Communications
Curriculum Description
Communications provides students with a broad foundation in the basic skills and knowledge required for success in a wide variety of mass communications related professions. It promotes an understanding of the complexities of the communications industry and introduces students, through interdisciplinary study, to the major roles found in the communications industry. Students take courses in general communications, journalism, media studies, and public relations.
Degree Requirements
A total of 120 credits is required for the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies degree. For a concentration in Communications, additional requirements apply. The following chart specifies the requirements and will help you select courses from the course listing farther down this page. (Enrolled students also can get this information in their degree audit at http://myaccess.georgetown.edu.)
Category | # of credits required | Select courses from? |
BALS core courses | 48 | All 12 courses in the "Program Core" category must be completed (or equivalent transfer credit) |
BALS writing course | 3 | The course listed under "Required Courses" (or equivalent transfer credit) |
Non-western studies courses | 6 | Select 2 courses from the "Nonwestern Studies" category (or equivalent transfer credit) |
Either two communications core courses OR one communications core course and one communications human values course | 6 | Select either ? two courses from the "Curricular Field Core" category or ? one course from "Curricular Field Core" and one course from "Curricular Human Values" (or equivalent transfer credit) |
Communications track | 24 | Select 8 courses (or equivalent transfer credit) from one of the three tracks: Journalism, Public Relations or Media Studies |
Communications electives | 15 | Select 5 courses (or equivalent transfer credit) from "Curricular Elective," "Curricular Field Core" or "Curricular Human Values" categories |
Thesis or one additional communications elective course | 3 | Complete a thesis (comprising the "Thesis Proposal Workshop," "Thesis Research" and "Thesis Writing" courses) or select one course from the "Curricular Elective," "Curricular Field Core" or "Curricular Human Values" categories (or equivalent transfer credit) |
General electives | 21 | Select 7 courses from all courses listed on this page (or equivalent transfer credit) |
Note: Credits add up to more than 120, because the courses taken for the Non-Western Studies requirement also can be used to fulfill other degree requirements. Only 120 credits are required to graduate.
Required Courses:
Writing in an Interdisciplinary EnvironmentElective Courses:
Advanced LatinAmerican Popular Culture
Beat Reporting
Beyond Sojourner Truth
Bioethics
Business Ethics
Business Law
Business Statistics
Calculus
Catholicism in 21st Century America
Character, Conscience and Courage
China's Economic Development
China's Olympics
China, the U.S., and the Cold War Confrontation
City Lab Geneva Experience
Community and Alienation
Community Development and Social Change
Community Organizing and Grassroots Change
Conflicts: Transformation and Change
Confronting Hunger and Homelessness in the United States
Country Music USA
Critical Thinking and Ethical Decision-Making
Cultures & Urban Life
Customer Service
Cyberethics
DC Urban Laboratory
Debating Human Rights in China
Demography and Aging
Development of U.S. National Security Policy
Disorder in Modern China
Diversity and the Multicultural World
Economic Development and Human Security
Education and Society
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Entrepreneurship in the Real World
Environmental Justice
Ethical Issues in American Politics
Ethics and Public Service
Ethics of Spying: Policy and Process
Faith-Based Organizations and Community Change
Feature Writing
Financial Management
Folklore, Folklife, & Folk Festival
Gandhi's Religious and Political World
Global Hunger
Global Trade and Local Discontents
Globalization and Social Change in Developing Countries
Greek and Roman Myth
Health Care: Policy and Practice
History of Pandemics and the Rise of Bioterrorism
History of the Future
Housing Policy
Human Resource Management and the Law
Human Rights & International Law
Human Rights: A Force for Change
Immigration and Refugee Policy
Impact of Religion on Society
Independent Study
Inequalities in Health and Illness
Inside the NATO Alliance
Institute on Sacred Scripture
Institutions of International Dispute Resolution
Intergroup Dynamics and Conflict Management
Intermediate Latin
International Human Rights Law
International Affairs and Public Diplomacy
International Relations for the 21st Century
International Terrorism and Transnational Crime
Interpreting China's Rise: Beijing Olympics 2008, Shanghai Expo 2010
Introduction to Business
Introduction to Entrepreneurship
Introduction to International Business
Introduction to International Law
Introduction to Urban Analysis and Community Development
Introductory Latin
Issues in Globalization
Justice in Theory and Practice
Law and Literature
Life Entrepreneurs: The Place of Meaning, Purpose and Contribution in Business and Politics
Losing God? Secularization: Theory, History, and Evidence
Making a Difference in Society
Managing and Sustaining Change
Managing Workplace Diversity
Meet the Atom: A Beginner's Guide to Understanding Nuclear Technology
Modernization and Development
Moral Leadership and Social Justice
Mortal Heroes: Ancient Epic Narratives
Multinational Corporations
Music Around the Globe and Net
Mythology and the Human Spirit
Negotiation and Influence
New Venture Creation
Organizational Behavior
Organizations and Society
Political Economy of the Gulf
Politics and World Religion
Power and Politics
Practicum I
Practicum II
Principles of Accounting
Principles of Economics
Principles of Management
Propaganda & American Foreign Policy
Purpose and Personal Mission
Race and Ethnic Relations
Race and Ethnicity in Global Perspective
Radical Evil
Religion and Conflict
Religion and Society
Religion and the US Constitution
Science and Religion
Shakespeare: Text and Performance
Slavery and Abolition from the Bronze Age to the American Civil War
Small Business Management
Social Analysis: Policy & Planning
Social Inequality and Poverty
Social Movements in Advanced Capitalism
Social Research Methods I: Quantitative
Social Research Methods II: Qualitative
Socialization and Organizational Culture
Strategy and Policy: Nations in Crisis
Strategy and the Strategic Mindset
Teams and Group Dynamics
Terrorism and Terrorists
The 1960s: Decade of Transformation
The American Revolution and the Colonial Military Tradition
The Body Perfect and Imperfect
The Death Penalty: Kill It or Reform It?
The Human Condition
The Local Nonprofit Sector
The Martyr and the Warrior: Religion and Violence
The Modern U.S. Presidency - Fifty Years of Political Evolution
The Myth of the Hero
The Sacred Quest
The Tudors: History, Film and Legacy
The U.S. Civil War
The Vietnam War and 21st Century America
Theories of Leadership
Theories of Motivation
Theories of Motivation
Theories of Urban Analysis and Community Development
Thesis Proposal Workshop
Thesis Research
Thesis Writing
Trials, Crime and Punishment in Literature and Film
U.S. Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties
U.S. Latinos and Public Policy
Urban Policy in Global Perspective
Utopia, Dystopia and Future Shock
Values in Criminal Justice Policy
War Memories, Justice and Reconciliation: The Case of China and Japan
Women and Community Change
Women and Social Change
Women. Power. Europe.
Work and The National Economy
Workplace Ethics
Zoroastrianism
Curricular Field Core:
Basic News WritingCommunication Law
Media and Public Opinion
Media and Public Opinion Lab
Writing for the Public Relations Professional
Curricular Field Elective:
Advertising in the MediaCatholicism at the Movies: A Critical Review of Portrayals of Faith on Film
Cultural Politics of Television
Engaging the Media
Folklore, Folklife, & Folk Festival
Introduction to Creative Writing
Introduction to Public Speaking
Mass Media and Society
Modern News and Writing
Persuasion and Influence
Principles of Marketing
Rhetorical Criticism
The Art of Interviewing
The Business of Media
The History of Mass Media in America
The History of Narrative and Storytelling
Trials, Crime and Punishment in Literature and Film
Curricular Field Human Values:
Intercultural CommunicationIntroduction to Communication Theory
Journalism:
Adding it Up: Numbers and ReportingAdvocacy Journalism
Broadcast Writing
Explanatory Journalism
Introduction to Media Criticism
Investigative Reporting
Media and Politics
Media Convergence and its Relationship to the Information Consumer
Medical and Science Writing
Writing for the Web
Media Studies:
China and the Internet: Challenging America in CyberspaceCommunication, Politics, and Public Opinion
Film: History, Culture and Structure
Global Media
Introduction to Media Criticism
Management of Mass Media
Media and Politics
Media Convergence and its Relationship to the Information Consumer
Race, Gender, and Communication
Social and Cultural Context of Advertising
Television: History, Culture and Structure
Visual Rhetoric
Nonwestern Studies:
China's Economic DevelopmentChina's Olympics
China, the U.S., and the Cold War Confrontation
Chinese I
Debating Human Rights in China
Disorder in Modern China
Gandhi's Religious and Political World
Interpreting China's Rise: Beijing Olympics 2008, Shanghai Expo 2010
Mythology and the Human Spirit
Political Economy of the Gulf
Politics and World Religion
The Martyr and the Warrior: Religion and Violence
War Memories, Justice and Reconciliation: The Case of China and Japan
Zoroastrianism
Program Core:
Biblical Literature and the Ancient WorldEnlightenment, Revolution and Democracy
Faith and Reason in the Middle Ages
Greeks and Romans
Introduction to Ethics
Introduction to the Social Sciences
Medieval Thought and Culture
The Early Modern World
The New Millennium
The Nineteenth Century
The Renaissance
War and Peace
Public Relations:
Creating Your Message OnlineCrisis Communications
Management of Mass Media
Oral Skills for Effective Communications
Public Relations for Governmental, Non-Governmental and Non-Profit Organizations
Race, Gender, and Communication
Social and Cultural Context of Advertising
Specialized Writing in Public Relations
Theory and Practice of Public Relations
Visual Rhetoric