Communication
Overview
THE COMMUNICATION PROGRAM
Career choices for communications professionals are incredibly diverse – every business, sector, and industry needs a great communication team to effectively deliver its message.
In the Bachelor of Arts with a major in Communication program, you will learn cutting-edge theory and research in communication, and you will apply that theory and research in real-world settings. With a required minor in Business Administration, you’ll find your degree highly marketable. Bryant’s Department of Communication offers courses in three fields: interpersonal communication, mass communication, and electronic media production.
You can gain skills in front of and behind the camera in our state-of-the-art communications complex, featuring a digital television and editing studio. Prefer a different medium? Get involved with WJMF and The Archway, our student-run radio station and newspaper. The small classes, close faculty interaction, and clubs and organizations at Bryant allow you to explore all aspects of the communication process.
Any course of study at Bryant may be complemented with a Communication minor, which consists of four courses that are tailored to suit your interests. You will work with a faculty adviser to select those courses.
FUTURE CAREERS, POST-GRAD OPPORTUNITIES
An important asset to a career in any field, communication skills are especially in demand in advertising, business, health care, journalism, politics and government, public relations, and social or human services, to name a few. Bryant communication students have interned at organizations including Hasbro, Hill Holliday, Boston Celtics, and MTV Networks, and some went on to full-time employment at the companies where they interned. Our graduates are also accepted into prestigious graduate programs worldwide.
COMMUNICATION FACULTY
Bryant’s Communication faculty includes prominent scholars, teachers, and media industry professionals. They enhance their expertise through research, publishing, consulting, and community service, and bring this knowledge into the classroom. They also provide personal guidance for students pursuing internships and positions in the many industries that rely on different communication skills and competencies.
Requirements
For a major:
|
First-Year Gateway Experience |
|
Global Foundations of Character and Leadership (GFCL100) |
|
Global Foundations of Organizations and Business (GFOB100) |
|
Writing Workshop (WRIT106) |
|
Bryant IDEA: Innovation and Design Experience for All (IDEA101) |
|
Upper-Level Gateway Course |
|
Communication Major Requirements |
|
Introduction to Communication (COM203) |
|
Interpersonal Communication (COM270) |
|
Mass Communication (COM272) |
|
Communication Research Methods (COM390) |
|
Senior Seminar in Communication Theory (COM491) |
|
Five (5) Communication Electives (any level) |
|
Two (2) Communication 400-level Electives |
|
Liberal Arts Core Requirements |
|
Introduction to Literary Studies (LCS121) |
|
Microeconomic Principles (ECO113) |
|
Macroeconomic Principles (ECO114) |
|
Mathematical Analysis (MATH110) |
|
Statistics I (MATH201) |
|
Two (2) Humanities Survey Courses |
|
*Liberal Arts Distributions – Modes of Thought |
|
Two (2) Social Science Modes of Thought |
|
Historical Mode of Thought (Upper Division) |
|
Literary Mode of Thought (Upper Division) |
|
Two (2) Scientific Modes of Thought (Include one Lab Science) |
|
(One science course must be taken at the 300 or 400 level) |
|
Business Administration Minor Requirements |
|
Principles of Financial Accounting (ACG203) |
|
Introduction to Information Technology and Analytics (CIS201) |
|
Financial Management (FIN201) |
|
Management Principles and Practice (MGT200) |
|
Foundations of Marketing Management (MKT201) |
|
Electives - Subject to programmatic constraints, students may elect to take additional business courses, not to exceed a combined total of 30 credit hours in the College of Business. *Modes of Thought requirements can be met by appropriate courses in the major. |
|
A minimum of 122 credit hours required for graduation |
For a 12-credit minor:
|
Introduction to Communication (COM203) |
|
One 200-level communication course |
|
One 300-level communication course |
|
One 400-level communication course |
To learn more, please contact:
Wendy Samter, Ph.D.
Chair and Professor
Department of Communication
wsamter@bryant.edu
NICKELODEON DREAM
Morgan Buell ’10
Working at: Nickelodeon
Traveling by train to New York City for interviews with Hollister and Newsweek, Buell and her sister sat next to a gregarious man who included them in a conversation with fellow passengers. “As we pulled into the station, he handed me his business card,” she says. “He was the senior vice president of Nickelodeon ad sales.”
Two interviews later, Buell was hired as a sales associate in NYC. “I received offers from two other companies, but who turns down Nick? Today, I am living my dream,” she says. This includes a promotion to sales service executive.
SMALL-SCHOOL BENEFITS
Ryan Hanson ’08
Working at: Liberty Mutual Group
Ready to transfer from community college, Hanson chose Bryant because the required business minor would complement his communication degree and a smaller school would be a better fit. “I needed the personal attention to be successful, and I knew Bryant could deliver that,” he says.
Throughout his time at Bryant, Hanson utilized the services of the Amica Center for Career Education. He interviewed with seven companies on campus. “Clearly, I liked how Bryant brought the employers to me,” says Hanson, now an award-winning sales associate at Liberty Mutual Group.
INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES
Aubrey Mable ’14
Studying: Communication
“Without the opportunities I have been presented with at Bryant, my global perspective would not be as large, and I would not be as adventurous as I am today,” Mable says. Recently returned from a Sophomore International Experience in Europe, she is studying in New Zealand at the University of Otago this fall.
As a freshman, Mable blogged about her transition to college life. Today, she leads tours for prospective students and their families.
In her first season, Mable, a varsity softball shortstop, led the team with a .419 average, the fourth-best single-season mark in program history.
