Declaration before Fall 2019

Last update: January 2025

Major Overview

Communication Studies is a studies-based interdisciplinary major. It features the academic (aesthetic, analytical, critical, historical, theoretical) and interdisciplinary study of communication as represented by the departments included within the Klein College of Media and Communication.

Designed to ensure flexibility and choice, Communication Studies allows students a chance to fully investigate multiple fields in the communications discipline. Emphasis is placed on providing an overview of Communication while also accentuating personal academic growth. Personal choice and options allow students a chance to complete the degree in a timely manner.

The flexibility of the Communications Studies program offers students access to the field experiences, internships, and study away experiences vital to a comprehensive education. Students with a number of skill sets and academic interest areas are often drawn to this innovative program and graduates are poised for a number of professional and academic possibilities, such as graduate, law, or professional school. Graduates of this program will be well-suited to pursue a variety of positions across numerous aspects of the Communications field.

Students receive cross-curricular expertise through foundation and core courses. Academic rigor and student choice are at the very core of the program. Choices allow a student flexibility and curricular oversight ensures a solid, academically robust education. Courses are designed to allow student progress to be monitored at yearly intervals. Experiential learning is promoted, particularly during the junior and senior years. Cross cultural exchanges and experiences are integral aspects of the program's design. Advanced scholars have a distinct and individualized track.

The Contemporary Media Environments Track provides an historical overview of communication technologies - from papyrus to moveable type, from the rotary press to broadcasting and the Internet - and the ways that they shape public life. It will introduce theories on the relationship between technology and society, focusing on the intersection between communication technologies and the public sphere.

The Major of Distinction (thesis track) is an academically rigorous program for students who wish to construct an interdisciplinary curriculum that meets their individual interests across the Klein College departments. In the Major of Distinction, each student works individually with a faculty advisor from a relevant Klein College department to build a curriculum that goes beyond the offered tracks. The student completes five courses, four of which must be at the 3000 or 4000 level, and in the senior year completes a two-semester thesis. A student in the Major of Distinction must have completed three semesters of a foreign language (or equivalent with the approval of the Director of Communication Studies) by the time of graduation. If appropriate to the student's research, an advanced methods or theory course may be required by the student's faculty advisor.

Major Requirements

Arrow-Large 42 credits required

Arrow-Large Major courses must be passed with at least C or C- (depending on Major declaration semester – please consult the AAC)

Foundation Courses

Core Courses

Contemporary Media Environments Track or Thesis Track (Choose Option #1 or #2)

Option #1. Contemporary Media Environments Track Courses (minimum 21 credits):

Course selection upon approval by either Faculty Advisor or Academic Advising Center. Students must take one course from at least three different departments. Students can use one 2000+ Production Course for Klein College Course requirement (not WI or 3000+ or 4000+). Internship can be applied to Klein College Course requirement (not WI or 4000+)

• Students should work with their academic advisors regarding courses applicable to Option #1
  Schedule an appointment with your assigned advisor
• A minimum cumulative and Major GPA of 2.00 is necessary for Option #1

Option #2. Thesis Track (minimum 21 credits):

See Faculty Advisor to enroll in this option. Courses selected must represent 3 different Klein College departments.

• Students apply for a Thesis Track in the second semester of their sophomore year. To be considered, students must be on schedule to complete their Foundational and Core Communications courses by the end of their sophomore year. Also, students must have earned at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average (GPA) in their Foundational and Core Communications courses along with a 3.25 overall GPA. Students must submit an application to the Faculty Advisor that includes a statement of student's interest, a proposed curriculum, and a support letter from a full-time Klein College faculty member willing to act as student's faculty advisor.
• **Students who have proficiency in a language other than English are exempted from the Language Requirement.

Notes (as of Bulletin 2015-2016):

Students will need to follow the following Requirements for the Klein College of Media and Communication.

• Minimum 42 Klein College Credits required for the degree
• Maximum 78 Klein College Credits will apply to the degree requirement
• Minimum of 46 credits required outside of Klein College
• Maximum of 27 s.h. in any one Klein College department may be counted toward the degree
• A maximum of 4 s.h. of Internship credit may be counted toward the degree
• A maximum of 8 s.h. combined of Independent Study and/or Special Projects may be counted toward the degree
• No more than 8 s.h. in Kinesiology and Dance activities courses
• Transfer students are required to complete a minimum of 24 s.h. of major courses at Temple