Communication Studies
Many have said that symbolic communication is the defining human characteristic. Even with this recognition, its mysteries often elude us. How do messages lead to meaning—or misunderstanding or manipulation? How has public discourse influenced culture? What are the effects of mediated communication? These and other questions are explored in the Communication Studies major. Our symbol-making nature is considered in all its manifestations, with attention given to the content, transmission, and consequences of oral, print, and electronic messages. As part of this orientation, students develop facility in communication, gain an understanding of rhetoric as part of the human experience, and bring Christian values to bear on communication as a moral act. Topics include the role of persuasion and propaganda in social movements, the increasing power of the media, and the difficulty of interpersonal faithfulness in a transient culture.
Career Choices
The bachelor’s degree in communication prepares students well for a wide variety of careers and opportunities beyond college. Graduating majors have entered the fields of marketing, journalism, management, teaching, mediation, counseling, editing, public relations, international relief and development work, ministry, advertising, sales, event coordination, diplomacy, film production, real estate and youth work. The major also provides the essential foundation for graduate work. Many graduates have gone on to law school, graduate study in communication, business school, and seminary, to name just a few.
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