College of Humanities
Department Office: 2400 Language and Communication Building (LNCO)
Mail: Communication, University of Utah, 255 South Central Campus Dr. #2400, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Phone: 801-581-6888
www.communication.utah.edu
Department Leadership
Chair, Dr. Avery Holton, Ph.D.
Director, Graduate Studies, Dr. Leandra Hernandez, Ph.D.
Director, Undergraduate Studies, Travis Ciaramella
About Us
The Department of Communication offers the full spectrum of research and teaching in the discipline of communication. We are housed in the Language and Communication Building (LNCO). We are committed to excellence across the full range of communication research and teaching, offering top-notch PhD, MA, MS, BA, and BS degrees. More info here: https://communication.utah.edu/about/mission.php
Undergraduate Program
Undergraduate Advising Office, 2400 LNCO, comm-advisor@utah.edu
Communication is a broad discipline and offers a variety of training to prepare students for their careers. Students are able to focus on technical skills along with theoretically geared courses to develop a comprehensive portfolio to market themselves to industry. Students are encouraged to personalize their curricular choices to help meet professional/personal goals. For example, students often take elective courses that are outside of their specific emphasis to develop additional skills to be able to access different careers.
Students may complete a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science in Communication within one of four emphases: Strategic Communication; Journalism; Communication Studies; or Science, Health, Environmental, and Risk Communication.
Many students also look at the Communication Department to complement another major. Business, Sociology, Economics, and even Music majors often find a home in the Department of Communication. These students look to supplement their education with a degree in Communication, leaving the U of U with a more complete set of skills.
The department offers minors in Media Studies & Strategic Communication for students majoring outside the Department of Communication.
Certificate programs in Health Communication and Dialogue, Conflict Resolution, and Mediation are also available to all degree-seeking undergraduate students.
More information about the undergraduate program can be found here: https://communication.utah.edu/undergraduate/index.php
Major Declaration
Students can declare their major in Communication upon admittance to the University of Utah. Official major declaration can be done by submitting this form.
Transfer Students
The Department of Communication will allow 6 transfer Communication courses to count towards major requirements. The Office of Admissions determines whether transfer courses are accepted at the University of Utah, but Academic Advisors can help determine which Communication courses may fulfill major requirements.
Helpful information for transfer students can be found here: https://communication.utah.edu/undergraduate/transfer-students.php
Degree Requirements
In addition to university general education and bachelor degree requirements, students will be required to complete 17 Communication courses within the core curriculum (4 courses, 12 credits) and one of the four emphases (13 courses, 39 credits). Students must complete a total of 120 credit hours to earn their Bachelor’s degree. 40 of those credit hours must be upper division (3000-level or higher). Students may need to complete additional courses outside of general education and major requirements in order to meet total required hours.
NOTE: All Communication courses must be passed with a ‘C’ grade or better to count in the major
Students are expected to be generating their Degree Audit regularly. It is the official degree tracking tool and is used to clear students for graduation. Click here for detailed instructions on how to properly generate and view a Degree Audit.
Graduate Program
M.A., M.S., Ph.D. For additional information, visit https://communication.utah.edu/graduate/index.php.
As a top-ten Communication program in research productivity and excellence (Academic Analytics, 2016), the Department of Communication at the University of Utah has a long and distinguished tradition of excellence in graduate education. As one of very few integrated communication departments in the country, we provide rigorous theoretical and methodological training across the spectrum of communication studies.
Our nationally ranked and acclaimed graduate program currently offers graduate study in four of the Department's five areas of emphasis: Communicating Science, Health, Environment, and Risk (CommSHER); Critical/Cultural Studies; Digital Media; and Rhetoric. Moreover, fluidity and flexibility across all of the Department's areas of emphasis is not only possible but encouraged; most of our renowned faculty have expertise in two or more of these areas, and graduate students are likewise supported in creating uniquely tailored programs of study that draw from across areas and faculty.
Master's Degrees
The Master of Arts (MA) degree is distinguished from the Master of Science (MS) degree by virtue of language proficiency. Students who wish to earn an MA degree must be certified as possessing “standard proficiency” in a language other than English. The master’s degree is designed as a two-year program, during which time master’s students (MA or MS) must successfully complete coursework determined in consultation with and approved by their committees; master’s students may choose a thesis or nonthesis (exams or project) option to complete their degrees.
For admissions criteria, please visit https://communication.utah.edu/graduate/prospective-students.php/#how-to-apply
Ph.D. Degree
The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is designed as a four-year program during which doctoral students must successfully complete coursework as determined in consultation with and approved by their committees; qualifying exams; prospectus; and dissertation.
For admissions criteria, please visit https://communication.utah.edu/graduate/prospective-students.php/#how-to-apply
Fellowships and Assistantships
The Department strives to fully fund all admitted graduate students who request funding when they apply to the graduate program, which facilitates students’ success by immersing them in the Department culture and ensuring a commensurate cohort experience. Funding is offered in the form of teaching or research assistantships: full funding includes a full tuition waiver as well as an annual stipend (extra remuneration for summer teaching is not included in that base stipend) and is offered for two years for masters’ students and four years for PhD students—commensurate with the timeline design of respective programs.