B.A. in Communication Studies - Interpersonal Communication

The interpersonal communication option is designed for students who are interested in developing knowledge, skills, and abilities that facilitate effective communication in personal, professional, and group contexts. Option core requirements examine interpersonal communication processes of influence, support, conflict, and intimacy among friends, family, romantic partners, and in the workplace. Graduates with an interpersonal communication option are particularly well-prepared for positions which require working with individuals and groups from varying backgrounds, with differing needs and interests, and where the goals of communication are to inform/explain, influence, and/or negotiate resolution of problems or disputes. Interpersonal communication students can tailor the program so as to prepare themselves for work in multiple or multi-faceted communicative environments (e.g. as an advisor, educator, mediator, liaison, change agent in profit, non-profit, and national and international contexts). Students develop critical thinking skills, a sense of social and ethical responsibility, the ability to develop effective message strategies, and the ability to successfully live within complex social environments.