Realizing that communication will play a significant role in whatever career one chooses, Communication Studies offers a wide choice of courses designed to meet the complex communication skills required in today's society. The department promotes high standards, while seeking to promote a balance between a liberal arts education and professional preparation.
Courses of Study
Communication Studies offers the following courses of study or emphasis areas:
- Mass Communication (covering the breadth of the discipline)
- Journalism
- Radio, TV and Web Broadcasting
- Communication Studies
In addition, Communication Studies provides courses to support a Recording Industry Management course of study.
Careers
Careers in the communications field include television and radio broadcasting, public relations, corporate communication, education, print, radio or television journalism, photography, desktop publishing and writing.
Students of communication follow a variety of careers, including marketing, teaching, media operations, the law, finance, banking, public relations, policy analysis, government service, consulting, human resources, account management, advertising, brokerage, print and electronic media writing, performance, news production, management, real estate development, and lobbying, to name a few.
Communication Studies majors also regularly pursue advanced study in graduate schools of business administration, history, journalism, political science, fine arts, and schools of law, in addition to graduate studies in different fields of communication.
Experience
Practical Experience is at the heart of each individual course and is also an integral part of each course of study. Communication Studies majors have numerous opportunities for practical/job-related experience, not only in the classroom but also through campus activities and organizations and within the off-campus larger community.
Activities have been created to make a student's educational experience exciting, practical, and valuable, as each student develops a portfolio of skills that employers want.
Opportunities
Journalism opportunities include the student-written campus newspaper, The Settler online, and the college magazine, The Pioneer (also with a print and an online version).
Mass Communications students program and operate WVCP-FM, the campus radio station, and gain experience in video and television production. The Department also has video and television production studios and a commercial music studio.
Students may also participate in the Vol State Story Slam each Fall semester. Where students, faculty, and staff share stories that celebrate all aspects of our world as well as universal messages about human experiences. See Story Slam for more details.
All Vol State students, in addition to Communication Studies majors, are eligible to audition and work in the dramatic productions of the college. Dramatic productions, staged during the fall and spring terms, offer practical experience opportunities in acting and all aspects of production.
Activities
Activities, in addition to the practical experiences listed above, are also available to students. Communication Studies majors, as well as non-majors, are eligible for membership in several honor societies and organizations.
Sigma Chi Eta is a national honor society for communication majors in two-year colleges that provides enrichment and networking opportunities. The minimum requirements are 3 courses completed (9 hours minimum), a 3.0 or better overall GPA, and a 3.25 or better communication coursework GPA.
Phi Rho Pi is a national honor society for speech competitors in two-year colleges in the United States, while Alpha Sigma Iota is an organization for broadcasting majors that provides opportunities for experience, such as field trips and workshops.
In addition, Phi Theta Kappa is a national academic honor society open to students with minimum course requirements and a GPA of 3.5 or better.
