Degree Requirements
The UTC Communication Department, accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC), offers a Bachelor of Arts degree requiring a combination of broad liberal learning and specialized study in communication. In addition to meeting the general education requirements, the communication major must complete an approved minor. Majors must complete a 21-hour core of seven courses, select 12 hours in communication electives that allow for focused learning in specific professional areas, and complete an internship of no less than 150 hours of on-the-job training.
Note: The following outline is only intended for use as an informal guide and should not be substituted for the curriculum requirements as laid out in your appropriate course catalog. Please consult your faculty advisor or member of the Communication Department faculty if you have questions or need clarification regarding degree requirements.
General Education Curriculum
Below are the basics of the general education curriculum. For details on what courses satisfy the general education requirements, please refer the appropriate course catalog (for the 2008-09 course catalog, the list of approved courses are on pages 65-68).
- Rhetoric and Composition: Two approved courses in rhetoric and composition (6 hours)
- Mathematics: One approved mathematics course (3 hours)
- Statistics: One approved statistics course (3 hours)
- Natural Sciences: Two approved natural science courses, at least one including a laboratory component (7-8 hours)
- Humanities and Fine Arts: Two approved humanities and fine arts courses, one from fine arts and one from either (6 hours)
- Cultures and Civilizations: Option A: Western Humanities I and II and one approved Non-Western Cultures and Civilizations course OR Option B: World Civilization I, II, III (9 hours total)
- Behavioral and Social Sciences: Two approved behavioral or social science courses in two different disciplines (6 hours) May include COMM 320 as one of the two courses.
- Foreign Language: Through second college year in one foreign language.
The general education curriculum also requires completion of a minor with a minimum 2.0 grade point average. Speak with your faculty advisor in the Communication Department for help selecting an appropriate minor.
Major & Related Courses
The 33-hour communication degree includes completion of a 21-hour core that includes COMM 101, 230, 231, 320, 420, 451 and 485 or 480. The remaining 12 hours of the degree are electives chosen from communication courses. For a listing of courses and their descriptions, click here or consult your course catalog.
Other major-related requirements include:
- One approved computer literacy course.
- Communication majors must take a minimum of 80 semester hours in courses outside the major, with no fewer than 65 semester hours from the liberal arts and sciences.
- A communications major may complete a maximum of 30 credit hours in the College of Business Administration. This limit does not apply to students seeking the double major or degree in business and communication.
- 2.0 average in communication courses.
- Minimum of 39 hours of 300 and 400 level courses.
- Electives to complete 120 hours
Required Minor
In addition to meeting the above requirements, the communication major must also complete an approved minor from the College of Arts and Sciences or from the three approved minors from the College of Business.
The following minors may be useful to students pursuing a communication degree and who are interested in carreers in public relations, marketing, advertising, or other buisiness-realted areas.
- College of Business
- The Promotion Minor provides non-business majors with a strong foundation in Marketing. The promotion minor compliments the Communication curriculum.
- The Business Administration Minor prepares non-business majors for entering the MBA program.
- The Entrepreneurship Minor is designed for non-business majors who would like to start their own business.
The following minor provides students with additional instruction in writing.
- English Department
In addition to the above minors, communication majors often choose minors in sociology, psychology, political science and English literature.
Departmental Internship
Majors must complete an internship of no less than 150 hours of on-the-job training. Please click here for more detailed information.
