Communication is a discipline that studies all forms, modes, media, and consequences of communication through humanistic, social scientific, and aesthetic inquiry. When studying communication, students learn how people use messages to generate meanings within and across various contexts. Our shared social world is constructed collaboratively through communication. The study of communication not only helps us better understand our world but also helps us develop effective strategies for transforming it. Strong communication skills allow people to create and maintain fulfilling interpersonal relationships, to shape the direction of their communities through civic engagement, and to do work that is in high demand among employers.

The Department of Communication invites students to pursue their specific interests by offering a variety of interdisciplinary elective options within the major. For example, students might choose to take a two-course sequence in marketing, a three-course sequence in journalism, or a two-course sequence in video production as part of their major. Students also have the option to fulfill major requirements with coursework on web authoring and publishing, the psychology of mass communication, writing for new media, multimedia writing, and more.

Graduates in Communication will leave NCWU trained to think deeply about how communication processes relate to many of today’s most important issues, which will serve them well in various professional contexts. Graduates will also understand that effective communication can bring people together across cultural contexts, including how to communicate with care and respect for others, providing them with essential asses in an ever-connected world.