Policies

The major in Communication and Media is appealing to students from both the humanities and social sciences. Many students combine their interests in Communication and Media with other LSA majors and minors. In addition, courses in the department offer students the ability to fulfill College requirements for quantitative reasoning and upper-level writing. This major’s wide appeal and flexibility often leads to over-subscribed prerequisite and upper-level courses. The department follows a strict waitlist priority policy for all its courses. Attendance during the first week of classes each term is mandatory.

Waitlist Policies

As a result of the popularity of the Communication Studies major, our courses are often over-subscribed and have waitlists during the registration period. A number of steps have been implemented to manage enrollments, including:

Reserving introductory courses for first- and second-year students so that they can satisfy the Communication and Media prerequisite courses
Reserving places in upper-level courses for declared Communication and Media majors
Making small class sizes a priority to ensure upper-level students have a seminar or small group experience

Students should refer to the Waitlist and Permission Policies for more information

Upper-Level Writing

The department offers several classes each fall and winter term that fulfill the Upper-Level Writing Requirement (ULWR). All sections of courses numbered Comm 350-399 have been designated to fulfill the ULWR.

Students enrolled in ULWR courses must complete all writing requirements, regardless of whether or not they are seeking ULWR credit. Communication and Media majors are allowed to use Communication and Media ULWR courses to fulfill the LSA ULWR requirement and do not need to take a ULWR course in another department.

Quantitative Reasoning

Dual Major

Many students choose to combine their major in Communication and Media with a major in another department. In order to double major, a student must complete all requirements of both departments. However, a student may use official cross-listed courses to fulfill requirements in both majors.

Double majors with Communication and Media commonly include:

Political Science for students interested in law and government service
Psychology for those interested in advertising or public relations
English Language and Literature for students interested in print or broadcast journalism
International Studies for those interested in international media
Screen Arts and Cultures for students interested in in television or entertainment fields

Academic Minor

The department does not offer an academic minor in Communication and Media, nor does it plan to offer one in the future. Many Communication and Media majors do pursue academic minors in other areas to supplement their major.

Common minor areas include:

Digital Studies (under the Department of American Cultures)
Spanish or other languages
Economics
Program in the Environment
International Studies
Global Media (under the Department of Screen Arts and Cultures)
Women’s Studies
Political Science
Writing (under the Sweetland Center for Writing)

Students pursuing academic minors must fulfill all requirements of both their Communication and Media major and those in their minor area. The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts allows students to double count only one course from an academic minor to be used toward the major requirements.

Race and Ethnicity

Communication and Media offers two courses that fulfills the LSA Race and Ethnicity requirement. Credits used to satisfy the R&E requirement also may be used to satisfy other College requirements.

The two COMM courses are COMM 306 with the topic Representing American Jewishness, and COMM 306 with the topic Whiteness and the Media.

All courses satisfying the RE requirement must provide discussion concerning:

the meaning of race, ethnicity, and racism;
racial and ethnic intolerance and resulting inequality as it occurs in the United States or elsewhere;
comparisons of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, social class, or gender.

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