History
The study of communication, media, and performance collectively and individually dates back to antiquity. In the Ancient Greek tradition (though there are others), from the Sophists’ training in the arts of persuasion, to Plato’s disdain for the medium of parchment and the written word, to the plays of Sophocles and Euripides, humans have studied and learned to harness the power of symbols, media, and bodies to discover, create, and change our social world. Here, you are joining in a storied legacy.
Our department offers undergraduate degrees and minors in Communication; Media Studies; and Theatre and Performance Studies, as well as a graduate degree that integrates all three disciplines. Additional information for each major is listed and linked below.
Programs Offered
Practically
speaking, each of these majors will strengthen your skills in creative problem
solving; critical thinking; effectively communicating in written and verbal
forms; teamwork and collaboration; collecting, assessing and synthesizing
information; and adapting your message to your audience, purpose, and context.
These skills are desired by employers in every field and profession, so no
matter where your path leads, you will be prepared to achieve your goals.
Communication
Develop a practical and theoretical understanding of the processes and impact of human and
strategic communication. Enhance your abilities to communicate with others in
interpersonal, group, and public contexts. Learn how to excite the passions, move the soul, and influence the will of your audience.
Media Studies
Study multi-platform production with a creative and critical storytelling focus. Produce, write and broadcast transmedia content for the online and interactive communities in a global, multicultural environment. Gain experience in state-of-the-art television studios, media labs and technology enhanced classrooms.
Theatre and Performance Studies
Invest in the art of storytelling.
Bridge the verbal with the visual, theory with practice.
Develop artistic abilities, sensibilities, and creativities with integrity, confidence, and critical thought.
Experience performance as a transformative agent of social, cultural, political, and personal change.
Communication, Media, and Performance
Thrive in a program that nourishes creativity, curiosity, and innovation through a flexible curriculum that challenges you to critically examine the impact of communication, media, and performance methods in today’s increasingly complex world. Challenge your taken-for-granted assumptions and ways of being in the world. Evaluate your communication habits while you experiment with new skills and strategies to better achieve your aims. Explore new media techniques while questioning “common sense” around technology and technological
innovation. Examine the creative potential of performance as an agent of
change, while enhancing your own performance of self.