Communication Arts and Sciences

This department includes the majors of Journalism, Speech Communication, and Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences.

Journalism (JRN)

The Journalism program prepares students for careers in news and information media by providing them with a sound education in the basics of journalism and/or public relations. The program has one of the strongest journalism teaching staffs in the state. All full-time and part-time faculty have worked in the journalism and/or public relations fields.

The Journalism Department offers a major with four concentrations—magazines, news/editorial, photojournalism and public relations—and minors in news/editorial, photojournalism and public relations. Proficiency in standard written English is a prerequisite for all journalism courses. Students are required to complete ENG 1010 before taking any journalism courses beyond JRN 1010.

Students should select an advisor early in their course of study. Students may not select both a major and minor from the Journalism program. The Journalism program will provide students with a list of suggested General Studies courses to help them gain a broad base of knowledge necessary for working in news and information media.

To make journalism graduates more marketable in our multicultural society, journalism majors are required to take four semesters of one foreign language or prove their proficiency in a language other than English.

Speech Communication (SPE)

The Communication Program at Metro State is based on the understanding that communication itself is the primary, constitutive social process that explains all human experience in a diverse and technological world. Students are grounded in theoretical understanding of communication, engaged in practical application, and encouraged to develop communication competencies that can be applied in interpersonal, family, group, organizational, and community contexts.

For instance, in Broadcasting, a graduate might aspire to careers in radio, television, cable and film as talent, writer, producer, director, or a specialist in promotion, public affairs, sales and marketing, management, production engineering, advertising, public information in business, industry and government.

Communication Theory prepares students for work as human resource specialists, employee managers, public relations specialists, personal relationship consultants, and is an excellent preparation for graduate studies in social science research programs.

Organizational Communication prepares students for work in consulting, training and conference planning. This concentration presents lucrative and satisfying careers to speech communication graduates. Job opportunities are available in education, government, business, and industry as well as private practice as a consultant.

Graduates in Rhetoric and Public Address have achieved success in law, industrial and organizational communication, religious leadership, educational administration, and public relations.

A minor is required for students majoring in Speech. Options include but are not limited to: linguistics, health professions, human services, management, marketing, psychology, public relations, and Spanish.

Speech, Language, and Hearing Science (SLHS)

Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences is now a separate major providing sound background for students pursuing careers in education, vocational rehabilitation and health care. Graduates can obtain the prerequisite course work to pursue a graduate degree in speech-language pathology or audiology which opens doors to careers in schools, hospitals, community clinics, rehabilitation centers and private practice.