Department website

Bachelor of Arts

This major is offered in the traditional and AU Online format.

The abilities to communicate effectively in speaking and writing are among the top skills employers seek when hiring college graduates. The communication major is designed to prepare students for careers in a wide variety of professional fields in the private, government, and non-profit sectors. Communication graduates work in areas of leadership, human resources, public relations, education, media, journalism, and politics, among many others. Students will identify and develop their passions and strengths as they participate in engaging courses and complete challenging projects.

The program focuses on the core competencies of professional speaking and writing, media literacy, and research. The communication major is also an excellent double major option, as these skills are relevant in any professional workplace. Examples include double majors with political science and public policy (for careers in law and politics), marketing (for careers in public relations, advertising, and event planning), graphic design (for careers in video/audio, gaming, user experience, and broadcast), and English (for careers in technical and professional writing, journalism, speech writing, and many more). Communication is a highly versatile degree that is anchored in the timeless skills of speaking and writing.

Students will be offered three specializations to further develop their skills in marketable career paths: Multimedia Production, Public Relations and Event Planning, or Journalism and Professional Writing. Students will graduate from the program having completed a required internship and a clear path to a successful career or graduate school.

Program Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Required Core Courses
COM-1200	Business Communication	4
COM-2160	Human Communication and Relationships	4
COM-2220	Digital Content Writing	4
COM-3050	Audience Analysis and Research	4
COM-4991	Communication Capstone	4
Select one of the following courses:		4
COM-3310	Media Criticism
COM-3810-9	Selected Topics in Communication
COM-4940	Communication Internship
Specialization Courses 1		16
Select one of the following specializations:
Multimedia Production
COM-2850	Visual Communication
COM-3150	Multimedia Writing and Storytelling
COM-3350	Interactive Media
COM-3710	Multimedia Production
Public Relations and Event Planning
COM-2240	Public Relations
COM-3245	Public Relations Strategy and Production
COM-3590	Program and Event Management
MKT-2370	Integrated Marketing Communication and Brand Building
Journalism and Professional Writing
COM-2010	Professional and Technical Writing
COM-2210	Digital Media and Society
COM-3150	Multimedia Writing and Storytelling
COM-3230	Communication and Content Marketing
Total Credits		40

¹

Not all specializations are offered at all locations/modalities.

Undergraduate Degree Requirements

A student who graduates from Aurora University with a baccalaureate degree will have met the following requirements:

1. Completion of all requirements for an approved major (with no grades lower than “C”).
2. Overall completion of at least 120 semester hours of coursework with a GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale (a course may be utilized only once in application toward a degree requirement, unless otherwise noted in the academic regulations). The 120 semester hours of coursework must include:
   • At least 52 semester hours completed at a senior college.
   • Residency Requirement - At least 30 semester hours completed at Aurora University, including the last 24 semester hours in the degree, and including at least 18 semester hours in the major. (Portfolio assessment credit, life and vocational experience credit, off-campus experience credit, examination credit, participation credit, and block credit, shall not count toward the residency requirement).
   • Upper-Division Requirement - A minimum of 30 semester hours numbered 3000 or above. Of these 30 semester hours, 15 semester hours must lie within the major and 15 semester hours must be completed at Aurora University.
3. Completion of all General Education requirements (with no grades lower than “C”), as follows:
   • Quantitative and Formal Reasoning competency requirement
   • ENG-1000 Introduction to Academic Writing
   • IDS-1200 Discover What Matters or IDS-3040 Global Justice
   • IDS-1150 First Year Experience - Not required for Transfer or AU Online students)
   • Satisfactory participation in the junior-year mentoring and assessment process designed to guide students to successful completion of their degree and to encourage planning for next steps beyond graduation. (IDS-3500 Junior Mentoring Program I and IDS-3550 Junior Mentoring Program II - Not required for ADC or AU Online students but may be designated electives for AU Online students admitted with fewer than 15 hours of transfer credit.)
   • Distribution Requirements
     Students will complete one approved course¹ from each of the following categories:
     • Artistic Literacy
     • Cultural Literacy
     • Human Inquiry
     • Scientific Inquiry

In addition to the above, ADC and Online students will also complete one approved course¹ from the following category:

• Discovery and Reflection

¹

Only courses that are approved to meet the distribution requirement can be used toward this requirement. See the list of approved courses  for available options. Courses taken to meet distribution requirements are 4 semester hours apiece, with the following exceptions:

• An approved transfer course of at least 2.50 semester hours can be used to satisfy a distribution requirement.
• Courses with co-requisite laboratory components may be used to satisfy a distribution requirement, provided that the student successfully complete both the three-credit-hour course and the single-credit-hour lab component.

Learning Outcomes