Communication Studies

• 2020 Frieze Building 1285
• 764-0420
• Fax: (734) 764-3288
• Associate Professor Vincent Price, Chair

• L. Rowell Huesmann, effects of media violence, aggression, didactic interactions, methodology and statistics, and computer simulation of behavior
• John Stevens, Media law, media history
• Michael Traugott, Political communication

• Richard L. Allen, Intercultural communication, blacks and the media, persuasive communication
• Charles Eisendrath, Foreign correspondence
• Vincent Price, Communication theory and methodology, media and public opinion

• Hayg Oshagan, Public opinion, methodology

• Jerome Johnston, theory, methodology

• Lisa McLaughlin, feminist theory
• Trevor Thrall, Media and politics

• Mass communication is a powerful and complex set of processes. Its forms both shape and are shaped by the social and cultural contexts in which it occurs. Mass communication involves the creation, dissemination, and reception of many kinds of messages. Their meanings structure the ways people and societies understand themselves and their world, as well as their politics, social relations, and identities.
  
  
• The Department of Communication Studies offers an undergraduate curriculum focusing on the structure, processes, contexts, and effects of mass communication. Several scholarly approaches to media research are represented in the curriculum, including historical, legal, cultural, institutional and effects orientations. The bachelor's degree in communication studies forms an excellent base of knowledge and analytical training for students considering graduate study or professional work involving media relations, journalism, public relations, advertising, or other media-related activities. However, the undergraduate concentration is not intended as specific preparation for professional careers in the media; thus, pre-professional training in journalism, television and film production, etc. are not included among department offerings. Communication studies courses provide students with a deeper understanding of the role of mass communication in society.
  
  
• Prerequisites to Concentration. Comm. 101, 102, and 111.
  
  
• Concentration Program. A minimum of 30 credits, at least 24 credits in Communication Studies beyond 100-level introductory courses and 6 credits of cognate work. These must include the following:
  1. Introductory Research Methods: Comm. Studies 211.
  2. Areas of Communication: Comm. Studies 351 or 371, and Comm. Studies 361 or 381.
  3. Advanced Communication Studies: A minimum of 12 credits of Communication Studies courses numbered 300 and above, not used to satisfy requirement 2 above, at least 6 credits of which must be at the 400-level and above. Internships (Comm. Studies 321) and Practica (Comm. Studies 322) may not be included in this requirement, and no more than 4 credits of independent or Honors seminar courses can be used to meet this requirement.
  4. Cognates: 6 credits of approved cognate work from a single department at the 300-level or above, chosen in consultation with and approved by the concentration advisor.
     
     Honors Program. Qualified students are encouraged to undertake an Honors concentration. The Honors Program in Communication Studies is available in the senior year to students with a grade point average by their final term of junior year of 3.5 in Communication Studies courses and 3.3 overall. Application and formal admission by the department are required. Qualified students should contact an Honors concentration advisor as early as possible for curricular planning, but applications for Honors concentration are generally accepted only after March 1 of the student's junior year. In addition to satisfying all regular concentration requirements, an Honors concentration must also include:
     
     
  5. Communication Research: Comm. Studies 311, completed by the end of the junior year with a grade of B or better.
  6. Senior Honors Seminars: Comm. Studies 491 and 492, a two-term seminar sequence involving the design and completion of an Honors thesis. Only 3 credits of Honors Seminar may be applied to requirement 3, Advanced Communication Studies.
     
     Requirements 2 and 5 must be completed by the end of the junior year. To declare an Honors concentration, make an appointment with the Department's Honors Advisor. Ask for an information sheet on the Honors Program in Communication Studies at the Department office (2020 Frieze).
     
     
• Advising. Advising appointments are scheduled at 2020 Frieze. Prospective concentrators should schedule an appointment with a concentration advisor during the second term of the sophomore year. Most students continue to see an advisor at least once a year. In any case, students consult an advisor during the first term of the senior year to ensure that required courses will be completed for graduation.
  
  
• Research on Journalistic Performance. The department administers the Howard R. Marsh Center for the Study of Journalistic Performance. This endowed facility studies the role of the news media in a democratic society. A visiting professorship in journalism is also supported by a gift by Howard R. Marsh. The Marsh Center brings invited news media professionals and communication scholars to the campus during the academic year.
  
  
• Awards
  • The following awards and scholarships are offered on an annual basis. Application deadline is mid-March. All inquiries and application materials should be directed to Awards Chair in the Department of Communication.
  • J. Evens Campbell Scholarship. This $1,000 scholarship was established in 1973 by family and friends in memory of J. Evens Campbell, publisher of the Argus-Press in Owosso. The endowment provides an annual award to a student interested in a career in journalism.
  • John L. and Clara Brumm Scholarships. This $500 scholarship was an outgrowth of a contribution by the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association in 1949 in honor of the founder and director of the organization. This award is for a first-term freshman who is a Michigan high school senior intending to study journalism at the University. If no qualified high school seniors apply, support may be given to a transfer student from Michigan for the first term in residence at the University.
  • The Garnet Garrison Award. This cash award is available to support expenses for research by Honors students working on their approved theses. Students should submit proposals and budgets to the Communication Department Honors advisor for consideration and approval by February 1.
  • Mary Lou Butcher Equality in Journalism Award. This $1,500 cash award for undergraduate and graduate students encourages equality in journalism. It commemorates Ms. Butcher's successful class action sex discrimination suit. Students should submit an essay of 1,000 words on "Diversity in the Newsroom," with other designated materials.
  • Leo Burnett Scholars Program. The object of the Leo Burnett Scholars Program is to assist students in their study of the relationship of communication to topics in advertising and marketing. The program helps support the study of both communication and business concentrators. Applications are invited from persons whose academic programs, career interests, or research aims focus on creative aspects of marketing communication or on issues that help clarify relationships between media and economic behavior. Award money may be applied to a number of general uses, although specific needs are asked for in the application. Amounts receivable vary with need.
  • The John Rich Awards Program. This scholarship fund, established by Hollywood producer-director John Rich, will provide annually a $1,500 stipend to one or more undergraduate or graduate students who have distinguished themselves academically in pursuit of a broad-based liberal arts education. Mr. Rich earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University in 1948 and a Master's degree in speech communication in 1949.
  • The Michael Luckoff Scholarship Program. Michael Luckoff, President and General Manager of KGO Newstalk Radio in San Francisco and an alumnus of the University of Michigan has initiated this scholarship program. A scholarship of $500 will be awarded annually to a junior, senior or graduate student in Communication with academic and professional interests leading toward a career in business management in the field of electronic journalism.

Courses in Communication Studies (Division 352)