GENERAL INFORMATION

Communication is a liberal arts major designed to engage students in creating a voice for influencing our social world. The communication program is student-centered with small class sizes (35 is the highest enrollment allowed) and active interaction between students and professors. The job possibilities are extensive for communication graduates. Our students find employment in a wide variety of areas such as public relations, advertising, sales, event planning, speech writing, training, management, politics, government relations, employment services, and dozens of other careers.

The program emphasizes combining theory and practice, so that students gain knowledge and hands on experience that will assist them in a range of professional endeavors. Students develop critical perspectives to evaluate different communication approaches in diverse situations. Students learn to recognize and choose the effect their actions have on others. The program encourages students to reflect on how people make responsible and ethical choices in a variety of communication contexts. This responsibility requires that they appreciate and respect human differences among cultures, social groups, genders and individuals, and that they create a voice for building personal and public relationships.

The Communication program provides a wealth of organizations to enhance the educational experience. Involvement in student organizations such as the student radio station (WXOU), newspaper (The Oakland Post), video club, forensics team, and the Association for Women in Communications at OU provides an extra layer of knowledge to the classroom experience by providing hands on experience in relevant professional arenas. Student organizations also offer the opportunity to gain valuable leadership experience. Involvement in student organizations often opens the door to high quality internships, which can lead to jobs. The metro-Detroit area provides an amazing array of internship possibilities, many of which are paid. Internships are highly encouraged for gaining valuable career-related experience.

We encourage you to explore our program. We are confident that we deliver an educational experience that will meet your academic and professional goals.