Lower & Upper Division Courses

COMM 3100 - Advanced Interpersonal Communication 
(3 Units) Structure and communication processes in two-person relationships. A review of the history, current theories, and research findings in such areas as interpersonal attraction, mate selection, compatibility, power, love, sex roles, conflict, and divorce. Alternative forms of close relationships are analyzed, including friendship, cohabitation, and homosexual relations. Satisfies G.E. UD-D. (Fall, Spring)

COMM 3110 - Organizational Communication
(3 Units) Theory, problems, and practices of communication in organizations. Examination of organizational communication systems, cultures, and contemporary developments related to ethics and technology. Prerequisites: Junior standing, or consent of instructor. (Fall, Spring)

COMM 3120 - Management Communication
(3 Units) The study and practice of communication principles, techniques, and forms required of managers in the organizational context. Emphasis upon message preparation and exchange in interviews, technical reports, panel-conferences, and public presentations. Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor.

COMM 3140 - Persuasive Messages
(3 Units) Examination of the logical and psychological principles used in oral and written persuasive messages. Students will analyze the persuasive process and develop effective rhetorical messages. Ethical responsibility of the communicators will be considered. Prerequisites: Junior standing, or consent of instructor. (Fall, Spring)

COMM 3150 - Professional Speaking
(3 Units) Study and practice of advanced presentational speaking in professional/business settings. Emphasis upon delivery, organizational strategies, adapting to diverse audiences, and how to use new technology. (Formerly Advanced Presentational Speaking) Prerequisites: Sophmore standing or consent of instructor

COMM 3200 - Communication Theory (WP)
(3 Units) Covers primary communication theories, both verbal and nonverbal. Particular attention is given to macro theories, derivative theoretical extensions, and new paradigms. Communication contexts encompass interpersonal to mass media and cultural communication theories. Considers the purpose, goals, and criteria used in the evaluation of a communication theory. (Formerly COMM 4000) Satisfies upper-division writing proficiency requirement. Prerequisites: Junior standing. (Fall, Spring)

COMM 3215 – Public Relations
A perspective on public relations as integrated into overall workings of public and private organizational strategy and tactics. Key processes required in practice of public relations and standards required for professionalism. (Formerly COMM 4210) Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor.

COMM 3400 - Oral Interpretation of Children’s Literature 
(3 Units) Application of principles of oral interpretation to children’s literature. Types of children’s literature with emphasis on criteria for selection of literature for oral interpretation, story telling, as well as reading. Designed specifically for future teachers. (LIBS Integrative: Humanistic Inquiry) Prerequisites: Sophmore standing or consent of instructor. (Fall, Spring)

COMM 3550 - Media and Public Perception 
(3 Units) Examines the role played by the media in shaping public perceptions of conflicts and the role played by nationalism, socioeconomic interests, media practices, and values in shaping media content. Satisfies G.E. UD-D and the Multicultural Requirement. Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor.

COMM 3900 - Applied and Social Scientific Research Methods in Communication 
Designed to acquaint students with forms of applied and social scientific research methods in the communication discipline.  Topics include strategies to address practical situations, problems and practices using polls, surveys, audits, interviews, focus groups, content analysis, experimental research, field studies, interaction analysis, and other research techniques commonly employed in professional or advanced study in communication. (Formerly Communication Research Methods) Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor. (Fall, Spring)

COMM 3910 – Critical and Interpretive Research Methods in Communication
Course provides an overview and application of critical and interpretive communication research methods.  Critical methods may include rhetorical criticism, cultural studies, media criticism, and critical ethnography; interpretive methods may include discourse analysis and conversation analysis, as well as ethnography of communication. Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor.

COMM 3960 - Communication Careers
(1 Unit) Identifies and explores some of the career options available to Communication Studies graduates. An overview of resources and opportunities provided by the Department of Communication Studies and the University will also be provided. (Formerly Communication Colloquium)

COMM 4020 - Communication in the Classroom
(3 Units) This course focuses on classroom communication such as listening, perception, verbal and nonverbal messages, and instructional strategies. It includes a communication analysis of a classroom observation and the introduction of creative dramatics techniques. Designed specifically for future teachers. (LIBS Integrative: Humanistic Inquiry) (Formerly COMM 3020) Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor. 

COMM 4040 - Gender Communication
(3 Units) This course examines the relationship between gender and communication, explores theories of gender development and identify, analyzes gendered verbal and nonverbal communication, and looks at gender in specific settings. (Same as GEND 4040)

COMM 4050 - Relational Communication
(3 Units) Analyzes relationships such as cross-sex friendships, gay and lesbian, single parenting, and dual career marriages to reveal important themes relating to social, psychological, and economic constructs impacting women and men. (Course offered under the subjects COMM and GEND) (Formerly New Rules for Social Relationships)

COMM 4060 - Family Communication
(3 Units) Analyses of the family as a communication system, including the role of communication in gender systems across families, cultures, institutions, societies, and time. (Course offered under the subjects COMM and GEND) Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor.

COMM 4100 - Group Communication
(3 Units) Studies in small group theory and research. Participation in informal task groups devoted to such concepts as cooperation and competition, power, roles, status, and leadership as these relate to the variables of communication and productivity. (Formerly Organizational Communication) Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor.

COMM 4110 - Communication Training and Consulting
Applies instructional and training communication theory to the process of training, consulting, and instruction in a variety of contexts.  Students gain experience in assessing needs; developing objectives, a training plan, and presentation materials; delivering a multimedia training presentation; and reporting training outcomes through a consultative process. (Formerly Organizational Communication Diagnosis and Design) Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor.  COMM 3110 recommended.

COMM 4115 - Communication for Leadership
(3 Units) Study and analysis of communication patterns for leadership. Emphasis upon classical (such as trait, behavioral, contingency) and contemporary (charismatic, transformational, servant, team) leadership communication theories, including multidisciplinary perspectives. Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor. COMM 3110 recommended.

COMM 4130 - Communication and Aging
(3 Units) Provides a framework for better understanding the process of cross-generational communication and the improvement of communication competencies for interaction with older persons. Covers such topics as interpersonal communication dispositions of the long living, sensory barriers to effective communication, communication perspectives in social psychological theories of aging, and the influence of context. Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor.

COMM 4140 - Rhetoric of Popular Culture
(3 Units) A survey of rhetorical theory designed to evaluate the persuasive appeals of communicative acts in popular culture.  Emphasis placed on learning the methodologies of rhetorical inquiry to identify and analyze what constitutes the effectiveness of oral, written, visual, and digital artifacts in contemporary media. (Formerly Rhetorical Theory) Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor.  COMM 3140 recommended. 

COMM 4150 - Nonverbal Communication
(3 Units) Relationships of nonverbal communication with establishing, maintaining, and developing inter personal interaction. Relationships between verbal and nonverbal components of communication. Recent trends that contribute to theories of nonverbal communication. Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor.

COMM 4160 - Intercultural Communication
(3 Units) Examines intercultural communication on the interpersonal level. In particular, it looks at the ways in which cultural differences can lead to misunderstandings. As such, the cultural assumptions brought to the interpersonal communication encounter will be explored. Through such inquiry, insights will be obtained about communicating competently with persons of other cultures. Satisfies the multicultural Requirement.(Fall, Spring)

COMM 4165 - Communication in Global Organizations 
(3 Units) Examines intercultural and international communication theory, research, and practices in diverse work-place contexts. Focus is on developing communication competence in multinational and global organizations. (Formerly Communication in Multinational Organizations) Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor. COMM 3110 recommended.

COMM 4170 - Professional Interviewing
(3 Units) Considers interviewing from a communication process perspective. Provides understanding and experience in developing skills and techniques applicable in various interview contexts: selection, appraisal, exit, and research. Covers pre- interviewing planning, interview techniques, current EEO laws and standards, and post-interview processes. Useful for students in Business Administration, Education, Social Sciences, and Communication Studies. Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor.

COMM 4180 - Health Communication
(3 Units) Provides a framework for better understanding the processes and theories of Health Care Communication, and the improvement of communication competencies for interaction between Health Care professionals and the public they serve. Covers interpersonal, group, and organizational contexts. Also, examines intercultural and ethical elements of Health Care Communication. Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor.

COMM 4190 - Conflict and Communication
(3 Units) Introduces students to the theory and practice of conflict management with emphasis on the role of communication. Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor.

COMM 4200 - Mass Media Theory and Research
(3 Units) Examines the role played by the mass media in shaping societies and perceptions of societies, with special emphasis on images of cultures in an international context. The focus of the course is on the interaction between mass media theory and research. (Formerly Mass Communication Perspectives) Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor. COMM 2200 recommended.

COMM 4215 – Public Relations Campaigns
Tools and techniques of public relations. Application of public relations principles in a public relations campaign. (Formerly COMM 4120) Prerequisites: COMM 3215, junior standing, or consent of instructor.

COMM 4220 - Technology and Communication
(3 Units) Course will survey various forms of computer- mediated communication and give students an understanding of how information and communication technologies create constraints and opportunities for social change, identity formation, and relationship building. Theoretical approaches to the study of technology and communication will be discussed. Students will leave the course with a solid understanding of the ways in which the Internet has changed the way we think about and form relationships and communities. Satisfies G.E. area UD-D.

COMM 4400 - Visual Communication
(3 Units) Introduction to the use of visual elements in communication, including how visual information, both physiologically and socially, is processed. Special emphasis will be placed on how the multimedia presentation of messages impacts meaning. Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor.

COMM 4500 – Political Communication
Course identifies and examines what constitutes effective communication in American politics, ranging from an analysis of rhetorical discourse in presidential oratory to contemporary media strategies employed in both election campaigns and social movements. Prerequisites: COMM 3140 or consent of instructor.

COMM 4900 - Senior Capstone
(3 Units) Seminar in which students will demonstrate an understanding of communication foundations, including what it means to be competent and civilized communicators.  Completion of a culminating capstone project is required. Corequisites:COMM 3200. Prerequisites: Senior standing, COMM 3900 or COMM 3910, and minimum of 18 units completed in the major, or consent of instructor. (Fall, Spring)

COMM 4920 - Communication Practicum
(1-4 Units) Placement in a profit/non-profit agency for professional development and integration of pedagogy with field experience. Journal/reflection paper and conferences with the department coordinator required. May be repeated for a total of 8 units dependent on the approval of the student’s adviser. Prerequisites: Sophmore standing and consent of the instructor.

COMM 4940 - Communication Internship 
(1-4 Units) Designed for students in Communication Studies who want to apply, integrate, and explore their educational experience as an intern in a public or private organization. The experience will be under the joint supervision of the organization and the department prior to registration.May be repeated for credit. Prerequisites: Completion of 12 upper-division units in Communication Studies, junior standing, and/or consent of instructor.

COMM 4950 - Selected Topics in Communication Studies 
(1-5 Units) Development of a selected branch of human communication. (Topics to be specified in Class Schedule) Topics may vary each term, thus different topics may be taken for credit. Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor.

COMM 4980 - Individual Study
(1-4 Units) For students capable of independent work and in need of advanced and specialized study. May be repeated for a total of 6 units. Prerequisites: Senior standing or consent of instructor.