Communication Studies (CST) - Courses

+CST 110 Cr.3

Communicating Effectively

This course introduces students to key communication concepts and skills that will encourage them to become more competent and culturally sensitive communicators. Students will develop speaking, relational and listening skills as they explore interpersonal, group/team and public communication topics. This course will help students become more effective and ethical communicators in a highly diverse society. Offered Fall, Spring, Summer.

CST 190 Cr.3

Introduction to Communication Studies

An introduction to the professional study of communication, including detailed exploration of factors involved in the communication process, effects of media on the communication process, and the importance of the communication process in intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group, organizational, and intercultural contexts. Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Fall, Spring.

CST 210 Cr.3

Presentational Speaking

This course is designed to enhance students' abilities in developing, delivering, and evaluating oral informative and persuasive presentations. In doing so, the focus of theoretical discussion and practical application will be on the use of audience analysis in adapting to presentational situations, source material in developing oral messages, effective organizational designs, oral rather than written language style, advanced presentational aids including media technology, enhanced vocal and physical presentational skills, and appropriate criteria for evaluation. Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Occasionally.

CST 211 Cr.3

Communication and Civic Engagement

The world is full of so many problems; how can one person hope to make a positive change? Communication and Civic Engagement will answer this question, both in theory and in practice. The course surveys basic concepts of rhetoric, or persuasive symbol use, and their intersection with civic life. Students will engage with principles of deliberative public discourse and dialogue to explore the meanings and responsibilities of engaged, civil, public citizenship. Focus is placed on recognizing, analyzing, and constructing arguments and dialogues in the public sphere. Course principles will be enacted through a semester-long civic engagement project in which students will be empowered to make meaningful change in their own communities. Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Annually.

CST 213 Cr.3

Public Advocacy and Dialogue

This course is an introduction to the study of public communication, advocacy, and dialogue. The course examines a variety of perspectives on the nature of public communication, or rhetoric, and how it functions persuasively in society. As an introduction to the practice of advocacy, topics in this course allows students to explore functions and uses of rhetorical communication and its relation to knowledge, community, civic participation, justice, and social power in a range of communication contexts. Students consider various ways to interpret rhetoric and to use it skillfully and ethically as participants and advocates in public life. Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Annually.

CST 230 Cr.3

Interpersonal Communication

This course is an introduction to the concepts, theories and research in the field of interpersonal communication. Interpersonal communication impacts our relationships with family members, friends, romantic partners, and coworkers. Special consideration is given to verbal and nonverbal messages and the meaning and impact they have on our relationships and our personal identities (e.g., gender, culture, ability, race, socioeconomic background). Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Fall, Spring.

CST 260 Cr.3

Professional Communication

This course focuses on developing communication skills and learning communication principles important to an organizational setting. Students will improve essential verbal and nonverbal communicative skills that are needed to succeed in their careers. While studying organizational processes, students will enhance their abilities to plan and deliver professional information and persuasive messages, while incorporating presentational technology. Students will also learn how to conduct effective training sessions. Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Annually.

+CST 271 Cr.3

Media and Society

This course explores media and their economic, social, political, and cultural implications in individual and social life. Students will have the opportunity to engage with concepts and theories relating to media industries and production, media audiences, media effects on social and cultural change, social and cultural issues created or sustained by media, critical analysis of media messages, and issues relating to evolving media technologies. Offered Fall, Spring.

CST 280 Cr.3

Introduction to Communication and Leadership

This course is an introduction to the study, skill and practice of leadership from a communication perspective. Students will take a variety of surveys and instruments in order to understand their unique leadership style and characteristics. Planning and practicing leadership will involve developing leadership skills, creating a vision, setting organizational tone, listening to organizational members, and overcoming obstacles to effective leadership. Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Annually.

CST 299 Cr.1

Public Speaking Center Tutor Practicum

The course will include an overview of research and theory on communication centers, a review of public speaking best practices, and examination of strategies for facilitating consultations with various client populations. Based on readings, classroom application exercises, reflections, and discussions, peer consultants will develop skills in facilitating one-on-one consultations, providing constructive criticism, and guiding student-speakers through meaningful revision. Students should take this course during their first semester of work in the Public Speaking Center. Students who repeat the course will engage more deeply with the content and be expected to take on leadership roles. Repeatable for credit - maximum three. Prerequisite: CST 110. Consent of instructor. Pass/Fail grading. Offered Annually.

CST 301 Cr.3

Theories of Communication

A survey of theories used in the field of communication studies. Consideration is given to theories that explain communication behavior in interpersonal, group, public, media, intercultural, and gendered contexts. The role of theory in research is examined through the development of a theory driven review and synthesis of communication literature. Prerequisite: CST 190; sophomore standing. Offered Fall, Spring.

CST 310 Cr.3

Debate

An introductory course covering the concepts, formats and strategies of debating. Emphasis is on the development of personal skills of argumentation. Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Occasionally.

CST 312 Cr.3

Environmental Communication

This course critically analyzes how climate change discourses permeate our daily lives by way of politics, culture, and media. Discourses concerning the environment are multifaceted as public understanding of science is complicated by lived experience, political values, and cultural identities. Throughout this course, students explore the central role that discourse plays in understanding and addressing climate change, and examine the discursive dynamics of a complex network of stakeholders and an often uninterested or uninformed citizenry. Climate change is a collective (shared) problem that requires collective and deliberative problem-solving. The course invites students into the realm of environmental advocacy as we develop strategies for entering "glocal" conversations about the fate of the Earth and the fate of the places we live, work, and enjoy everyday life. Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Occasionally.

CST 315 Cr.3

Communication Criticism

Communication criticism, a fundamental practice in communication studies, describes, explains and evaluates why messages succeed or fail in achieving their intended purposes. Participants learn to conduct systematic analysis of persuasive messages to describe their key elements: language, organization, content, persuasive communication strategies, visual images, and choice of medium. Analysis is use to explain why particular elements were used in adapting messages to intended audiences and specific cultural contexts of those messages. Participants apply various qualitative methods of communication criticism to significant cultural discourse, such as speeches, commercials, public service announcements, and webpages to evaluate messages for effectiveness, ethical acceptability, cultural impact, and aesthetic value. Prerequisite: CST 190. Offered Annually.

CST 319 Cr.3

Communication and Public Memory

This course explores the concept of public memory and its role in our experiences of places, events, and eras. Students explore the communicative foundations of individual, collective, and public memory by engaging the literature of rhetorical memory studies. In doing so, students analyze how these different forms of memory are malleable and therefore have the potential to sustain us, direct us, lead us astray, and/or even promote conflict. Students are encouraged to engage the local landscapes of the Midwest as we explore the rich relations between rhetoric, memory, and place. Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Occasionally.

CST 321 Cr.3

Conflict Management and Negotiation

The course explores conflict and negotiation theories as well as strategies across several communication contexts including interpersonal, group, organizational, public, and cross-cultural. Particular attention is given to how conflict can be resolved communicatively through negotiation strategies. Additionally, students will develop practical conflict and negotiation skills. Prerequisite: CST 190 or junior standing. Offered Occasionally.

CST 322 Cr.3

Communication and Sport

This course examines sports discourse from a public communication and rhetorical perspective. The course is designed to unpack sports discourse, messages, the sports industry, and organizations using a variety of rhetorical concepts and theories. Students in this course learn to evaluate and develop arguments about representations of athletes, organizations, and other sports media figures. Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Occasionally.

CST 330 Cr.3

Nonverbal Communication

This course is designed to explore the various dimensions of nonverbal communication in human interaction. Students will learn and practice nonverbal communication skills (e.g., interviewing, deciphering), examine research on the functions of nonverbal communication (e.g., expressing emotions, sending relational messages), and explore how the different nonverbal cues (e.g., touch, eye behavior) affect human communication. Prerequisite: CST 190. Offered Occasionally.

CST 331 Cr.3

Communicating Social Support

This course focuses on the task, relationship, and identity factors in constructing social support messages in interpersonal relationships. Based on work by communication scholars, this class will focus on theoretical and experiential applications to various kinds of support messages, including physical, emotional, and identity support. Focus on both support seeking and support offering will be examined from multiple communication perspectives. Prerequisite: CST 190. Offered Occasionally.

CST 332 Cr.3

Intercultural Communication

The primary objective of this course is to provide an overview of the study of cultures and their effects on communication. Cultural, socio-cultural, psychocultural and environmental influences will be explored in terms of how they affect the communication process. Communication behavior (both verbal and nonverbal) will be examined to determine its role in other cultures. Students will learn to communicate more competently with people from other cultures and ethnic groups. Prerequisite: CST 190 or CST 230. Offered Occasionally.

CST 333 Cr.3

Lying and Deception in Human Interaction

An in-depth exploration of the pervasive communicative phenomenon of deception and lying. This course explores the varieties of deceptive communication and their causes and consequences in a wide range of contexts, including romantic relationships, cyberspace, criminal justice, advertising, mass media, and politics. Particular attention will be given to opportunities and pitfalls in identifying potentially deceptive behavior. Prerequisite: CST 190 or permission of instructor. Offered Occasionally.

CST 334 Cr.3

Gender Communication

Explores theory and practice of communication across boundaries of gender, sexuality and sexual identities. Focuses on social construction of gender, and the communicative performance of gender across inter-sectional lines, such as race, ethnicity, social class, and sexual identities. Encourages the critique of communication as it establishes and normalizes certain gender identities and performances over others. Fosters critical thinking of identity and social construction of self. Prerequisite: CST 230 or RGS 100. Offered Fall, Spring.

CST 336 Cr.3

Family Communication

Family relationships are formed, maintained, and negotiated through communication, and this course uses communication theories and concepts to deepen our understanding of families. Topics may include diverse family types, power, families as systems, conflict, family stories and rituals. Overall, this course provides a theoretical and conceptual examination of families while broadening our cultural understanding of family relationships. Prerequisite: CST 190 and CST 230. Offered Fall, Spring.

CST 337 Cr.3

Communication and Race

Human understanding of ethnicity and race is established, maintained, and changed by communication. Therefore this course uses a communication perspective to examine interpersonal and mediated messages about race. From the perspective of communication studies, ethnicity and race are continuously defined, interpreted, and acted out as we communicate with one another on a daily basis in all contexts. This course introduces students to communication research on ethnicity, race and other aspects of identity such as gender and class. This course also provides exposure to related research in other disciplines. Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Occasionally.

CST 338 Cr.3

Media and Sexuality

This course examines the role media play in constructing, disseminating, and influencing images and understandings of sexuality. The course will use media studies research and theory to explore representational practices along with their relationship to industry conventions, media texts, and user engagements. Students will learn the principles of media studies approaches to sexuality studies, particularly as they relate to LGBT Studies and Queer Theory. They will also gain a better understanding of the history of media representations of sexuality and their relationship to particular moments in social, political, cultural, and economic history. Particular attention will be placed on how sexual identities intersect with and shape other categories of identity (including gender, race, ethnicity, class, ability, etc.). Prerequisite: CST 190 or CST 271 or RGS 100. Offered Occasionally.

CST 339 Cr.3

Communication and Aging

This course will examine existing and emerging research within communication and aging studies and emphasize an interpersonal life-span approach toward understanding the social interaction that occurs in later life. Issues that affect older people such as work, leisure, retirement, media use, health, death and dying and family and personal relationships will be explored. Barriers such as sight, hearing, cognitive impairments, memory, language and touch will be examined as they affect older adults when communicating with others. This course will offer both a theoretical and applied perspective to aging and communication. Students also will learn how to be an advocate for older adults who are unable to care for themselves. Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Occasionally.

CST 350 Cr.3

Organizational Communication

Analysis of traditional and contemporary theories of communication in the context of modern complex organizations. Emphasis is placed on how communication serves to create and recreate formal and informal organizational structures. Particular attention is paid to the theoretical approaches to organizational communication that can be used to describe, analyze, and offer solutions to organizational communication challenges. Prerequisite: CST 190. Offered Fall, Spring.

CST 351 Cr.3

Interviewing: Principles and Processes

This course is designed to enhance understanding of and participation in a range of interviews that occur in our society. Students will increase their proficiency by participating in interviews, both as interviewers and interviewees. Emphasis is placed on learning effective communication skills and practicing important communication principles inherent in the following forms of interviews: employment (including cover letters, resumes, and portfolios), performance reviews, information gathering and persuasive. Students will also learn how to critically examine interview behaviors. Prerequisite: CST 190 or CST 230 or CST 260; declared communication studies major or minor. Offered Fall.

CST 353 Cr.3

Workplace Relationships

This course is designed to enhance students' understanding of the multiple workplace relationships employees may experience in their organization. Students are introduced to types and flows of workplace communication, the relationship of employees to their organization, dyadic workplace relationships, as well as functions and dysfunctions of workplace relationships. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding workplace relationships through experiential learning, engaging in case studies and reflections, and reading existing literature. Students leave the course with the ability to explain and navigate the development, maintenance, and dissolution of multiple workplace relationships. Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Occasionally.

CST 354 Cr.3

Health Communication

This course provides students with basic knowledge and skills essential for communicating in the health and medical professions. Topics include the role of interpersonal, group, organizational, and intercultural communication in health care, ethical and legal aspects of health communication, and communication strategies for encouraging patient/client compliance and working with special needs patients. Prerequisite: CST 110. Offered Fall.

CST 355 Cr.3

Diversity and Organizational Communication

This course will explore how issues of diversity such as race, ethnicity, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, gender, socioeconomic background, age, religion and veteran status impact communication in modern organizations. As organizational life becomes increasingly complex, it is vital to understand how diversity affects relationships at work with superiors, subordinates, coworkers, and the organization's customers or clients. Diversity will be treated not only as a potential site for communication challenges and misunderstandings, but also as an opportunity to enrich organizational culture, organizational decision making, and overall employee job satisfaction. Offered Occasionally.

CST 358 Cr.3

New Media and Technologies in Modern Organizations

This course will enhance students' understanding of new and emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) being used in modern organizational settings. Students will be introduced to a number of emerging ICTs and will learn to use them effectively, appropriately, and ethically within the context of a workplace environment. Particular emphasis is placed on professional communication as organizational members communicate and collaborate in the workplace. Through hands-on learning, students will develop necessary skills and theoretical perspectives for communicating in our modern organizations. Prerequisite: CST 260. Offered Annually.

CST 360 Cr.3

Public Relations

This course is an introduction to the field of public relations. The course will cover topics that include a history of the practice of public relations, the understanding of various publics and their needs, the importance of the management of public opinion, and the techniques and channels used to communicate messages and manage relationships with relevant publics. Students will actively engage in the practice of public relations through the application of principles essential to the field. Prerequisite: CST 190. Offered Occasionally.

CST 365 Cr.3

Communication in Teams

In this course, students will study group and team communication theories and processes by observing and participating in teams. As team members, students will apply communication theory to enhance their effectiveness as team members and leaders. Prerequisite: CST 110. Not open for credit to students who have completed or are enrolled in PSY 343. Offered Annually.

CST 371 Cr.3

Media Industries and Audiences

This course is designed to enhance students' understanding of both media industries and media audiences. Through a combination of history, theory, and method the course explores the various ways that media industries and audiences operate, as well as how they are constructed and studied. Ultimately, this course connects the creation, dissemination, and consumption of media goods to larger social, political, economic, and cultural issues. It traces how ideas, attitudes, and information are created by media industries and consumed by media audiences and the larger impact this has on cultural formations. Prerequisite: CST 190 or CST 271. Offered Occasionally.

CST 373 Cr.3

Television & Media Histories

This course introduces students to histories of television and other digital media programming that may include specific shows, trends, industry practices, and TV's greater significance in U.S. society. Students watch television, read histories of television, and write critical analyses of television that connect programming to aesthetic, economic, and regulatory influences while exploring the overall socio-cultural implications of television. Students work with current and past talent and producers at local area television stations to create and analyze primary artifacts (such as scripts, memos, and other production materials as well as creating oral histories) that will be archived in Special Collections at Murphy Library at UWL. Prerequisite: CST 190, CST 271. Offered Occasionally.

CST 377 Cr.3

Digital Media Production

This hands-on course will give students the skills they need to understand, engage with, and produce creative digital media from a communication studies perspective. Students will learn key concepts related to media communication through photography, editing, digital and web design, social media, podcasting, video production, and digital media storytelling. Students will work individually and in small crews producing projects for their personal web portfolios while developing marketable skills in digital media. Prerequisite: CST 190 or CST 271; CST major/minor or digital medial studies and design minor. Offered Occasionally.

CST 378 Cr.3

Emerging Media and Communication Technology

This course offers an overview of the socio-technical, cultural, and psychological aspects of emerging media, exploring the characteristics of emerging media and their related technology, together with their effects on the process and dynamics of human communication and society. The dynamics of emerging media will be explored, including its relationships to a variety of communication contexts, including interpersonal, organizational, and public discourse. Students will read critical essays about Internet culture and theories of emerging media. Prerequisite: CST 190. Offered Annually.

CST 379 Cr.3

Interactive and Experiential Media

This course is an introduction to interactive and experiential media, with a focus on creating engaging and immersive digital experiences for audiences. "Interactive and experiential media" refer to various media forms that include websites, games, apps, virtual reality, augmented reality, and other digital platforms. Students stay up to date on the latest trends and technologies and develop in-demand skills in producing and researching interactive and experiential media. Students learn the principles of interactive media design and research. They become familiar with the tools used in the creation and analysis of interactive and experiential media. They apply their knowledge by creating, testing, and assessing interactive media projects. Offered Occasionally.

CST 380 Cr.3

Communicating Leadership

An in-depth exploration of the communicative phenomenon of leadership. Theories and research methods used by noted communication and leadership scholars will be discussed and critiqued. Topics covered may include notions of leadership and organizations as places of leadership. Additional topics will focus on leaders as communicators, creators and sustainers of organizational culture, decision makers, change agents, and facilitators. Offered Annually.

CST 387 Cr.3

Social Networks, Influences, and Virality

By using theories and methods of social network analysis (SNA), this course explores the dynamic processes of message exchanges, public-opinion formation, and social influence, especially in the digital media environment. Students learn the structural mechanisms behind media and communication phenomena, such as the spread of viral videos, the power of micro-influencers, the failure and success of social movements, the formation of online communities. In addition, students learn to conduct basic network analyses and create visually-stunning network graphs using various computer programs. Prerequisite: CST 190. Offered Occasionally.

CST 391 Cr.1-3

Practical Applications in Communication Studies

Provides opportunity for individual applied activities and projects that entail intensive use of developed communication skills and/or specialized knowledge based on communication coursework. Must be supervised by a CST faculty member. Registration requires approval from a CST faculty member willing to be the instructor of record. Students must complete paperwork with the faculty member and ensure academic application to the experience. Repeatable for credit - maximum three. Prerequisite: communication studies major or minor; completion of at least nine credits of communication studies courses above CST 110. Consent of instructor. Pass/Fail grading. Offered Annually.

CST 392 Cr.1-3

Practical Applications in Public Speaking Center Tutoring

This course is designed to offer supervision and course credit for Public Speaking Center peer consultants. Students will work regular hours in the Public Speaking Center and complete a project related to work in the Public Speaking Center. Projects include organizing and hosting a workshop, regular administrative work in the Public Speaking Center (such as web/social media work, hiring and recruiting, scheduling), or other positions within the Murphy Learning Center. Failure to complete a project within the course of the semester will result in a failing grade. Repeatable for credit - maximum six. Prerequisite: CST 110. Consent of instructor. Pass/Fail grading. Offered Fall, Spring.

CST 399 Cr.1-3

Independent Study in Communication Studies

Directed individual communication studies project under the supervision of a communication studies faculty member. May be a performance-oriented project or a research-based project to bring about a focused scholarly outcome. Project must include a final report as determined through consultation with supervising faculty. Project must be approved and supervised by a department faculty member and have prior consent of the executive committee of the department. Repeatable for credit - maximum three. Prerequisite: communication studies major or minor; completion of at least 12 credits of communication studies courses above CST 110; junior standing. Consent of department. Offered Annually.

CST 410 Cr.3

Argumentation

This course examines elements and strategies of argumentation. It focuses on evidence, reasoning, refutation, fallacies, strategies, and methods of argument analysis. Students practice individual and group argumentation, including parliamentary procedure. Prerequisite: junior standing. Offered Occasionally.

CST 412 Cr.3

Community Advocacy and Social Change

This course examines the communication dynamics involved when communities of people assemble, organize, and advocate to challenge injustice and oppression. Emphasis is placed on the persuasive rhetorical strategies used within and by social movements to raise consciousness, attract members, generate support, harness media resources, appeal to various audiences, and navigate counter-movements and suppression. Through examination of historical and contemporary examples, students will analyze, understand, and employ communication strategies directed toward social justice and change. The course will engage with a diverse range of American and/or international social movements and consider a wide variety of persuasive strategies and tactics. Prerequisite: CST 190; junior standing. Offered Annually.

CST 413 Cr.3

Persuasive Campaigns

This course presents contemporary theory and research in persuasion with a special focus on campaigns. Students will apply course material while organizing and implementing a persuasive campaign. This course examines the nature, role, and processes of communication campaigns and movements. Prerequisite: CST 190; junior standing. Offered Annually.

CST 415 Cr.3

Advanced Topics in Public Communication and Advocacy

Participants apply methods of communication criticism to significant examples of persuasive cultural discourse in order to identify and describe their persuasive strategies, explain why those strategies were used, and evaluate their effects, ethical acceptability, cultural impact and aesthetic value. Methods applied and types of persuasive cultural discourse analyzed vary depending on instructor's and participants' interests. Participants conduct research projects using selected qualitative critical methods and write critical research reports about specific examples of the type of persuasive cultural discourse selected. Prerequisite: CST 190; junior standing. Offered Occasionally.

CST 419 Cr.3

Communication, Media and Identity

This course critically examines the role of media in enabling, facilitating, or challenging the performances, social constructions and representations of gender, sexuality, race, and class in society. We will explore theories and topics relating to the relationship between media and identity in contexts that are both individual and social. The course focuses on 1) critical analyses of media representations of gender, race, sexuality, class, other primary facets of identity, and intersections therein; 2) audience interpretations of media representations; and 3) media resistance and advocacy. Focus will be placed on a range of mediated contexts through which identity is constructed and performed, including television, advertising, film, and web-based media. Prerequisite: CST 110, CST 190. Offered Annually.

CST 430 Cr.3

Advanced Topics in Interpersonal Communication

An in-depth exploration of interpersonal communication theories and applications in particular relational contexts such as family, friendships, intimate relationships, and work relationships. Theories and research methods used by noted interpersonal communication scholars will be discussed and critiqued. Topics covered may include attraction, relationship development and dissolution, relationship maintenance, dysfunctional relationships, intimacy, and friendship. Prerequisite: CST 190, CST 230; at least one of the following 300 level courses: CST 330, CST 332, CST 333, CST 334, CST 336, CST 338 or CST 339; junior standing. Offered Fall, Spring.

CST 450 Cr.1-6

Internship in Communication Studies

The internship in communication studies is an academically relevant work experience focusing on career development through professional contexts. CST students pursue internships in CST-related fields. The number of credit hours earned depends on the number of hours worked throughout the duration of the internship. Internship credit is earned during the period the work is completed. The student is responsible for: securing an internship, identifying and working with a CST faculty supervisor to create an internship proposal and determine a final project, and completing required CST internship paperwork in order to gain departmental approval prior to registration. See the CST Department website for additional information about the approval and registration process. Repeatable for credit - maximum six. Prerequisite: declared communication studies major; completion of 12 credits in communication studies, including CST 110, CST 190, and six other CST credits; junior standing. Consent of department. Pass/Fail grading. Offered Annually.

CST 452 Cr.3

Contemporary Approaches to Organizational Communication

This course is an investigation of contemporary theoretical approaches to understanding organizational communication. Particular attention is paid to how changes in our metaphorical understanding of organizations transform the nature of both communicating in organizations and the organizing process. The impact of new technologies on organizational communication is also considered. Students will learn how to use multiple perspectives to enhance their understanding of organizational communication. Prerequisite: CST 350. Offered Annually.

CST 460 Cr.3

Plan/Implementing/Evaluation Public Relations Campaign

This course examines the nature, role and processes of public relations. Research, planning, and evaluation will be used to implement a public relations campaign. Teams of students will plan and implement a complete public relations campaign for an organization or company. Prerequisite: CST 360. Offered Occasionally.

CST 471 Cr.3

Broadcast and Digital Media Management

A study of the operation and management functions of the broadcast media. Special emphasis on the problematic situations confronted by managers of the various departments within the broadcast industry. Prerequisite: CST 190. Offered Spring.

CST 481 Cr.3

Applied Leadership Experience

The applied leadership experience course is a capstone to the leadership development minor and designed to guide students through a leadership immersion experience. As such, students are required to be the designated leader of a group, lead an implementation of a product, process, policy or procedure, or have an important role on a change-oriented/social justice group or team. Students will reflect on their leadership experiences in terms of course content covered in the core and emphasis area classes of the leadership development minor. Students who are eligible for this course will complete an application and description of their leadership immersion experience for approval and permission to enroll. Prerequisite: CST 280, CST 380. Consent of instructor. Offered Annually.

CST 489 Cr.3

Advanced Topics in Media Studies

This course is an in-depth exploration of media studies theories and applications related to media industries, texts, and/or audiences. Methods applied and types of media studied will vary depending on instructor's expertise. Theories and research methods used by noted media studies scholars will be discussed and critiqued, and students will engage in their own research and/or practical applications guided by selected media studies theories and methods. Prerequisite: CST 190 or CST 271; junior standing. Offered Occasionally.

CST 491 Cr.3

Special Topics in Communication Studies

Study in a selected area of communication studies. Varying topics will be offered at intervals, with a specific title assigned to each. For current content and credit assignment, consult the instructor or department chair. Course prerequisites vary by topics. Repeatable for credit - maximum nine. Offered Occasionally.

CST 498 Cr.3

Research Methods in Communication

Examines research methods for answering communication research questions in all communication studies emphases. Investigates qualitative, quantitative, and critical approaches, as well as underlying assumptions of all communication research. Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in CST 301; junior standing. Offered Fall, Spring.

CST 499 Cr.3

Senior Project in Communication Studies

Students will conduct an individual investigation of a specific research question that results in a formal written research report. Some projects may involve a digital production or applied projects that also address an original question or problem and follow the research process. Required classroom attendance and regular consultation with their research adviser contribute to the success of the project, and final results are presented in a formal poster presentation. Prerequisite: grade of "C" or better in CST 498; senior standing. Offered Fall, Spring.