Undergraduate Communication Minors
Communication skills apply to just about any career – from future lawyers, to writers, health care providers, teachers, international business owners, we all must communicate to succeed. Each of our minors are between 18-21 credits. View the Planned Course Rotation to build a communication studies minor into your graduation plan.
About our Minors:
Effective communication skills are consistently rated as one of the top three proficiencies employers desire in new hires. Whether students major in architecture or zoology, communication skills are necessary for effective interaction. The communication studies minor allows students to improve their speaking abilities as well as their listening, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
Globalization is a multi-faceted and irreversible phenomenon in the world today. It is largely due to the increase in the development and use of communication technologies, and the global flow of communication and information. The effects of globalization are striking, including changes in industrial, financial, economic, health policy, political, informational and cultural practices. The global communication minor is design to provide graduates with some of the theoretical, practical, and cultural sensitivity skills to use communication most effectively in global organizations and environments of all kinds.
Whether you are concerned about improving your communication competencies for a future health care, health education, health marketing, or public health profession — or want to be better prepared to be an active and effective participant in your own health care and that of your family members — a minor in health communication can increase your understanding of the powerful roles of communication in health and health care outcomes and improve skills and knowledge for promoting health and preventing disease.
This is a minor for students interested in public health, nursing and other health care professions, health education, social work, counseling, and human development and family studies.
The interpersonal communication minor serves students interested in improving their interpersonal communication skills and knowledge in personal or professional communication settings.
The coursework allows students to investigate communication in families, personal relationships, and across the life span. Because not all interpersonal communication happens face-to-face, students also have the opportunity to learn about the role of the Internet, social networking sites, text messaging, and other new media forms in the interpersonal communication process.
The interpersonal communication minor is complements students interested in sales, human resources, counseling, or teaching.
The organizational communication minor provides students the opportunity to study organizational culture and the ways in which communication occurs in organizations. An organizational communication minor examines issues such as communication and effective training, development, and consulting; presentational and interviewing skills; organizational leadership; and small group and team interaction. Minor coursework also explores the latest technological developments in organizational communication, including teleconferencing, telecommuting, and social networking.
This minor is particularly applicable for students in business management, sales, marketing, finance, accounting, human resources, public relations, hospitality management, fashion merchandising, and event planning.
The Public Communication minor coursework introduces students to theory and practice related to public discourse, persuasive communication, in-depth analysis of media processes, uses, and effects. These include the impact of violence and sex in the media, how persuasive messages in the media influence audiences, and the impact of the media on the political process.
The public communication minor lends itself to careers in business, media relations, promotion, political consulting, public affairs, social media management, advertising , community outreach , marketing, and audience research, among others.