Department of Communication Studies

Unless otherwise stated below, each course meets for three lecture hours a week for one semester. Because prerequisites are subject to change, students should consult the Course Schedule before registering.

CMS | Communication Studies

The information in parentheses after a course number is the Texas Common Course Numbering (TCCN) designation. Only TCCN designations that are exact semester-hour equivalents of University courses are listed here. Additional TCCN information is given in Appendix A.

Lower-Division Courses

306M (TCCN: SPCH 1321). Professional Communication Skills. Designed to help students develop skills in one-on-one interactions, small group communication, and presentation skills. Basic communication theories as they relate to skill development are explored. Only one of the following may be counted: Communication Studies 305, 306M, 319.

210. Forensics Workshop. Open to all University students. Training for participation in extracurricular speech activities, including intercollegiate debate. Two lecture hours and eight laboratory hours a week for one semester. Communication Studies 210 may be taken three times for credit.

310K (TCCN: SPCH 2333). Team-Based Communication. Analysis of small-group communication: cohesiveness, social climate, role structure, leadership, conformity, dynamics of interaction; participation in small-group communication situations.

312C. Sales Communication. Focus on communication and the sales process. Includes making effective sales presentations, handling objections, and closing skills. Communication Studies 312C and 317M may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Communication Studies 306M (or 305 or 319).

313M. Organizational Communication. Communication processes within government, private, and volunteer organizations. Communication Studies 313M and 350K may not both be counted.

314L. Language, Communication, and Culture. The role of language in communication. Analysis of the complexity of human languages, languages in contact, language modality, and communication interaction.

315M (TCCN: SPCH 1318). Interpersonal Communication Theory. Introduction to the study of communication in relationships; topics include self-disclosure, conflict, long-distance relationships, stereotyping, and persuasion.

316L (TCCN: SPCH 2316). Interviewing Principles and Practices. Introduction to interviewing theory, emphasizing the acquisition and application of interviewing skills.

317C. Speechmaking and Society. The impact of public discourse on the ideas and issues of culture and history in the United States.

317M. Advanced Presentation Skills. Designed to help students develop skills in delivering informative and persuasive presentations and speeches. Study of major theories related to oral presentations. Focus on audience analysis and adaptation, building strong arguments, speech organization, and use of new technologies. Communication Studies 312C and 317M may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Communication Studies 306M (or 305 or 319).

Upper-Division Courses

331K. Speech Writing and Criticism. Composition and analysis of oral messages; emphasis on creating and arranging ideas, style, delivery, critical method. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing; and Communication Studies 306M or the equivalent, or consent of instructor.

332. Argumentation and Advocacy. Nature of argumentative controversy; variables of form, method, and ethics; analysis of argumentative rhetorical works. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

332K. Theories of Persuasion. A study of motivational factors involved in persuasive speaking to secure belief and action. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

334K. Nonverbal Communication. Survey of the effects of space, physical appearance, movement, eye behavior, and vocal behavior on interpersonal communication. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

340K. Communication and Social Change. Analysis of how persuasion is used in mass movements: civil rights, consumerism, feminism, pacifism, religious sects. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

342K. Political Communication. A study of the role of symbols in political communication and the techniques and strategies employed by politicians; special attention is given to recent election campaigns. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

344K. Lying and Deception. Examines lying and deception as civil, strategic, and manipulative behavior. Secrets, privacy, disclosures, and confidentiality are examined in a variety of familiar contexts. Communication Studies 344K and 367 (Topic: Lying and Deception) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

345K. Perspectives on Rhetoric. Four different meanings of rhetoric; how these meanings contribute to the current understanding of communication studies. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

347K. Rhetoric of Popular Culture. The ways that film, television, music, fashion, the Internet, and other discourses of popular culture influence public attitudes, perceptions, and social relations. Communication Studies 347K and 367 (Topic: Rhetoric of Popular Culture) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

348K. Visual Media and Interaction. The role of visual resources and symbols in social interaction and public life; the representation of interaction and human relationships in visual media (photography, advertising, fine arts, and film). Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

349M. Advanced Analysis of Popular Culture. Advanced critique and analysis of rhetorical dimensions in texts of popular culture. Readings in theory and methods for understanding persuasive influence in television, film, music videos, and the Internet. Web-based instruction; no class meetings. Prerequisite: Communication Studies 347K.

350M. Field Study in Organizational Communication. Students acquire information through interviews and observation, devise appropriate coding schemes, and compose synoptic reports of their findings and recommendations. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

351. Communication for Cooperation and Competition. Theoretical perspectives and experiential learning on the ways people reconcile the need to be individualistic (competitive) with the need to be community members (cooperative). Individual aggression and submission; the rewards of competition and cooperation; and organizational structures that lead to cooperation and competition. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

352. Organizational Leadership. Theories, styles, and components of organizational leadership; communication behaviors of leaders in organizations. History of the study of leadership; new theories and concepts related to leaders as managers of organizational culture and change. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

353. New Communication Technologies in Organizations. Theory, research, and application of interactive communication technologies in traditional and virtual work settings. Specific attention is given to new technologies, including communicative features, and their effects. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

354. Conflict Resolution. Systematic analysis of conflict and communication to examine some of the effects of communication on conflict and of conflict on communication. Readings, analysis of conflicts, and practice with and evaluation of communication behaviors thought to be effective in conflict talk. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

355K. Intercultural Communication. Theories of speech and language that concern interaction between persons from different cultures who speak different languages or dialects. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

356M. Communication and Human Resource Management. Three general functions associated with human resource management: employee transitioning, feedback and appraisal, and planned change implementation. Communication Studies 356M and 367 (Topic: Communication and Human Resource Management) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and Communication Studies 313M (or 350K).

357. Family Communication. Some of the common issues that face those who live in, counsel, and conduct research with families. The development of traditional families in the United States, different family structures that make up modern society, current issues that affect families, and the impact of communication on family experiences. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

358. Communication and Personal Relationships. The nature of human interaction in various types of relationships (friends, dates, spouses, roommates), the nature of communication at different stages in a relationship, and the nature of communication at different life stages. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

359H. Honors Tutorial Course: Reading. Intensive reading and research as planned by the departmental honors committee. Individual instruction. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and admission to the Communication Studies Honors Program.

361M. Communication and Organizational Change. Review of theoretical and practitioner literatures on planned change, including implementing change programs and coping with change that occurs in organizational settings. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and Communication Studies 313M (or 350K).

364K. Gender and Communication. Focuses on how communication influences ideas about sex, gender, and identity, from interpersonal relationships to the mass media, and from legislative debates to social movements. Communication Studies 364K and 367 (Topic: Gender and Communication) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

164M, 264M, 364M. Communication Studies Mentorship. Directed study of one or more areas of an academic discipline. Individual instruction. With consent of the department chair, may be repeated for credit, but no more than three hours may be taken. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

365K. Male-Female Communication. Same as Women's and Gender Studies 345 (Topic 21: Male-Female Communication). Studies of speech patterns related to the concepts of male and female, including sexism in speaking, patterns of male and female speaking, patterns of listening to males and females, speech in courtship and family, speech and sexual discrimination in careers. Communication Studies 365K and Women's Studies 345 (Topic 21: Male-Female Communication) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

365L. Communication, Controversy, and Citizenship. Designed to help students develop the listening, speaking, and argumentation skills used to deliberate over controversial and sensitive subjects. Deliberations focus primarily on the meaning of citizenship. Communication Studies 365L and 367 (Topic: Communication, Controversy, and Citizenship) may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

366K. Conversation Analysis. Theory and practice of detailed analysis of patterns in natural spoken interaction, including techniques for field recording of speech, transcription, and analytic induction from examples. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

367. Topics in Communication Studies. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Communication Sciences and Disorders 367 and Communication Studies 367 may not both be counted unless the topics vary. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

368L. Communication Theory and Application. Survey of a broad range of theoretical issues involving human communication, including communication in small groups, organizational communication, rhetorical studies, persuasion, new communication technologies, gender and communication, and intercultural communication. Communication Studies 367 (Topic: Communication Theory and Application) and 368L may not both be counted. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

370K. Internship in Communication Studies. Restricted to senior communication studies majors. Focuses on career goals of students through classroom discussions and places students in communication positions with public and private organizations. The equivalent of three lecture hours a week for one semester. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. Prerequisite: Twelve semester hours of communication studies (or speech), including at least three hours of upper-division coursework; a University grade point average of at least 2.50; a grade point average in communication studies of at least 3.00; and consent of instructor.

371K. Practicum in Conflict Mediation. Three lecture hours a week for one semester, and ten to twenty hours of work a week with the College of Communication Conflict Mediation Project. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. With consent of instructor, may be repeated once for credit.

171M. Communication Studies Internship. Internship and discussion hours to be arranged. Offered on the pass/fail basis only. Prerequisite: Communication Studies 370K; consent of departmental internship coordinator; and completion of departmental requirements for enrollment in an internship course.

372K. Advanced Organizational Communication. In-depth discussion and treatment of advanced organizational communication topics, including socialization and role development, workplace attachments, organizational culture, ethics, structure, conflict, power, decision making and empowerment, technology, and various forms of external communication with relevant organizational stakeholders. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and Communication Studies 313M (or 350K).

178K, 278K, 378K, 478K, 578K, 678K. Research in Communication Studies. Supervised individual research. Prerequisite: Twelve semester hours of coursework in communication studies (or speech), consent of instructor, and approval of project by the department chair prior to registering.

379H. Honors Tutorial Course: Special Project. The writing of a thesis or the presentation of a creative project; final comprehensive examination. Individual instruction. Prerequisite: Communication Studies 359H.