The Communications Degree

Majoring in Communications is rapidly becoming one of the most popular pursuits in colleges around the country. Within the past 15 years, this discipline has seen a sharp rise in students declaring it as their major. It covers such a wide expanse of topics, but is becoming so popular due to the internet age. Attaining this degree also gives you exposure to print, television, and radio mediums. It is natural for a student on this course to be drawn to one of these areas. At that point, the individual will take courses more pertinent to his or her interest. Once considered a "blow off" major, the Communications degree carries a lot more clout than it once did.

At the beginning of the program, students will learn about different Communications theories. A historical approach exposes students to a rhetorical tradition stretching back to Greek and Roman times. Many of Aristotle and Cicero’s models are still studied and adapted to fit modern times. It is truly amazing that these ideals have not only survived thousands of years, but have maintained their relevance. It is common for students to take courses in Mass Communications at this early stage in the degree process. This is where you learn about the different media available in today’s technological world. While the courses are not extremely difficult, there is a ton of information that must be processed.

As far as major thesis papers required for graduation, students typically have a wide range of topics from which to choose. For instance, the role of television programming on society is a fascinating theoretical approach to study. Students will produce papers analyzing how particular shows reflect society, either negatively or positively. These papers will tend to look at how the viewing public reacts to the portrayals on the small screen. The same approach can be applied to the role of music, film, and literature on society.

Whatever your inclination towards a particular medium is, you will apply what you have learned about effective communication skills. The degree demands that you take many writing courses, as well as public speaking. These classes are designed to train students in the art of communicating ideas to the public. As we are in such an interactive age, employers are seeking individuals who are comfortable and effective communicators. This degree takes students down a fascinating path of exploration and helps fine tune skills that many of us think we already possess, but really are usually quite unrefined.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 at 8:07 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.