PDF version of this chapterSchool of Communication
Undergraduate Degrees
The School of Communication offers programs of study leading to a B.A. degree and minors in Communication and the Entertainment Industry, Interactive Media and the Culture of New Technologies, Global Communication, Health Communication, Professional and Managerial Communication, and Communication Law and Media Policy. Many communication majors pursue, with the school's encouragement, a double major with another discipline or a minor to complement the major. Through careful planning, students can complete these options within four years.
Students must consult with an undergraduate academic advisor at least once each semester to explore course selections within the major, the minor, general education offerings and electives.
Admission
Admission to the School of Communication is competitive. Fall 2003 incoming freshmen had an average GPA of 4.01 with a combined SAT score over 1342. Transfer students have averaged over a 3.6 GPA.Students who wish to declare communication as their major may apply in three ways: (1) entering freshmen and transfer students must meet the criteria set by USC and the School of Communication for admission; (2) current USC students need to have 32 units completed at USC with a minimum GPA of 3.0; (3) transfer students need to have 16 units at USC with a minimum 3.0 USC GPA to apply. The 3.0 GPA is a minimum standard and does not guarantee admission.
For current USC students, the application period is the first week of classes each fall and spring semester. No applications will be accepted after the first week of classes.
The Bachelor of Arts in Communication
General Education Requirements
The university's general education program provides a coherent, integrated introduction to the breadth of knowledge you will need to consider yourself (and to be considered by other people) a generally well-educated person. This new program requires six courses in different categories, plus writing, foreign language and diversity requirements, which are described in detail in the General Education Program section.Course Requirements
| Required courses | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| COMM 200 | Communication as a Social Science | 4 |
| COMM 201 | Communication as a Liberal Art | 4 |
and four of the following five: | ||
| COMM 202 | Introduction to Communication Technology | 4 |
| COMM 203 | Introduction to Mass Communication Theory and Research | 4 |
| COMM 204* | Public Speaking | 4 |
| COMM 301L | Empirical Research in Communication | 4 |
| COMM 322 | Argumentation and Advocacy | 4 |
| electives | Units | |
|---|---|---|
| six 300-400 level COMM courses | 24 | |
Students must maintain a minimum 2.0 overall GPA in their upper division course work. No more than 8 upper division elective units may be taken prior to completing successfully COMM 200 and COMM 201. Further, no more than 16 upper division elective units may be taken prior to completion of the entire core. No more than 4 units of COMM 380 may be counted toward the department major. The School of Communication is committed to ensuring that all declared communication majors follow the necessary requirements. Mandatory advisement is required of all communication majors each semester prior to registration. All students taking communication classes are held to the highest academic integrity standards and may be denied admission or have admission revoked as a result of conduct violations.
Qualified nonmajors (generally, students with junior/senior status, a minimum 3.0 GPA and a declared major elsewhere at the university) with appropriate academic preparation may be permitted to enroll in communication electives without fulfilling prerequisite requirements. Application for a waiver should be made to an undergraduate advisor.
Academic Integrity Policy
Since its founding, the USC School of Communication has maintained a commitment to the highest standards of ethical conduct and academic excellence. Any student found responsible for plagiarism, fabrication, cheating on examinations, or purchasing papers or other assignments will be reported to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards and may be dismissed from the School of Communication. There are no exceptions to the school's policy.Curriculum Areas of Study
By design, the courses in the curriculum tend to cluster into different areas of study. These areas represent important foci in the communication discipline and are areas in which the school's faculty possess special expertise. Four such areas of study are described below. They are not mutually exclusive, nor do they exhaust the curriculum; rather, they represent partially overlapping areas of unusual depth. Students may specialize in one of these areas or may design individual programs of study by choosing other combinations of electives that best meet their needs and career objectives.Media, Law and Politics Option: This option is designed for students who are interested in careers in government and public service, the law, and political and legal consulting, as well as advanced graduate study. Students examine communication processes in the public sphere and learn how to participate competently in these practices. Courses emphasize the role of persuasion in the political and legal processes; the techniques used by individuals, institutions and social movements to influence public affairs; the history, design, implementation and evaluation of political campaigns; the role of public opinion; ethical issues in public communication, including the influence of media in the political and justice systems, the role of the First Amendment and the changing nature of freedom of expression in a mass-mediated environment, and problems of public participation. Relevant courses include:
| COMM 302 | Persuasion | 4 |
| COMM 310 | Media and Society | 4 |
| COMM 330 | Rhetoric in Classical Culture | 4 |
| COMM 335 | Rhetoric in Contemporary Culture | 4 |
| COMM 370 | The Rhetoric of Ideas: Ideology and Propaganda | 4 |
| COMM 388 | Ethics in Human Communication | 4 |
| COMM 402 | Public Communication Campaigns | 4 |
| COMM 411 | Communication Criticism | 4 |
| COMM 412 | Communication and Social Movements | 4 |
| COMM 421 | Legal Communication | 4 |
| COMM 422 | Legal Issues and New Media | 4 |
| COMM 489 | Campaign Communication | 4 |
| JOUR 371 | Censorship and the Law: From the Press to Cyberspace | 4 |
Organizational and Interpersonal Communication Option: This option is most relevant to students interested in careers in business, management, human resources and development, corporate communications, and consulting, as well as advanced graduate study. Courses emphasize: interpersonal communication processes that affect and reflect personality, motives, beliefs, attitudes and values; communication's role in the development, maintenance and disintegration of social, family and intimate relationships; managing interpersonal conflict; communication between superiors and subordinates and in teams; communication's role in determining organizational culture; managing information in organizations; and the role of information technology in processes of globalization. Relevant courses include:
| COMM 304 | Interpersonal Communication | 4 |
| COMM 308 | Communication and Conflict | 4 |
| COMM 315 | Health Communication | 4 |
| COMM 320 | Small Group and Team Communication | 4 |
| COMM 321 | Communication in the Virtual Group | 4 |
| COMM 345 | Social and Economic Implications of Communication Technologies | 4 |
| COMM 375 | Business and Professional Communication | 4 |
| COMM 385 | Survey of Organizational Communication | 4 |
| COMM 480 | Nonverbal Communication | 4 |
| COMM 486 | Human and Technological Systems in Organizations | 4 |
| COMM 487 | Communication and Global Organizations | 4 |
Communication and Culture Option: This option will be attractive to a broad range of students whose careers have an international or multicultural dimension, from those interested in foreign service, travel and consulting to those seeking careers in the arts. In addition, students taking this option will be well prepared for advanced graduate study. Courses emphasize: communication as an essential component of culture and cultural production; cultural forces that shape communication practices; cultural barriers to communication; gender and diversity issues in human and mass communication and cultural production; media representations of race, ethnicity and gender; the production of meaning in diverse modes such as art, religion, popular culture and technology; and cultural criticism. Relevant courses include:
| COMM 324 | Intercultural Communication | 4 |
| COMM 330 | Rhetoric in Classical Culture | 4 |
| COMM 335 | Rhetoric in Contemporary Culture | 4 |
| COMM 339 | Communication Technology and Culture | 4 |
| COMM 340 | The Cultures of New Media | 4 |
| COMM 345 | Social and Economic Implications of Communication Technologies | 4 |
| COMM 360 | The Rhetoric of Los Angeles | 4 |
| COMM 365 | The Rhetoric of London | 4 |
| COMM 384 | Interpreting Popular Culture | 4 |
| COMM 395 | Gender, Media and Communication | 4 |
| COMM 424 | Millennium in the Media | 4 |
| COMM 425 | Communicating Religion | 4 |
| COMM 465 | Gender in Media Industries and Products | 4 |
Entertainment, Communication and Society Option:This option is for students who wish to pursue careers in the entertainment industry, as well as students interested in the relationship of communication and entertainment to popular culture, globalization, cultural studies, marketing, advertising and ethics. Students taking this option will be well prepared for graduate study; they will also be able to enter the entertainment industry with a grounding in the theory, roles, issues and effects of entertainment. Courses emphasize the theoretical underpinnings of entertainment studies; the historical context of entertainment; the roles and effects of entertainment concepts in "high art" and popular culture; the impact of entertainment on politics; advertising in an entertainment society; the blurring of marketing and entertainment and the effects of this on culture; the effects of entertainment in general and specifically on constructions of race and childhood; issues in the blurring of fact and fiction; ethical dilemmas; and the globalization of entertainment industries. Relevant courses include:
| COMM 300 | Foundations for the Study of Entertainment, Communication and Society | 4 |
| COMM 306 | The Communication Revolution and the Arts | 4 |
| COMM 310 | Media and Society | 4 |
| COMM 339 | Communication Technology and Culture | 4 |
| COMM 340 | The Cultures of New Media | 4 |
| COMM 360 | The Rhetoric of Los Angeles | 4 |
| COMM 384 | Interpreting Popular Culture | 4 |
| COMM 395 | Gender, Media and Communication | 4 |
| COMM 401 | Audience Analysis | 4 |
| COMM 430 | Global Entertainment | 4 |
| COMM 431 | Global Strategy for the Communications Industry | 4 |
| COMM 432 | American Media and Entertainment Industries | 4 |
| COMM 455 | Advertising and Society | 4 |
| COMM 456 | Entertainment, Marketing and Culture | 4 |
| COMM 457 | Children and Media | 4 |
| COMM 458 | Race and Ethnicity in Entertainment and the Arts | 4 |
| COMM 465 | Gender in Media Industries and Products | 4 |
| COMM 471 | Communication Systems and Technologies | 4 |
| COMM 472 | Telecommunication Strategic Analysis | 4 |
| COMM 480 | Nonverbal Communication | 4 |
| COMM 498 | Ethical Issues in Entertainment and Communication | 4 |
| CTIN 483 | Programming for Interactivity | 4 |
| CTPR 386 | Art and Industry of the Theatrical Film | 4 |
| CTPR 410 | Movie Business: From Story Concept to Exhibition | 2 |
| CTWR 459ab | Entertainment Industry Seminar | 2-2 |
| JOUR 459 | Fact and Fiction: From Journalism to the Docudrama | 4 |
Communication majors in this option are required to take one of the following courses, which will count toward the requirement for six upper-division courses.
| COLT 365 | Literature and Popular Culture | 4 |
| CSCI 480 | Computer Graphics | 3 |
| CTCS 411 | Film, Television and Cultural Studies | 4 |
| ENGL 392 | Visual and Popular Culture | 4 |
| FA 350 | Art Theory and Criticism | 4 |
| HP 400 | Culture, Lifestyle, and Health | 4 |
| JOUR 375 | The Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture | 4 |
| MKT 450 | Consumer Behavior and Marketing | 4 |
| MUIN 385 | Radio in the Music Industry | 4 |
| PPD 354 | Los Angeles: The City, The Novel, The Movie | 2 |
| REL 461 | Business and Society | 4 |
| SOCI 315 | Sociology of Sport | 4 |
| THTR 303 | The Performing Arts | 4 |
Accelerated B.A., Communication/M.A., Communication Management
This accelerated 152-unit program allows superior students to complete a dual B.A. in Communication and M.A. degree in Communication Management in five years. Students with at least a 3.5 overall GPA in all classes taken at the university level and a 3.5 GPA in all undergraduate communication classes may apply for admission to the accelerated program during their junior year. A 3.5 GPA does not guarantee acceptance. Students will submit sample essays and research projects for an assessment of their ability to complete graduate level course work and an independent research practicum. Students admitted into the accelerated program begin taking M.A.-level courses in their senior year and will complete the degree in year five. See undergraduate advisors for the admission process.Program Requirements
| Undergraduate courses | units | |
|---|---|---|
| COMM 200 | Communication as a Social Science | 4 |
| COMM 201 | Communication as a Liberal Art | 4 |
| COMM 301L | Empirical Research in Communication | 4 |
Three of the following four courses: | ||
| COMM 202 | Introduction to Communication Technology | 4 |
| COMM 203 | Introduction to Mass Communication Theory and Research | 4 |
| COMM 204 | Public Speaking | 4 |
| COMM 322 | Argumentation and Advocacy | 4 |
Two of the following three courses: | ||
| COMM 385 | Survey of Organizational Communication | 4 |
| COMM 486 | Human and Technological Systems in Organizations | 4 |
| COMM 487 | Communication and Global Organizations | 4 |
| Two 400-level elective courses | 8 | |
| Graduate courses | units | |
|---|---|---|
| COMM 597 | Communication Research Practicum | 4 |
One research methods tool (corequisite with COMM 597): | ||
| COMM 540 | Uses of Communication Research, or | |
| COMM 587 | Audience Analysis | 4 |
Core theory course -- select one of the following: | 4 | |
| COMM 500 | Managing Communication | |
| COMM 510 | Communication, Values, Attitudes, and Behavior | |
| COMM 520 | Social Roles of Communication Media | |
| COMM 530 | Social Dynamics of Communication Technology | |
| COMM 533 | Emerging Communication Technologies | |
| COMM 545 | Communication and Global Competition | |
| COMM 560 | Communications Policy | |
| COMM 570 | Economics of the Communication Industries | |
| Graduate Elective Units | 20* | |