Courses

The Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communications program requires you to complete a minimum of 120 credits.

A student enrolled in this major must receive a grade of C or better in all prescribed, additional, and supporting courses required for the major.

Students can earn up to six (6) COMM credits through the credit-by-portfolio process. However, it is important for students to know that completing the credit-by-portfolio process does not guarantee that the credits will be awarded.

If you are a transfer student, the number of credits you must take will vary according to the courses that transfer into the program. Once you are admitted to the program, your assigned academic adviser can help you select courses to fulfill the remaining requirements.

Prescribed Courses (29 credits)

1

credit

Grammar, punctuation, spelling, and word usage skills required of journalists.
3

credits

This course is an introduction to writing for various kinds of mass communication media. Students will practice writing public relations news releases; public information announcements; print, television and radio advertisements; and news stories and editorials. Students will be given weekly writing assignments, some of which will be re-writes of earlier submissions. In-class exercises will include various writing exercises designed to get students more comfortable with writing for media.

Prerequisite
ENGL 15 and ENGL 202
3

credits

Provides an overview of the various media and communications methods that comprise modern integrated marketing campaigns.
3

credits

Analysis of laws and regulations affecting online advertising and strategic communications.

Prerequisite
COMM 428A and permission of the program
3

credits

Framework for applying public relations and advertising tools across media platforms and across cultures.

Prerequisite
COMM 428A, COMM 428D and permission of the program
3

credits

Online research methods for strategic communication, including web analytics, online surveys, online interviews, and content analysis.

Prerequisite
COMM 428A, STAT 200 and permission of the program
3

credits

Social media — including social networks, visual content, podcasts, blogs and other collaborative content creation platforms — are changing the field of public relations. To effectively deploy social media to reach brand objectives, public relations professionals need to understand the critical roles of strategy as well as content creation. This course narrows the focus from the broad field of social media to cover the specific tools and best practices needed to conquer current and future use of social media in public relations
3

credits

Methods of economic analysis and their use; price determination; theory of the firm; distribution.
3

credits

Introduction to general psychology; principles of human behavior and their applications.
4

credits

Descriptive statistics, frequency distributions, probability, binomial and normal distributions, statistical inference, linear regression, and correlation.

Additional Courses (select 3 credits)

3

credits

Nature and theories of law; the Supreme Court and press freedom; legal problems of the mass media.
3

credits

Ethical problems in the practice of journalism; principal public criticisms of news media; case study approach.
3

credits

Sport and media relationship in American culture.

Supporting Courses (select 3 credits)

Select 3 credits of COMM courses other than COMM 100 or COMM 120.

Electives (26 credits)

Students should choose 26 additional credits to satisfy the electives requirement.

General Education Requirements

Some General Education requirements may be satisfied by courses required for the major. Students should work with an adviser to select courses.

Arts (GA): 6 credits
Humanities (GH): 6 credits
Health and Wellness (GHW): 3 credits
Natural Sciences (GN): 9 credits
Social and Behavioral Sciences (GS): 6 credits
Writing and Speaking (GWS): 9 credits
A student must receive a grade of C or better in GWS courses.
Quantification (GQ): 6 credits
A student must receive a grade of C or better in GQ courses.
Integrative Studies: 6 credits
This requirement only applies to students starting in summer 2018 or later. Learn more about the Integrative Studies options and consult your academic adviser when choosing courses to fulfill these requirements. Integrative Studies credits may be completed within the thirty Knowledge Domain credits and must be completed with either Inter-domain or Linked courses, not a combination of both.

Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements

Some Bachelor of Arts requirements may be satisfied by courses required for the major, General Education courses, or electives. Students should work with an adviser to select courses.

Foreign Language: 0–12 credits
Student must attain 12th credit level of proficiency in one foreign language.
B.A. Fields: 9 credits
Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arts, Foreign Languages, Natural Sciences, Quantification (cannot be taken in the area of the student's primary major; foreign language credits in this category must be in a second foreign language or beyond the 12th credit level of proficiency in the first language)
Other Cultures: 0–3 credits
Select 3 credits from approved list. Students may count courses in this category in order to meet other major, minor, elective, or General Education requirements, except for the General Education US/IL requirement.

Course Availability

If you're ready to see when your courses will be offered, visit our public LionPATH course search (opens in new window) to start planning ahead.

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