Communication

“The tongue is the only tool that gets sharper with use.”

-Washington Irving

Oral communication is typically listed as a top desired competency by employers (NACE and Forbes). A minor in Communication at LSSU can enhance your major and provide you with the verbal skills highly prized by many employers.

Our program offers versatility, nationally award-winning faculty, and excellent preparation for a career or graduate education. The variety of elective choices allows for program adaptability to better meet future career goals. Culminating in a capstone experience of an internship or independent research project, the program provides a blend of theoretical and practical knowledge and experience necessary for success.

Communication Program Mission

Prepare students for both post-baccalaureate careers and graduate study. Because the processes addressed by the program are basic to personal and professional success, it seeks to provide a practical foundation through both integrated study of theory and research, and through opportunities for application of such resources to practical problems. Students in the communication studies program are prepared to serve as competent practitioners in the performance, analysis, and leadership in professional communication activities.

Why Communication at LSSU?

  • Our courses are designed and taught to reflect current theory and research.
  • We provide the opportunity for close student/faculty collaboration.
  • We equip students with professional conceptual tools for diagnosis of and intervention in communication-related problems in the professional world.
  • We provide opportunities for undergraduate research and related professional development.
  • We encourage the continued professional development of faculty.

Our Goals

  1. Prepare students for careers in areas reliant upon the competencies cultivated in communication studies.
  2. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the fundamentals of the major areas of research and theory in communication studies.
  3. Students will have the opportunity to cultivate and test their scholarly capacities in the field through both scholarly and applied opportunities.
  4. Application of theory and research to solution of practical problems will be emphasized throughout the program.

Excellence in Teaching

Dr. George Denger is the 2019 recipient of LSSU’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

Programs

The following communication programs for study are available at Lake Superior State University:

Communication Minor

Total Credits Required: 21

  • COMM201 Small Group Communication 3or
  • COMM225 Interpersonal Communication 3
  • COMM211 Advanced Public Speaking 3or
  • COMM210 Business & Professional Speaking 3
  • COMM302 Argumentation & Advocacy 3
  • COMM307 Classical/Contemporary Rhetoric 3or
  • ENGL321 Rhetoric & Composition Theory 3
  • COMM308 Communication Theory 3
  • COMM325 Organizational Communication 3
  • COMM416 Communication in Leadership 3

Students must complete 21 semester hours of credit in addition to basic requirements of composition and speech (COMM101).

Professional Communication Minor

Total Credits Required: 21-22

Required Courses:

  • COMM308 Communication Theory 3
  • CSCI106 Web Page Design and Development 3
  • ENGL222 English Grammar 3
  • ENGL306 Technical Writing 3
  • COMM399 Internship (1-4)

Elective Courses: (6-7 credits)

  • COMM210 Business & Professional Speaking 3
    or
  • BUSN231 Business Communications 3
  • COMM211 Advanced Public Speaking 3
  • COMM302 Argumentation and Advocacy 3
  • COMM320 Public Relations 3
  • COMM325 Organizational Communication 3
  • ENGL221 Creative Writing 3
  • ENGL320 Responding to Writing 3
  • JOUR220 Photojournalism 3
  • SOWK480 Grantwriting 3
  • MRKT281 Marketing Principles & Strategy 3
  • MRKT387 Advertising Theory and Practice 3

Public Relations Minor

Total Credits Required: 21

Required Courses: (13 credits)

  • COMM210 Business & Professional Speaking 3
    or
  • COMM211 Advanced Public Speaking 3
  • COMM302 Argumentation and Advocacy 3
  • COMM308 Communication Theory 3
  • COMM320 Public Relations 4

Elective Courses: (8 credits)

  • BUSN231 Business Communications 3
  • COMM280 Understanding Mass Media 3
  • COMM307 Classical/Contemporary Rhetoric 3
  • COMM325 Organizational Communication 3
  • COMM399 Internship in Public Relations 1-4
  • CSCI106 Web Design and Development 3
  • CSCI107 Web Graphic Design and Development 3
  • MRKT281 Marketing Principles and Strategy 3
  • MRKT387 Advertising Theory and Practice 3
  • POLI325 Politics and Media 3

Career Choices

Possible careers in the communication field include:

  • Public Relations Specialist — Manages communication between a business or organization and its customers and employees.
  • Nonprofit Organization Director — Oversees the employees and volunteers within a service organization.
  • Human Resources Manager — Oversees the hiring and training of an organization’s employees.
  • Sales Manager — Directs the sales business within an organization.
  • Entertainer — Performs in stage, television, or film.
  • Arts Administrator — Directs the business operations
$43,145

Average Salary of Graduates (NACE)