Declaration of Major or Minor
Students who want to major in Communication must come to the Departmental offices on the third floor of Carswell Hall in the spring semester of their sophomore year and sign up for advising. The Departmental Administrative Coordinator will inform the Registrar of students’ intentions to become Communication majors. If students wish to declare a major after the two week spring declaration and advising period, they should secure a declaration of major form by downloading it from the University’s web site or picking it up from the Registrar’s office then fill the form out and turn it in to the Administrative Coordinator. Students are required to attend an orientation meeting for new majors to become acquainted with the Department’s procedures and programs. New majors will be notified by e-mail of the time and place of the orientation meeting. Students who plan to double major MUST indicate to the registrar which major is the FIRST major. Communication minors are not required to attend the spring orientation, but such attendance is recommended.
Communication Practicum
Students may enroll in up to three hours of practicum in any semester. For three hours of internship credit (COM 280/281), students need a minimum of 120 on-site contact hours; applications for three hours of practicum in one semester need to be approved by a faculty supervisor, the Internship Director, and/or the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students can earn a maximum of six hours practicum, only three hours of which may be counted toward a major in Communication. The Department offers four types of communication practicum: Internship, Debate, Production, and Research.
Individual Study
Individual study is a unique opportunity for self-directed students to study in areas not otherwise offered or to work with a faculty member to pursue areas of the discipline in greater depth. Students interested in individual study should develop a project that goes beyond the parameters of any of the Department’s course offerings. Students must take the initiative and consult with faculty members who have expertise in the area of interest and are willing to advise the project. Ideally this consultation should take place well in advance of the semester in which the project will be undertaken. Since faculty have differing areas of expertise and differing approaches within the same area of expertise, students may want to meet with more than one faculty member as they develop their ideas. Also, faculty members have several demands on their time, and these demands must be taken into consideration when requesting a faculty member to advise a project. The criteria for evaluating the project and the number of hours that may be awarded will be determined by the faculty member based on scope and depth of project. The faculty member with whom a student works will supply a Permission of Instructor (POI) number for students’ registration and will assign the final grade.
Study Abroad
The Department accepts some credit from established and accredited study abroad programs. Students interested in studying abroad should consult with their departmental advisor about scheduling issues and to ensure that study abroad programs will contribute to their progress toward timely graduation. It is a student’s responsibility to verify if and how course credit will transfer into the Department prior to going abroad.
Methods Substitution
When Might Psychology Methods Courses Substitute for COM 220?
1. PSY 311 and 312, Research Methods in Psychology, MIGHT substitute for COM 220 if the student is a Double Major AND can articulate mitigating circumstances that interfere with his/her ability to satisfy our requirements. The student must formally petition the UGC for a waiver.
2. PSY 310, Research Methods for Minors, should NOT be allowed to substitute for COM 220. A student who is a COM major and PSY minor should satisfy the Department requirement and, if he or she has difficulty satisfying both departmental requirements, should petition the PSY department for a waiver. Rationale: our majors need to be exposed to research designed to answer questions posed about communication phenomena.
3. PSY 311 and 312 MIGHT be substituted for COM 220 under specific conditions spelled out in a petition. Since COM minors only need to take ONE methods course, however, our requirement is not onerous. A student who feels that 220 would be repetitive should be advised to take COM 225.
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