May 21, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Academic Catalog-UNDER REVIEW 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Academic Catalog-UNDER REVIEW

Communication Studies, BA


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College Arts and Sciences
Academic Award Bachelor of Arts
Credits Required 122 semester credits
Faculty Lead Richard Snyder
CIP Code 9.0100

Degree Requirements


We live in a communication-oriented society. Our world is significantly influenced by both the personal and mediated communication of individuals from diverse social, political, professional and religious groups. Never before has there been such a demand for leaders with advanced communication skills and knowledge. 

Northwest University Communication Studies Major Overview

Competence in communication is fundamental to success in many professions. The major in Communication Studies provides the student with the knowledge and skills needed to fulfill his or her calling to serve Christ in communication-related professions. The major offers courses for aspiring servant leaders who seek to integrate their faith with their communication skills, creative abilities, and appreciation of the arts.

Apart from the practical value of communication studies for future employment, the major also helps students improve their personal quality of life. Becoming an effective communicator is a process that touches every area of our lives—both at home and at work. The program offers many advantages, including the freedom to tailor courses to meet student’s personal or career interests.

Major Outcomes

Graduates with a degree in Communication Studies will be able to:

  1. Create compelling messages.
  2. Effectively evaluate messages.
  3. Evaluate communication research.
  4. Investigate praxis between communication studies and their personal Christian faith.
  5. Craft effective stories in multiple modalities for specific audiences.

Core Curriculum Requirements: 57


Humanities: 9


6 credits in this area must be from Writing Practice courses* (see Course Descriptions    for applicability)

  • ENGL xxx3 Any Literature course 3 credits
  • HIST   xxx3 Any Course in History 3 credits
  • 3 additional credits selected from the following 3 credits
    • Art (ARTE), Bible (BIBL), Drama (DRAM), English (ENGL), History (HIST), Language (LANG), Music (MUSI), or Theology (THEO)

Social Sciences: 9


6 credits in this area must be from Writing Practice courses* (see Course Descriptions  for applicability)

  • Select a minimum of two disciplines from the following: 9 credits
    • Business Administration (BUSM), Communication (except COMM 1213), Economics, Education (EDUC), Exercise Science (EXSC), Geography (GEOG), Information Technology (INTC), Management (BMGT), Marketing (BMKT), Philosophy (PHIL), Political Science (PSCI), Psychology (PSYC), Sociology/Anthropology (SOCI), or User Experience Design (UXDE)

Science and Mathematics: 7


  • MATH xxxx - College-level Mathematics 3 credits
  • SCIE xxxx - Science course with Lab 4 credits

Formation and Calling: 3


Professional Readiness: 2


Two Core Curriculum elective credits are required to be Career Readiness credits. These credits can be earned by taking a combination of Career Readiness Courses and introductory internship and/or job shadowing experiences. 

  • This two-credit requirement is waived for students who transfer 57 or more credits to NU
  • Students with 44-56 transfer credits are required to take one Career Readiness credit

Core Electives: 6


Select any college-level courses

Communication Studies Major: 48


General Electives: 17


Any college-level courses

Total: 122 Semester Credits


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