Communication, B.A.

Program Chair: Tamara Burk, Ph.D

Available in the Day College.

The Communication program at Columbia College is designed to provide students with a strong foundation in message design, critical thinking, and oral communication for personal and professional development. Our program recognizes that technology is changing the nature of communication, but the need to be confident, prepared, organized, and thoughtful in communication has remained. Consistently, employers rank communication as one of the competencies they desire most in new hires. We work to prepare students to meet these expectations with practice and study in a range of communication areas-social media, public speaking, conflict resolution, leadership and ethics, and more. Our program graduates have found success in a variety of fields (public service, law, marketing, public relations, nonprofit leadership, higher education, etc.) as well as gone on to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees in communication and related fields. 

Mission: The B.A. in Communication program provides students with extensive knowledge of the communication process as dynamic, content-driven, and audience-dependent. The communication program will offer opportunities for students to develop knowledge and skills needed to research, prepare, create, perform, and interpret messages in face-to-face and mediated contexts. The program will prepare students to achieve a deeper understanding of themselves as communicators equipped to effectively represent their ideas and the ideas of others in their lives, professions, and communities. 

Student Learning Outcomes: 

1. Students will create an effective public message appropriate to the audience, purpose, and context. 
2. Students will evaluate the ethical elements of a communication situation. 
3. Students will demonstrate communication expertise in career development. 

 

Program Concentrations: 

Professional Communication Concentration 

Mission: The Professional Communication concentration increases students’ understanding of collaboration, conflict management, organizational culture, and the world of work. 

Student Learning Outcome #4: Students will understand the human communication process in the world of work. 

 

Public Relations Concentration 

Mission: The Public Relations concentration is designed to introduce students to public relations as a communicative activity focused on influencing others, building relationships, and managing the perceptions of an individual, group, or organization. 

Student Learning Outcome #5: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the effective implementation of campaign strategies. 

 

Digital Media Concentration 

Mission: The Digital Media concentration provides students with an introduction to theoretical knowledge, technical production, and artistic skills to tell compelling stories in the digital age. 

Student Learning Outcome #6: Students will be able to tell a compelling story in a digital format.