transcripts. In addition to Communication major requirements, students are required to take three business applications option courses designated at WSBE and complete a business applications internship (CMN 599). Students must maintain both an in-major and cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 to satisfactorily complete the business applications option.
