Communication and Human Relationships

Bachelor of Arts - Communication Studies; Comm & Human Relationships Option

College Humanities & Sciences

Catalog Year: 2014-2015

Degree Specific Credits: 48

Required Cumulative GPA: 2.0

Note: To graduate with a degree in Communication Studies, the student must complete 36 COMX (COMM) credits with 18 of those credits in courses numbered 300 or above. Students must also complete an approved statistics course. For the Human Relationships option, students must complete an additional 12 credits in Allied courses to reach 48 total degree credits. A maximum of 6 credits in COMX 312 (COMM 360) and a maximum of 6 credits in COMX 398 (COMM 398) may count toward a major in communication studies.

Lower Division Core Courses

Rule: Must complete all of the following courses:

Note: Must complete COMX 111A, 2 other lower division COMX courses, and 16 university credits to move from Pre-Comm to Comm. Pre-comm majors are not eligible to take upper division courses.

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description COMX 111A - Intro to Public Speaking
Offered every term. Preparation, presentation, and criticism of speeches. Emphasis on the development of public speaking techniques through constructive criticism. Credit not allowed for both COMM 111A and COM 160A.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 115S - Intro to Interpersonal Communc
Offered autumn and spring. An overview of the process of human communication with special emphasis on analyzing communication patterns and improving interpersonal communication skills. Credit not allowed for both COMM 110S and COM 150S.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 220S - Intro to Organizational Comm
Offered yearly. Theory and research on communication in organizations. Focus on topics such as productivity, power, culture, socialization, technology and globalization covering a wide range of organizations including corporations, government, educational institutions, non-profit agencies and media organizations.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 240H - Intro to Rhetorical Theory
Offered yearly. An overview of rhetorical theory including an exploration of classical rhetoric, British and Continental rhetorical theory, and contemporary theories of language and persuasion.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 12 Total Credits Required

Upper Division Core Courses

Rule: Must complete the following subcategories

6 Total Credits Required

Research

Rule: Must complete the following course

Note: Students taking COMX 460 in the fall or spring semester will also be required to take COMX 461, Communication Research Seminar. Those taking COMX 460 in summer are exempt from this requirement.

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description COMX 460 - Research Methods
Offered autumn and spring. Open only to majors in COMM. Prereq. grade of C- or better in EDU 421 or EDLD 486 or PSYX 222 or SOCI 202 or STAT 216. Introduction to the major types of communication research and the foundations of quantitative research methods.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

Upper DIvision Writing

Rule: Must complete 1 of the following courses

Note: One of these courses is required to complete the upper division writing requirement in the major. This counts toward the total credits need for the major.

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description COMX 347 - Rhetoric Nature & Environmtlsm
Offered every other year. Same as ENST 377. Not open to PCOM. Survey of rhetorical texts that shape public understanding of nature and environmental issues. Analysis of a range of historical and contemporary environmental texts using theoretical concepts from the rhetorical tradition.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 413 - Comm & Conflict-Writing
Offered yearly. Not open to PCOM. Conceptual and practical discussions of communication and conflict in interpersonal relationships, organizational settings and overall cultural milieu. Fulfills Upper-Division Writing requirement for Communication Studies majors. Credit is not allowed for both COMX 413 and COMX 412.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 414 - Comm in Personal Relationshps
Offered yearly. Prerequisite, COMX 115S or consent of instructor. Not open to PCOM. An examination of the functions, types, and historical context of close personal relationships with an in-depth study of the role of communication in friendships and romantic relationships.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 421 - Comm in Non-Profit Organizatns
Offered yearly. Not open to PCOM. Focuses on issues in nonprofit organizational communication at macro and micro levels. Topics include: organizational identity, change processes, public relations, fund-raising, advocacy, socialization, stress and burnout, board management and professionalization.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 422 - Communication and Technology
Offered every other year. Not open to PCOM. This course takes a critical look at the influence of communication technologies on organizational communication. Students will examine how the world of work is changing due to new technologies and explore the social and ethical implications of technical innovation, adoption and use.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 424 - Risk Crisis & Comm
Offered every other year. Not open to PCOM. This course explores the communicative dynamics that both prevent and cause organizational crisis. Through case studies, the class examines how people plan, communicate and make good decisions in high-risk situations, as well as how to manage crisis public relations effectively.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 445 - Rhetorical Criticism and Theor
Offered yearly. Not open to PCOM. Introduction to study of rhetorical criticism and theory. Current theoretical and methodological issues and approaches including traditional criticism, experiential criticism, dramatism, narrative criticism, feminist criticism, postmodern criticism.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 447 - Rhetorical Constrctn of Woman
Offered every other year. Not open to PCOM. Explores the rhetoric surrounding contemporary women's social "activism" in the U.S. Topics include women's rights, women's liberation, consciousness raising as a rhetorical form, reproductive rights, sexuality, and intersections between gender, race, and class.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 449 - Rhetoric of Women's Activism
Offered every other year. Not open to PCOM. Explores the rhetoric surrounding contemporary women's social "activism" in the U.S. Topics include women's rights, women's liberation, consciousness raising as a rhetorical form, reproductive rights, sexuality, and intersections between gender, race, and class.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required

Comm & Human Relationships Option

Rule: Must complete the following subcategories

30 Total Credits Required

Major Courses

Rule: Must complete at least 5 of the following courses

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description COMX 202S - Nonverbal Communication
Offered yearly. Nonverbal code systems and how they function in human communication including gestures, facial expressions, personal space, and others.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 311 - Family Communication
Offered yearly. Not open to PCOM. Prereq., COMX 115 or consent of instructor. An examination of communication in husband-wife, parent-child, and extended family relationships. Topics include intimacy, power, decision-making, problem solving, identity formation, and interpersonal perception.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 380 - Gender and Communication
Offered yearly. Not open to PCOM. The meaning of gender in our culture. Examines how gender is displayed and perpetuated through social institutions such as the media and through our private and public verbal and nonverbal interactions.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 412 - Communication and Conflict
Offered autumn and spring. Not open to PCOM. Conceptual and practical discussions of communication and conflict in interpersonal relationships, organizational settings and overall cultural milieu. Topics include culture, power, styles, negotiation and bargaining, mediation, dissent, dispute systems, and crisis communication. Credit is not allowed for both COMM 413 and COMM 412.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 413 - Comm & Conflict-Writing
Offered yearly. Not open to PCOM. Conceptual and practical discussions of communication and conflict in interpersonal relationships, organizational settings and overall cultural milieu. Fulfills Upper-Division Writing requirement for Communication Studies majors. Credit is not allowed for both COMX 413 and COMX 412.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 414 - Comm in Personal Relationshps
Offered yearly. Prerequisite, COMX 115S or consent of instructor. Not open to PCOM. An examination of the functions, types, and historical context of close personal relationships with an in-depth study of the role of communication in friendships and romantic relationships.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 415 - Intercultural Communication
Offered autumn and spring. Not open to PCOM. Communication principles and processes in cross-cultural environments. Non-Western cultures are emphasized by contrasting them to Western communication norms.
 3 Credits
Show Description COMX 485 - Communication and Health
Offered yearly. Not open to PCOM. Theory and research on the health correlates of human interaction.
 3 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 15 Total Credits Required

Allied Courses

Rule: Must complete at least 4 of the following courses

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description ANTY 227 - Human Sexuality
Offered autumn. Biological, behavioral, and cross-cultural aspects of human sexuality to help students place their own sexuality and that of others in a broader perspective. Includes sexual anatomy, physiology, development, reproduction, diseases, sex determination, as well as gender development and current issues.
 3 Credits
Show Description ANTY 427 - Anthropology of Gender
Offered spring. Prereq., ANTY 227. Comparative study of the history and significance of gender in social life.
 3 Credits
Show Description COUN 242 - Intimate Relationships
Offered autumn and spring semester. This course covers the fascinating, multi-faceted world of intimate relationships and explores the topic from empirical and theoretical perspectives. The examination of intimate relationships in this course will look at the subject through cultural, biological, social and developmental lenses and will explore specific topics such as attraction, communication, friendship, sexuality, love, conflict, power and violence, loss, social cognition, and repairing relationships.
 3 Credits
Show Description COUN 475 - Forgiveness & Reconcilia
Offered spring.  Survey of the theory and practice of healing fractured relationships at the individual and community levels, treating historical and personal issues from philosophical, psychological and religious perspectives drawn from several diverse cultures.
 3 Credits
Show Description COUN 485 - Counseling Theories
Offered autumn.  Prereq., PSYX 100S.  Same as PSYX 442 and SW 485. Introduction to the primary theories that constitute the intellectual foundation for common counseling and psychotherapy techniques, with a special focus on gender, interpersonal influence strategies, and diversity issues.
 3 Credits
Show Description EDEC 310 - Child in the Family
Offered spring even-numbered years. Prereq., PSYX 100S. Physical, social, emotional and intellectual development, learning theories and child rearing practices related to children 0-6 years of age.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSYX 230 - Developmental Psychology
Offered every term. Prereq., PSYX 100S. An overview of research findings on development from infancy through adolescence, with emphasis on application.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSYX 233 - Fund of Psychology of Aging
Offered intermittently. An overview of theories and research findings in the psychology of adulthood and aging.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSYX 345 - Child & Adolescent Psych Dis
Offered intermittently. Prereq., PSYX 100S and 230. Study of causes, characteristics, assessment and treatment of emotional, social and intellectual disorders. The age span studied will range from infancy through adolescence.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSYX 348 - Psychology of Family Violence
Offered spring. Prereq., PSYX 100S. Same as WGS 385. Exploration of theoretical explanations for the presence of violence in American families; research and interventions in such areas as child physical and sexual abuse, battering of women, marital rape, spousal homicide, etc.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSYX 360 - Social Psychology
Offered every term. Individual behavior as a function of interpersonal interaction.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSYX 385 - Psychology of Personality
Offered intermittently Prereq., PSYX 100S. Introduction to theories and research in personality. Intensive survey of theoretical concepts and a detailed examination of experimental methods and experiments in the field of personality.
 3 Credits
Show Description S W 420 - Child Abuse/Child Welfare
Offered autumn. Prereq., junior standing or consent of instr. Signs and symptoms of physical and sexual abuse and neglect, family dynamics in abuse and neglect, the legal context, programs of prevention and intervention, foster care, special needs adoptions and related issues in child welfare.
 3 Credits
Show Description S W 455 - Social Gerontology
Offered autumn. Examination of the field of social gerontology, including an examination of the major bio/psycho/social/cultural/spiritual theories of aging, the service system, social and health issues, family and care giving dynamics, social policy, and end of life concerns.
 3 Credits
Show Description SOCI 220S - Race, Gender & Class
Offered autumn. Same as WGS 220S. Analysis of the intersecting structure and dynamics of race, gender and class. Focus on power relationships, intergroup conflict and minority-group status.
 3 Credits
Show Description SOCI 275S - Gender and Society
Offered spring. Same as WGS 275S. Exploration of the social construction of gender, especially in western, post-industrial societies such as the U.S. How gender ideologies affect the social definition and position of men and women in work, family, sexual relationships, sexual divisions of labor, and social movements.
 3 Credits
Show Description SOCI 330 - Juvenile Delinquency
Offered spring. Prereq., SOCI 101S. The study of juvenile delinquency as a social phenomenon, including the emergence of "juvenile delinquency" as a social and legal concept, the nature of delinquency, and theoretical explanations of delinquent behavior.
 3 Credits
Show Description SOCI 332 - Sociology of the Family
Offered autumn. Prereq., SOCI 101S. Same as WGS 300. Historical, cross-cultural, and analytical study of the family. Emphasis on ideology, social structures, and agency affecting family composition and roles.
 3 Credits
Show Description SOCI 350 - The Community
Offered intermittently. Prereq., SOCI 101S. The study of families, peer groups, neighborhoods, voluntary associations, power structures, social classes and large scale organizations as they come together in local communities.
 3 Credits
Show Description SOCI 382 - Soc Psych and Social Structure
Offered autumn. Prereq., SOCI 101S. The study of the behavior of individuals in social contexts ranging from small groups to societies. Topics include attitude change, conformity, aggression, helping behavior, self-concept formation, and group cohesion and decision-making.
 3 Credits
Show Description WILD 460 - Internat Wildlife Cons Issues
Offered spring. Prereq., a course in wildlife biology and/or conservation biology. Review of major international wildlife conservation issues with emphasis on the social context of the issues and applied solutions.
 2 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 12 Total Credits Required

Additional Major Electives

Rule: May take additional COMX courses to achieve 36 degree credits

Statistics

Rule: Must complete 1 of the following courses

Show All Course Descriptions Course Credits
Show Description EDU 421 - Statistical Procedures in Educ
Offered autumn of even years.  Prereq., M 115 or equiv. or consent of instr.  Same as HHP 486. Concepts and procedures characterizing both descriptive and inferential statistics. Awareness of common statistical errors.
 3 Credits
Show Description PSYX 222 - Psychological Statistics
Offered every term. Prereq., PSYX 120; M 115, M 162 or 171. Application of statistical techniques to psychological data. Credit not allowed for both PSYX 222 and SOCI 202.
 3 Credits
Show Description SOCI 202 - Social Statistics
Offered every term. Prereq., or coreq. M 115, Sociology majors only, or consent of instr. Application of descriptive and inferential statistical techniques to sociological data. Required of all majors.
 3 Credits
Show Description STAT 216 - Introduction to Statistics
Offered autumn and spring. Prereq., M 115 (preferred), or one of M 121, 135, 151, 162 or 171, or ALEKS placement >= 4. Introduction to major ideas of statistical inference. Emphasis is on statistical reasoning and uses of statistics.
 4 Credits
Minimum Required Grade: C- 3 Total Credits Required