UB Undergraduate Catalog 2006-2007

Department of Communication

College of Arts and Sciences
359 Baldy Hall
North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14260-1060

Phone: 716.645.2141
Fax: 716.645.2086
Web: www.informatics.buffalo.edu

Frank Tutzauer
Chair

Mary B. Cassata
Director of Undergraduate Studies

Janeen M. Wilder
Lead Undergraduate Academic Advisor

About the Program

The undergraduate program seeks to provide the student with a comprehensive knowledge of the nature of human communication, the symbol system by which it occurs, its media, and its effects. As a field of concentration, the department contributes to a liberal education and provides basic preparation for either graduate study or careers in communication. Employment opportunities exist in organizational and industrial institutions, public relations and advertising agencies, new media and technology centers, personnel departments, the mass media, civil and social agencies, and sales (including pharmaceutical sales). Students have also gone on to law school, military officer training school, and law enforcement.

Those wishing to pursue teacher education must obtain a dual major as communication itself is not accepted by graduate programs in the Western New York area.

Advisement

All prospective majors and accepted majors are expected to seek ongoing advisement regarding their communication curriculum. Prospective majors are encouraged to contact the academic advisor at jwilder@buffalo.edu as soon as possible for initial advisement and explanation of the curriculum and degree requirements. Accepted and intended majors are encouraged to seek academic advisement once each semester concerning their progress in the program. It is strongly recommended that students also work on joint or double majors and/or minors.

Transfer Policy

Students wishing to transfer to UB must be accepted by the university prior to acceptance by the Communication department. Criteria for acceptance into the department are the same for transfer students as they are for students entering the university as freshmen. Evaluation of courses taken at another school for the department major is done by the department.

The department has agreed to accept certain courses from various colleges, especially community colleges within the state; listings of these courses are available from undergraduate studies academic advisors. Transfer students may also check with the department concerning the acceptability of individual courses, and should provide the academic advisor with transcripts and course descriptions of courses they wish to apply to the communication curriculum. Ordinarily, the department accepts no more than four appropriate communication courses toward the major requirements, specifically the core required classes and the communication electives. The department accepts all appropriate transfer courses outside the area of communication that are required for the major.

Honors, Awards, and Scholarships

The Department of Communication offers departmental honors to those students who meet certain grade point criteria: a minimum GPA of 2.75 overall and a minimum GPA of 3.2 in all communication courses for distinction, a minimum GPA of 3.5 in all communication courses for high distinction, and a minimum GPA of 3.75 in all communication courses for highest distinction. Students are strongly encouraged to participate in the honors seminar during their senior year.

Notable Program Features

The Department of Communication offers all senior majors the opportunity to participate in internship experiences in a variety of settings both at the university and in the community. The diversity of internship experiences ranges from all forms of media to marketing, advertising, public relations, web page development, and computer systems administration.