Want to establish broad knowledge, communication skills, creative talents, critical thinking abilities and multicultural awareness that will make you widely employable? Looking for an incredibly interdisciplinary and adaptable major that combines dozens of traditional fields of study?
Human Communication majors gain broad knowledge, multicultural communication skills, creative talents, and outstanding writing and critical thinking abilities for the 21st-century workplace. Our major integrates traditional disciplines within humanities and communication with contemporary fields and explores how these fields interrelate.
We offer focused curriculum in service learning to complement the interdisciplinary work of the major. You will study across the various disciplines in order to gain an integrated understanding of world issues and problems, and you will apply your knowledge ethically, critically, and creatively toward the fulfillment of concrete personal and social goals and needs.
If you are majoring in HCOM and plan to take the English Subject Matter Preparation Program to complete your concentration requirements, you can find the requirements for your degree on the Requirements for ESMP-HCOM Students page.
AA-T certified students can earn a Human Communications B.A. by completing the special requirements in the following programs:
All other HCOM majors, see below.
In order to graduate, you will also need to complete your general education and university requirements.
HCOM Students are required to complete one course approved as research or theory intensive; these courses are indicated as (RTI) in the course lists below.
Complete ALL of the following courses:
Complete ONE of the following courses for MLO 1:
Complete ONE of the following courses for MLO 2:
Complete ONE of the following courses for MLO 3:
Complete ONE of the following courses for MLO 4:
Complete ONE of the following courses for MLO 5:
Complete ONE of the following courses for MLO 6:
Complete ONE of the following courses for MLO 7:
Complete ONE of the following courses for MLO 8:
Only with prior consent of the instructor:
Select one of the following concentrations to complete the requirements of the HCOM degree.
Complete THREE of the following courses:
Complete ONE course from each of the following groups:
Group A. Comparative Hemispheric Emphasis
Group B. Monographic Emphasis
Group C. Comparative U.S. Emphasis
Complete THREE of the following courses:
Complete THREE of the following courses:
Complete ONE course from each of the following groups:
Group A. History
Group B. Historical Narrative
Group C. Multimedia
Complete THREE of the following courses:
Upon prior consent of instructor:
Complete THREE of the following courses:
Complete ONE of the following courses:
Complete ONE of the following courses:
Complete ONE of the following courses:
Complete the following course:
Complete THREE of the following courses:
Complete THREE of the following courses:
Complete THREE of the following courses:
Complete THREE of the following courses:
Ability to communicate critically and empathetically in both oral and written contexts, including reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Ability to gather responsibly, interpret critically, narrate and disseminate the voices and stories of people, communities or events by integrating ethnographic or journalistic field research methods, cultural or media analysis, narrative writing and media production, including new digital media.
Ability to interact ethically and effectively in interpersonal and group communication and decision-making processes.
Ability to understand why and how beliefs, values, assumptions and communication practices interact to shape ways of being and knowing.
Ability to investigate and explain relationships among cultural ideologies and sociohistorical experiences, interests, identities and actions of specific cultural groups.
Ability to appreciate and analyze literature in a social, historical and cultural context. Ability to compare and contrast literatures of at least three different cultural traditions, including non-Eurocentric traditions.
Ability to actively engage our complex multicultural pasts by integrating historical understanding with historical thinking skills.
Ability to acquire basic competency in creative writing. Ability to apply this skill to the production and presentation of an art project that actively responds to a public issue. Ability to sustain the creative process throughout a given project, taking it to completion.
American Multicultural Studies Pathway
Creative Writing & Social Action Pathway
English Subject Matter Preparation Program Pathway
History, Oral History & New Media Pathway
Journalism & Media Studies Pathway
Literary & Film Studies Pathway