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COLLEGE OF ÄĚĚÇÖ±˛Ą ARTS AND SCIENCES

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS IN COMMUNICATION

Two students sit outside the Communication studio.

Communication plays a central role in all spheres of human life: contemporary global and local affairs, personal and professional relationships, in-person and mediated spaces.

The Communication Department is committed to an intellectual and creative atmosphere that enhances awareness of and respect for the human dignity and ethical values which prepare students for a changing and multicultural world. Students engage questions of difference through a communication-based understanding of self and other. Our courses expose you to communication in global and domestically diverse contexts, preparing you to be citizens ready to engage a society marked by increased interconnectedness between various cultures and the rise of communication technologies. As a Communication major you will acquire specific skills alongside the vital ability to analyze, research, and solve complex problems through the lens of communication.

WHY COMMUNICATION?

A May 2019 LinkedIn report covered by MarketWatch identified Communication as one of the 10 most versatile college majors, majors that help graduates position themselves for a variety of jobs. .

Within Communication you can explore interests in, e.g., both performance and journalism, or organizational communication and digital media design, and discover the connections between advertising and rhetoric. Additionally, Communication helps you link up your interests in other areas of study such as political science, English, psychology, economics, marketing, and theatre.

From filmmaking to digital media design, performance for social change to podcasts, designing public relations campaigns to communication consulting for nonprofits and designing original research, as Communication majors, you will be thinkers, doers, and creators.

Chair

Tom Ksiazek, PhD

Professor

610-519-8944

Undergraduate Program Coordinator

Laura Capriotti

Garey Hall, Room 28

610-519-7488

Administrative Assistant 

Loretta Chiaverini

Garey Hall, Room 28

610-519-4750

Administrative Assistant, Graduate Program 

Kelly Doyle 

Garey Hall, Room 28

610-519-6434

WATERHOUSE FAMILY INSTITUTE

The Waterhouse Family Institute (WFI), housed within the Department of Communication, was established by a generous gift from Lawrence Waterhouse Jr., ’59 A&S, founder of Waterhouse Investor Services, Inc.

The WFI was founded to highlight the centrality of Communication in the creation of social change. Our goal is to serve as the center of an international network of Communication scholars, practitioners, and activists working to create a more just social world.

EXPLORE WFI

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

KEVIN JAKUBOWSKI ’01 CLAS

Kevin Jakubowski is a film and television writer and producer. His credits include the Sundance Film Festival selection Assassination of a High School President and the Comedy Central series Brickleberry. He created the Nickelodeon series Legendary Dudas, the Verizon go90 series Play By Play and is currently adapting his novel 8-Bit Christmas for HBO Max. "I think what prepared me the most for the entertainment industry was my senior project with Dr. Rose. It was a study of humor in advertising. It helped me understand that comedy must be concise to be effective. It's a lesson I use every day." MORE...

JANEALE GOTTLIEB-GEORGE ’11 CLAS

Janeale Gottlieb-George is Director of Upward Bound at George Washington University's School of Medicine & Health Sciences. "“I remain grateful for my years as a student in ÄĚĚÇÖ±˛Ą's Department of Communication. I received unwavering support from faculty that extended far beyond the classroom. Our professors encouraged thinking about the world through a prism of possibilities and evoking positive change. This laid the foundation for my career in education equity, policy and student advocacy." MORE...

ADAM VINCENT ’16 CLAS

Adam Vincent is Program Officer at the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund. Prior to this position, Vincent worked as a consultant writer/editor for the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)—where he interned through the Communication Department’s WFI Rome program—and as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Brazil. ""In the Communication Department I found the two programs that most shaped my understanding of the world"—Intergroup Relations and Rhetorical Studies. MORE...

Katarina Mayers ’11 CLAS

“The beauty of the Communication major is all the ways in which it can positively impact every part of your life. While I started my training in broadcast journalism, my love of strategic communication led me to a White House internship and ultimately to become a political appointee in the Obama Administration, serving as a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Commerce, a federal agency of over 40,000 employees. With my Communication major, I was able to take all the hard and soft skills I attained and apply them to my work, from qualitative research to active listening. Perhaps one of the best attributes of this major are the professors who not only became mentors but great cheerleaders even after I left campus." MORE...

EMILY HUGHES ’11 CLAS ’12 MA

As Head of Marketing at Marketing at Mobilize, Emily Hughes oversees client acquisition and retention through email marketing, social media, content creation, SEO, branding and design, advertising, events, press, and more. My career in marketing and public relations has spanned across industries: lifestyle media, ecommerce, entrepreneurship, and social impact technology. In every stage, I’ve referred back to my rigorous education with the Communication Department, the relationships I built there, and the examples of leadership from my professors.” MORE...