ObjectivesThe program teaches generalist communication skills for work in business, communications industries, or the applied arts. After completing the program, you will have the skills you need to plan and write correspondence, business and technical reports, proposals, promotional materials, Web content, speeches, presentations, and visual media materials.
CMNS 170 Presentation Skills for Public Speaking 3.00
CMNS 190 Article Writing 3.00
CMNS 270 Visual Communications 3.00
CMNS 360 Strategic Communications 3.00
Choose 3.00 credits from the following list: 3.00
Credit will not be given for both CMNS 220 and CMNS 250
CMNS 220 Advanced Business Writing and Editing 3.00
CMNS 250 Introduction to Technical Writing 3.00
Credits 15.00
Total Program Credits 15.00
CMNS 170 Presentation Skills for Public Speaking
3.00 credits (4,0,0) hrs 15 wks
This course focuses on the dynamics of organizing material, overcoming shyness and developing poise as a speaker in a variety of contexts. Attention to research, voice training, nonverbal communication, and strategies for timing presentations are key components of this course. In addition, this course uses video equipment, enabling students to see themselves on camera, as well as to benefit from feedback from others, as they refine their ability to project, to organize their thoughts, and to address audience needs.
CMNS 190 Article Writing
3.00 credits (4,0,0) hrs 15 wks
This course covers researching and writing articles for publication in news media and magazines. In addition, this course emphasizes the analysis of magazine readership, techniques of researching and interviewing, the current market for articles, and development of an effective prose style. Students write three articles in suitable format and submit them for publication in established periodicals.
CMNS 270 Visual Communications
3.00 credits (4,0,0) hrs 15 wks
Prerequisite: ENGL 100 or CMNS 120
This course is intended for students of communications and business who are interested in examining what we see in the mass media and how we see it. Using photography as the basis, the course explores vision as a physiological and psychological phenomenon, examines the history and use of the camera and develops a number of perspectives for analyzing images. Students then examine in detail different aspects of visual media, including topography, newspapers, magazines, advertising, movies, television/video and computer images, analyzing the "framed" world in mass media representation. Assignments are practical projects.
CMNS 360 Strategic Communications
3.00 credits (3,0,1) hrs 15 wks
Prerequisite: CMNS 112 or 132 or 220
This applied course provides an overview of the range of skills and strategies required for working in corporate, community and government communications fields. The focus is on practical information and media design, and utilizes a case-study approach in which students work both alone and in groups in simulated communications projects. The course covers topics such as relations with the public, media and government, internal organizational communications, working with stakeholders/investors, crisis communications, corporate advertising and public branding. Students will create communications pieces, develop corporate/organizational identities, and develop and present complex strategic communications plans for a business, government, or non-profit/NGO client.
CMNS 220 Advanced Business Writing and Editing
3.00 credits (4,0,0) hrs 15 wks
Prerequisite: ENGL 100
This course focuses on researching, organizing, writing and editing extensive business documents: reports, proposals, memoranda, and media releases. Emphasis is on clear style and logical organization.
CMNS 250 Introduction to Technical Writing
3.00 credits (3,0,1) hrs 15 wks
Prerequisite: ENGL 100
The course includes the examination of technical reports and the study of the role of technical writing in corporate and scientific settings. It covers technical writing for science, engineering and the professions and emphasizes definitions, process analysis, writing instructions, resume preparation, and an extended formal report.