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COMMUNICATION

The study of communication is one of the oldest but still most contemporary of disciplines. The field examines important questions about society, communication, and persuasion in a way that combines the best of the ancient liberal arts tradition with the critical attention to the newest media technologies. In courses such as persuasion, argument, interpersonal communication, political rhetoric, rhetoric of science, nonverbal communication, history of media, media criticism, and television and society, our faculty offer diverse views on the roles of communication, media and rhetoric in our lives.

A degree in communication is not vocational in design, although many of the Department of Communication's graduates hold important positions in industry, education, the media, government, law, and various other professions. An understanding of communication as a human activity, as defined above, makes the department's graduates attractive candidates when seeking employment or obtaining admission to graduate programs. For more information on the major or the Department of Communication, see http://www.pitt.edu/~website/communication/.

Major Requirements

The communication major requires the completion of 33 credits with a grade of C or better in each course (if the course is to count toward the major). The distribution of courses is:

• Three core courses (all required). Each is a prerequisite for a specific upper level course.
  
  
  • COMMRC 0300 (Communication Process)
  • COMMRC 0310 (Rhetorical Process)
  • COMMRC 0320 (Mass Communication Process)

• Two skills courses:
  
  
  • COMMRC 0520 (Public Speaking) and one of the following:
    COMMRC 0500 (Argument), 0510 (Debate), 0530 (Interpersonal Communication), 0540 (Discussion), or 0550 (Speech Composition)
  
  
• Six upper level courses which focus on specific topics or contexts of communication. Since these courses require substantive research and writing components, completion of the composition requirement is a prerequisite.

COMMRC 1101 (Evidence)

COMMRC 1102 (Organizational Communication)

COMMRC 1103 (Rhetoric and Culture)

COMMRC 1104 (Political Communication)

COMMRC 1105 (Television and Society)

COMMRC 1106 (Small Group Communication)

COMMRC 1109 (Nonverbal Communication)

COMMRC 1110 (Interpersonal Communication)

COMMRC 1111 (Theories of Persuasion)

COMMRC 1112 (Theories of Rhetoric)

COMMRC 1113 (African Americans and Mass Media)

COMMRC 1114 (Freedom of Speech and Press)

COMMRC 1115 (African American Rhetoric)

COMMRC 1116 (The Rhetoric of Cynicism and the Counter-Culture)

COMMRC 1117 (20th-Century Public Argument)

COMMRC 1118 (Presidential Rhetoric 1)

COMMRC 1119 (Presidential Rhetoric 2)

COMMRC 1120 (Rhetoric of the Cold War)

COMMRC 1121 (History of Mass Communication)

COMMRC 1122 (Media Criticism)

COMMRC 1123 (Rhetorical Criticism)

COMMRC 1125 (Media Theory)

COMMRC 1126 (Media and Consumer Culture)

COMMRC 1142 (Theories of Modern Rhetoric)

COMMRC 1143 (Knowledge, Power, and Desire)

COMMRC 1145 (History of Rhetoric)

COMMRC 1147 (Rhetoric of Science)

COMMRC 1148 (Rhetoric of Human Rights)

COMMRC 1730 (Special Topics in Rhetoric)

COMMRC 1731 (Special Topics in Rhetoric)

COMMRC 1732 (Special Topics in Mass Comunication)