The Department of Communication is an academic department with a national reputation for excellence in teaching, research, and service. Our highly skilled faculty is known across the campus for the way they interact positively and individually with our students. A major in the Department of Communication not only makes sense, it feels good, too!

At WKU, study in the Department of Communication focuses on learning what human communication really is, how it really works, and how to do it well in a wide variety of situations. In other words, you'll learn about the science of how people think, behave, and influence one another; and you'll learn the art of communicating more effectively.

The theory and skills you will learn in the Department of Communication are vital to success after graduation. What is the evidence for this? In a June 2008 newsletter published by the American Management Association, it was stated that communication skills can “make or break one’s career.” Additionally, the top 5 personal qualities/skills employers seek, according to National Association of Colleges and Employers Job Outlook 2009 surveys were: (1) communication skills; (2) strong work ethic; (3) teamwork skills; (4) initiative; and (5) analytical skills. The Department of Communication has been engaging its students in learning situations that allow for the development of all of these skills. Becoming a Communication major means taking an important step forward to being prepared for the future.

Undergraduate Degrees:

Corporate & Organizational Communication (BA)

This major provides an interdisciplinary program for careers that require communication skills in organizational settings such as training and development, management, marketing, sales, economics, finance, human resources, entrepreneurial endeavors, and many more. Corporate and organizational communication majors learn how to see the “big picture,” know how to get people to work together, and most importantly, learn how to learn. As a pre-professional program, students are exposed to courses in areas of communication, business management, marketing, economics, English, accounting, and public relations.

Communication Studies (BA)

This major provides a liberal arts program that develops the effective and responsible use of communication in a variety of situations: one-on-one, small group, public, interpersonal, intercultural, and organizational settings. The communication studies major prepares students for graduate work in communication and for a variety of other professional fields. A second major or strong minor is required with this major. Communication studies will complement any career goal that requires excellent communication skills such as business, law, politics, health care, social work, religious ministries, and teaching.

Minor in Communication Studies

This minor will be of benefit to students in a variety of professional fields such as Government, English, Political Science, History, Religious Studies, Psychology, Business, Teaching and many more.

Undergraduate Certificates:

Certificate in Political Communication

This certificate allows for exploration of the role that communication plays in political systems by combining studies in the fields of communication and government.

What Can I Do With a Degree in Communication?

Click here for a list of job titles for over 1,000 of our alumni.

The following links are to websites outside of WKU that provide valuable information regarding what you can do with your degree in Communication

Sample of Occupations in Speech Communication (directed to EIU)

What Can I Do with This Degree (directed to Univ. of Utah)?

What Can I Do with This Degree (directed to Cal State Fullerton)?

Quotes from our Alumni

In one of my classes, our book had a quote in it that I have kept with me everywhere. It is at the bottom of every e-mail I send out and something I hold very dear. "What you do speaks so loudly that I can not hear what your say." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Majoring in communication was a great decision. The skills and theories I learned help me every day in both my career and my personal relationships! A degree in Communication will make you more successful in any job you get because the theories you learn in the classroom can be applied to real-world situations and you come out for the better knowing how to deal with any situation.

The saying, “ it’s not what you know, but who you know,” is misleading. It should be stated as, “It’s what you know that can benefit a company which impresses who you know.” The Communication Department at Western Kentucky not only prepares an individual for the business world, but also builds a base for which any individual can excel in life or any organization. From communicating and managing employees, to every day business practices, my background and degree in Corporate and Organizational Communication is serving me unlike any other major could.