PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, BA (120 credit hours)
Catalog Year: 2013-2014
Second major
or minor
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE WRITING AND MATH - Grade of C or better required; Must be taken A-F and NOT P/F
Requirements must be completed within 60 credit hours of course work.
College Writing: 6 credit hours
Math: 3 credit hours
Course
Semester
Grade
Credit hours
Course
Semester
Grade
Credit hours
Name
WRTG-
AU ID
3
3 or 4
WRTG3
*Transfer students who present 6 credit hours of acceptable composition credit satisfy the College Writing requirement by
passing the Writing Proficiency Exam before completing 30 credits at AU.
UNIVERSITY GENERAL EDUCATION - Grade of C or better required; Must be taken A-F and NOT P/F
Two courses must be taken from each foundational area; a maximum of 2 courses per academic discipline may be taken.
Only four courses may be fulfilled by AP or IB credit; Must be completed during first 60 credit hours of course work.
Course
Semester
Grade
Credit hours
Course
Semester
Grade
Credit hours
FA1 Creative Arts
1.
FA2 Traditions that Shape the Western World
3
2.
3
1.
FA3 Cross Cultural Perspectives
3
2.
3
1.
FA4 Social Institutions and Behavior
3
2.
3
1.
FA5 Natural Sciences (one course must include a lab)
3
2.
3
1.
4
2.
RELATED COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Grade of C or better required; Must be taken A-F and NOT P/F
U.S. History: 3 credit hours
Economics or Marketing: 3 credit hours
Course
Semester
Grade
Credit hours
Course
Semester
Grade
3
Credit hours
HIST3
3
Choose one from the following:
Choose one from the following:
HIST-130 History of American Popular Culture
ECON-100 Macroeconomics (FA4)
HIST-205 American Encounters: 1492-1865 (FA2)
ECON-110 The Global Majority (FA3)
HIST-206 U.S. History since 1865
ECON-200 Microeconomics (FA4)
HIST-208 African-American History: to 1877
MKTG-250 Marketing and Business for Communications
HIST-209 African-American History: 1877 to Present
HIST-210 Ethnicity in America (FA4)
HIST-215 Social Forces That Shaped America (FA2)
HIST-219 Women in America to 1850
HIST-220 Women in America since 1850 (FA4)
HIST-235 West in Crisis, 1900-1945 (FA2)
HIST-288 Oliver Stone's America
HIST-305 Topics in Race and Ethnicity in the United States
IMPORTANT NOTES
*12 credit hours of communication courses may be transferred in prior to matriculation at AU with advisor approval.
*A cumulative GPA of 2.5 is required to declare a major in SOC and to take all 300 level or above communication courses.
*Only 2 communication courses may be taken abroad with prior approval from your SOC academic advisor.
*A second major or minor outside the School of Communication is required.
*A minimum of 80 credit hours of course work outside of COMM is required; 65 credit hours must be in liberal arts.
*Liberal arts do NOT include: ACCT, EDU, FIN, HFIT, IBUS, ITEC, KSB, MGMT and MKTG.
*This requirement worksheet should not be considered an official explanation of degree requirements. It should only be used as a guide
to assist in your academic planning. For an official explanation of degree requirements, please review the American University catalog
for your catalog year.
*The courses that appear on the requirement worksheet may not be offered every semester. For a list of courses offered in a particular
semester, please see the Schedule of Classes website.
PUBLIC COMMUNICATION COURSE REQUIREMENTS - 39 credit hours in Public Communication required.
Grade of C or better required; Must be taken A-F and NOT P/F
CORE COURSES : All of the following (9 credit hours)
Course
Title
Prerequisite
Semester
Grade
COMM-100(FA4) Understanding Media
COMM-200
Writing for Communication
COMM-209(FA4) Communication and Society
PROFESSIONAL COURSES: All of the following (15 credit hours)
COMM-301
Public Relations
COMM-209; May be taken concurrently
COMM-337
Public Relations Writing
COMM-200 & COMM-301
COMM-346
Public Relations Case Studies
COMM-301
COMM-380
Public Communication Research
COMM-301
COMM-437
Public Relations Portfolio
COMM-337 & 346 & 380
CLUSTERS: Select 5 courses from below with a maximum of 3 courses from each box (15 credit hours)*
COMMCOMMCOMMCOMMCOMMSKILLS
MEDIA STUDIES
COMM-105 Visual Literacy(FA1)
COMM-327 The PR Presidency
COMM-310 Public Speaking
COMM-360 Myths of the Media
COMM-330 Principles of Photography
COMM-365 Digital Media and Culture
COMM-408 Social Media Strategies and Tactics
COMM-401 Communication Law
COMM-420 Special Topics in News Media
COMM-415 Children, Youth, and Digital Culture
COMM-551 Grassroots Digital Advocacy
COMM-573 Visual Strategies in Public Relations
COMM-579 Political Advertising
COMM-489 Communication, Culture, and the Environment
COMM-509 Politics and the Media
COMM-514 Censorship and the Media
COMM-533 Ethics in Strategic Communication
HUMAN COMMUNICATION
THE PRACTICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
COMM-300 Interpersonal Communication
COMM-439 Political Communication
COMM-496 Selected Topics: Collaboration and Team Communication
COMM-441 Crisis Communication
COMM-481 Entertainment Communication
COMM-489 Communication, Culture, and the Environment
COMM-537 Sports Communication
COMM-539 International Public Communication
COMM-542 Media Relations
COMM-543 Speechwriting
COMM-580 Strategic Health Communication
EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION (maximum 3 credit hours)
COMM-490 Independent Study OR
COMM-491 Senior Professional Internship
*Students may choose courses from the approved Special Topics list published each semester.
Credit hours