Overview
Our combination of interpersonal and organizational courses provides students with practical skills relevant to traditional and emerging workplace settings as well as personal skills that employers value highly.
Interpersonal communication courses introduce one-to-one communication behaviors and the impact of those behaviors on personal relationships. Through a blend of theory and practice, students are encouraged to develop confidence and ability as ethical communicators; to view communication events from multiple perspectives; to understand the multicultural character of communication in contemporary society; to analyze and evaluate variables operating in verbal transactions; and to probe the basic problems of human communication in order to understand self, others, and events.
The organizational communication courses enable you to not only increase your understanding of communication and its impact on complex organizations but also to enhance your effectiveness as a member of various organizations. Organizational communication courses within this track focus on a plethora of skills that will allow you to hone your abilities as a communicator in the business context and guide you through society’s changing career demands.
This track includes skills you will need for success in various interviewing scenarios. By learning employee, performance, and persuasive interviewing skills, you will be more adept at seeking the proper job, meeting a client’s needs, and performing more effectively within an organization. Enacting problem-solving techniques, adapting to different conflict management styles, learning group member roles, trying on different leadership styles, recognizing and adapting to changing organizational cultures, and learning about effective superior-subordinate communication styles are but a few of the skills you will acquire which will also enhance the success of both you and your organization in classes such as organizational cultures (CMST 4859) and conflict management and negotiation (CMST 5852). Organizational communication courses provide you with an abundance of applicable skills which will transcend the various positions, stages of employment, and organizational types you may experience in today’s dynamic job market.
This track also includes courses that will expand your interpersonal skills. These courses include intercultural communication (CMST 2610) and gender communication (CMST 3750). Intercultural communication focuses on the application of theory and research about intercultural communication to provide you with an intellectual framework that allows the description and understanding of communication between culturally heterogeneous individuals. It also helps you to develop communication skills that improve competence in intercultural communication situations. In the gender communication course, you will learn concepts and issues of femininity and masculinity as they apply to communication between and among genders in a variety of contexts.
| COURSE | TITLE | S.H. |
|---|---|---|
| FIRST YEAR REQUIREMENT -STUDENT SUCCESS | ||
| YSU 1500 | Success Seminar | 1-2 |
| or SS 1500 | Strong Start Success Seminar | |
| or HONR 1500 | Intro to Honors | |
| General Education Requirements | ||
| ENGL 1550 | Writing 1 | 3-4 |
| or ENGL 1549 | Writing 1 with Support | |
| ENGL 1551 | Writing 2 | 3 |
| CMST 1545 | Communication Foundations | 3 |
| Mathematics Requirement (e.g., MATH 2623, STAT 2625) | 3 | |
| Arts and Humanities (6 s.h.) | 6 | |
| Natural Sciences (2 courses, 1 with lab) (6-7 s.h.) | 7 | |
| Social Science (6 s.h.) | 6 | |
| Social and Personal Awareness (6 s.h.) | 6 | |
| Foreign Language Requirement | ||
| FNLG 1550 | Elementary Foreign Language | 4 |
| FNLG 2600 | Intermediate Foreign Language | 4 |
| Major Requirements | ||
| CMST 2600 | Communication Theory | 3 |
| CMST 2630 | Social Media Literacy | 3 |
| CMST 2655 | Communication in Groups and Organizations | 3 |
| CMST 2656 | Interpersonal Communication | 3 |
| CMST 3700 | Designing Communication Research | 3 |
| CMST 4899 | Senior Project | 3 |
| Interpersonal/Organizational Track | ||
| CMST 2610 | Intercultural Communication | 3 |
| CMST 3750 | Gender Communication | 3 |
| CMST 3756 | Interviewing | 3 |
| CMST 4850 | Social Media Campaigns | 3 |
| CMST 4855 | Interpersonal Communication Relationships | 3 |
| CMST 4859 | Organizational Cultures | 3 |
| CMST 5852 | Conflict Management and Negotiation | 3 |
| Electives (note that students must complete 39 hours of upper division courses; 37xx and above) | 23 | |
| Minor Requirements (note that some minors require more than 12 credits) | 12 | |
| Total Semester Hours | 120-122 | |
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | S.H. | |
| YSU 1500 | Success Seminar or Strong Start Success Seminar or Intro to Honors | 1-2 |
| CMST 1545 | Communication Foundations | 3 |
| ENGL 1550 or ENGL 1549 | Writing 1 or Writing 1 with Support | 3-4 |
| MATH 2623 | Quantitative Reasoning | 3 |
| GE: Social & Personal Awareness | 3 | |
| Semester Hours | 13-15 | |
| Spring | ||
| CMST 2600 | Communication Theory | 3 |
| CMST 2630 | Social Media Literacy | 3 |
| CMST 2656 | Interpersonal Communication | 3 |
| ENGL 1551 | Writing 2 | 3 |
| GE: Lab Science | 4 | |
| Semester Hours | 16 | |
| Year 2 | ||
| Fall | ||
| FNLG 1550 | Elementary Foreign Language | 4 |
| CMST 2655 | Communication in Groups and Organizations | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| GE: Social & Personal Awareness | 3 | |
| GE: Natural Science | 3 | |
| Semester Hours | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| CMST 2610 | Intercultural Communication | 3 |
| FNLG 2600 | Intermediate Foreign Language | 4 |
| Minor Course | 3 | |
| GE: Arts & Humanities | 3 | |
| GE: Social Science | 3 | |
| Semester Hours | 16 | |
| Year 3 | ||
| Fall | ||
| CMST 3700 | Designing Communication Research | 3 |
| CMST 3750 | Gender Communication | 3 |
| Minor Course | 3 | |
| GE: Social Science | 3 | |
| Upper-division General Elective | 3 | |
| Semester Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| CMST 3756 | Interviewing | 3 |
| CMST 4855 | Interpersonal Communication Relationships | 3 |
| Upper-division General Elective | 3 | |
| GE: Arts & Humanities | 3 | |
| Upper-division General Elective | 3 | |
| Semester Hours | 15 | |
| Year 4 | ||
| Fall | ||
| CMST 4850 | Social Media Campaigns | 3 |
| CMST 4859 | Organizational Cultures | 3 |
| Upper-division Minor course | 3 | |
| Upper-division General Elective | 5 | |
| Semester Hours | 14 | |
| Spring | ||
| CMST 4899 | Senior Project | 3 |
| CMST 5852 | Conflict Management and Negotiation | 3 |
| Upper-division Minor course | 3 | |
| Upper-division General Elective | 3 | |
| Upper-division General Elective | 3 | |
| Semester Hours | 15 | |
| Total Semester Hours | 120-122 | |
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Regardless of track, students graduating with a B.A. degree in communication studies will:
- Students graduating with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies will interpret, evaluate, and apply communication scholarship.
- Students graduating with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies will perform verbal and nonverbal behaviors that illustrate self-efficacy.
- Students graduating with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies will demonstrate communication expertise in their career development.
- Students graduating with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies will identify communication theories, perspectives, principles, and concepts.
Students completing their degree in communication studies are uniquely qualified to enter the job market and compete effectively throughout their careers for advancement and promotion.
Through course offerings and applied learning experiences, the communication studies program combines a rich liberal arts emphasis with a much needed specialized professional and career focus for undergraduate students.