Communication Studies
About the major: The Communication Studies major at Wayne State University is designed to help you develop exceptional skills that are in demand at every organization in every industry! As a student, you will have the opportunity to intern at a variety of organizations, to learn sophisticated research skills from world-famous faculty who are deeply committed to helping you succeed, and to engage in service-learning projects to make an important difference in your community.
Career Opportunities: Employers in business, government and education routinely identify excellent communication skills as the most important quality they desire in hiring employees. Our majors find careers in many different fields, including: political campaigns, media planning, law, public advocacy, fundraising, higher education, environmental conservation, government relations, copy/technical writing, training and development, consulting/executive coaching, sales and marketing, human resources, market research, project management, user experience, corporate/internal communications, nonprofit + government services, healthcare management, and many more.
Mission Statement: The Communication Studies major prepares students for careers in communication-related and other fields and to be active participants in civic culture by teaching them to analyze, interpret, and critique communication; to communicate clearly and persuasively; and, to understand and evaluate messages in a variety of media and multicultural contexts.
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to apply the appropriate research methods to answer questions about communication or communication-related issues.
- Students will be able to think critically about messages to reach an effective conclusion or outcome.
- Students will develop competency in written communication skills.
- Students will develop competency in oral communication skills.
- Students will be able to utilize communication theory as a tool to understand how messages function across multiple contexts.
Student Experience: Students interested in public speaking can join our nationally ranked debate and individual events forensics program. The debate team was created over 75 years ago and is one of the most storied programs in the nation. No experience is necessary. Students interested in competitive and creative speaking should visit with coaches from the individual events team. Both teams travel to local, regional and national tournaments. Scholarships are available to members of both forensics teams.
In addition, communcation studies major students also participate in and lead other groups such as PRSSA, SPJ, The South End, Lambda Pi Eta Honors Society, and Film Club. Learn more about these groups.