Communications (COM)

COM 100 Introduction to Communication (3 credits)

Focuses on factors and processes involved in interpersonal communication: source and receiver variables, verbal andnonverbal messages, and strategic interaction. Prepares students to argue policy topics and make short speeches.

COM 101 Communication and Public Life (3 credits)

Students explore the relationships between media and communication in public and private settings, including culture industries, social and civic institutions and professions. The course also examines how technology shapes media and communication practices and processes.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 150 First Year Seminar (3 credits)

First-Year seminar course in Communications.

Attributes: First-Year Seminar, Undergraduate

COM 170 Communications Special Topics (1-4 credits)

Topics will vary according to the semester in which the class is offered.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 175 My Digital Life (3 credits)

We live in digital media, not with it. The question is no longer whether it's is good or bad for us, but how we make sense of our immersion in social media, streaming and constant connection. How does it impact who we are, who we have been and who we will become - as individuals and as a society? This course tackles myriad issues related to our digital lives, from addiction and attention to free speech and the "counterfeit self." By the end of the course, students will be able to: explain the role of media in their lives, recognize the way digital media shape their understanding of the world, and analyze moral and ethical dilemmas that arise in our digital lives.

Restrictions: Students cannot enroll who have a major, minor, or concentration in Communication Studies.

Attributes: CCC: Mission: Ethics Social Justice, GEP: Ethics Intensive, Undergraduate

COM 200 Multimedia Storytelling I (3 credits)

This introductory-level creative course in the theory and practice of mediamaking exposes students to the unique storytelling capabilities of a range of digital media formats. Through a series of hands-on projects, students develop creative and critical thinking skills in topics related to self-awareness, identity, and society, as well as examine how communication technologies impact the relationships between audiences, producers, and content.

Attributes: CCC: F&P Arts, Design & Creative, Undergraduate

COM 201 Media and Society (3 credits)

This course explores ethical issues in the field of communications. Themes include: privacy, civic media, citizen journalism, copyright, intellectual property, cyber bullying, net neutrality, social networking, global ethics, and digital divides. Students develop skills in applied ethical decision making, democratic dialogue, and civic participation through a range of projects in both online and community settings.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 202 Visual Design I (3 credits)

This course is an introduction to design within the discipline of communications. Framing design as a rhetorical process, student-designers create hands-on projects and make effective choices for their purpose, audience, and context. In the production of work, students consider ethical issues in design (such as accessibility, visual stereotypes, and cultural differences) and how design choices may shape emotions and contexts for others to experience. Students develop skill in visual communication, including typography, color, file organization, and layout for print and digital media using graphic design software. The course incorporates opportunities for student-centered learning, such as frequent work in small groups during class time and peer reviews of projects.

Attributes: CCC: F&P Arts, Design & Creative, Undergraduate

COM 203 Audio/Video I (3 credits)

In this course, we focus on the methods, theories, and tools of field-based audiovisual production. Students will practice videography, and audio recording in both field- and studio-based environments, and will learn how to edit and revise content in the Adobe Creative Suite. Working throughout the semester on these production skills rooted in rhetorical principles of genre, audience and purpose, students will create a multimedia portfolio of work.

Prerequisites: COM 200 and COM 201

Attributes: CCC: F&P Arts, Design & Creative, Undergraduate

COM 204 Public Speaking (3 credits)

Course covers principles and practices of effective oral presentation. Lectures and exercises are used to enable students to develop and deliver information, demonstrations, and persuasive speeches. Emphasis placed on conceptual frameworks and specific communication skills for scientific audiences.

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate Division level students.

COM 205 Race and Media (3 credits)

This course explores the co-construction of media practices and racial identity in the US. We will ask how media have shaped how we think about race. And we will explore the ways ideas about race have shaped media practices and technologies in turn. The course will examine contemporary debates as well as historical examples while analyzing the role media (films, TV, advertising, news and social media) play in shaping and challenging the social construction of race in contemporary US society.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 210 Sports, Media and Culture (3 credits)

Do sports matter? An estimated 1.5 billion people watched the last World Cup Final on television. In an increasingly divided society, sports may be our last shared cultural narrative. This course explores the intersection of sports, media and concepts such as globalization, race, gender, nationalism, fandom and even fashion – in the past and present. Through a variety of articles, documentaries, book chapters, and podcasts, we will critically examine issues related to media and a variety of sports - from The Premier League to the NFL to the WNBA to the Olympics.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 220 Professional and Academic Comm (3 credits)

This course provides students with the necessary skills to communicate effectively in professional and academic settings. The course emphasizes the importance of clear, concise, and persuasive communication in various contexts, including written, verbal, and non-verbal forms of communication. Students will learn how to tailor their communication style to different audiences, analyze and evaluate various forms of communication, and engage in critical thinking and problem-solving.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 240 Video Game Narrative (3 credits)

Students explore narrative concepts and strategies as they uniquely apply to video games, including the player-protagonist relationship, linear vs. open-world plot structure, narrative experiential density, ludonarrative and emergent gameplay, and narrative written for the style of immersive simulations. Building upon lectures, quizzes and the in-class playing of video games, students complete written analytical assignments and work collaboratively in small groups to develop creative narrative video game concepts.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 260 Strategic Communication (3 credits)

This course provides a foundational understanding of the core principles and application of strategic communication in various contexts. Through a blend of theory, practice and real-world exercises, students will craft, deliver, and evaluate effective strategies to align with client goals, values and target audiences. Examinations of messaging, media channels, and stakeholder engagement reveal issues in strategic communication including crisis, forecasting and brand reputation while integrating ethical considerations, technological acumen and cultural competence. Students are prepared to effectively articulate messaging that drives engagement, manages public perception, navigates integrated media landscapes, motivates masses, and accurately represents organizational goals and identity.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 270 Communications Special Topics (3 credits)

Topics will vary according to the semester in which the class is offered.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 271 Technology and Pop Culture (3 credits)

What kinds of stories do we tell ourselves about our relationship with new technologies? Are they good, bad, or neutral? In this course, we will examine the ways in which emerging and speculative technologies have been depicted in film, television, literature, and other mass media. We will explore utopian imaginings, dystopic visions, questions of humanness itself, and more through the lens of media theory and ethics. Through group screenings and discussions, students will develop a critical vocabulary and produce final video projects that remix course material in creative and critical ways.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 274 Black Popular Culture (3 credits)

The Association of Popular Culture has held an annual conference since 1971 and yet the subject area of Black Popular culture is relatively new. It seems, however, that W.E.B DuBois’ was writing about it as early as his 1897 essay “The Problem of Amusement.” We will begin our study there and trace the trajectory of the development of Black Popular culture in the United States in film, media, and fiction.

Attributes: CCC: Diversity, Undergraduate

COM 275 Black Adaptation (3 credits)

This course focuses on diverse texts and theories regarding adaptation and intertextuality as they impact media. Centering adaptation theory, this course will examine the surge in adaptations, with a particular focus on Black adaptations. The course explores the ways in which texts are adapted from one medium into other media and the ways in which texts intersect and communicate with one another.

Attributes: CCC: Diversity, Undergraduate

COM 290 Professional Prep Seminar (1 credit)

What can you do with a degree in Communication and Media Studies? Do you know how to search for an internship or a job? And, are you ready to apply for a position should the opportunity arise? This professional development seminar will enhance students' knowledge about internships and careers within their major and help them build practical skills through a series of steps and events throughout the semester. This one-credit course meets once a week through the semester to provide practical instruction and skills in areas that include internship search and application, resume/cover letter prep, professional communication and networking/interviewing.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 301 Media Law and Ethics (3 credits)

This course explores the intersection of law, ethics, and media practice. Students will examine legal frameworks governing media, including free speech, defamation, privacy, and intellectual property. Through case studies and critical analysis, we will explore ethical challenges faced by journalists, advertisers, and digital media professionals, focusing on issues like social media regulation, press freedom, and the balance between public interest and individual rights. By the end of the course, students will develop the tools to navigate legal and ethical dilemmas in a rapidly changing media landscape.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 303 Audio/Video II (3 credits)

In this course, we focus on intermediate-level methods, theories and tools of field-based audiovisual production. Building upon the content of Audio/Video I, this course places an additional emphasis on lighting, sound design, and field producing skills. Students work in small groups to complete media projects for campus and/or community organizations.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 371 Media Advocacy (3 credits)

Media advocacy focuses on the strategic use of communication and media channels for the purpose of social change and to influence public policy initiatives, including issues related to health, criminal justice, climate change, and race. Students will explore how institutions and individuals past and present have employed media to improve their communities. Advocacy media differs from traditional mass media in that it strategically empowers communities and individuals to shape public debates on issues that impact them. Traditional mass media aim to fill the “knowledge gap,” while advocacy media fills the “power gap." Communication fee $115.

Prerequisites: COM 200 and COM 201

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 372 Intro to Web Design (3 credits)

This course explores the principles and best practices for creating web content, ranging from introductory work in HTML to design prototypes and web typography. Students will work with several types of web content (text, image, audio, video) and consider how that content is best used in the composition of usable, accessible, and attractive web sites. Students will also learn about the structure/history of the web, typical design workflows, and potential careers in web work.

Prerequisites: (COM 200 and COM 202) or ART 190

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 382 Global Digital Media (3 credits)

Communications study tour students will study how digital media is used outside the context of the United States, and study the role it plays in other cultures. Through travel to another country students will be able to research and experience first hand differences in digital media practices. Destination varies depending on semester. As part of this course students will produce a digital media project that reflects both their in class research and study abroad experience.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 400 Health Communication and Educ (3 credits)

This course introduces principles and techniques of health communication to ‘inform, educate and empower people about health issues.’ Our focus will include communicating about health and science to the public through media channels, health advocacy, patient information and decision aids, as well emergency and crisis communication. Students will create multiple products for group critique with the goal of developing skills and competency.

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate Division level students.

COM 402 Advanced Web Design (3 credits)

The class will be a mixture of web design theory and practical front-end techniques. Students are expected to have experience hand-coding websites using HTML and CSS, a basic understanding of using Git, and be familiar with basic principles of design such as color and typography. Topics covered will include: usability, accessibility, Git, Javascript/jQuery, designing for content management, and using Wordpress as a CMS. By the end of this course, students should have a solid understanding of the web design industry and modern web design techniques.

Prerequisites: COM 372 and COM 200 and COM 201

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 410 Sports Media Production (3 credits)

This course focuses on the creation of narrative-driven sports content through audio and video production. Students will learn the techniques and processes involved in storytelling, including interviewing, capturing compelling footage, and editing to produce engaging narratives. Emphasizing both the technical and creative aspects of production, the course covers cinematography, sound design, and post-production workflows. Through hands-on projects, students will develop skills in producing sports content for digital platforms, gaining experience in creating impactful documentaries and feature pieces that showcase athletic stories and the cultural significance of sports.

Prerequisites: COM 203

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 411 Health Literacy (3 credits)

Health literacy—or the ability to obtain, process and act on health information–is an essential patient safety and public health issue. This course provides key concepts and skills for students in health related fields to identify patients with health literacy risks; to provide clear health and medical information in oral and written formats; and to assess and modify healthcare delivery systems and environments to enhance patient access and understanding.

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate Division level students.

COM 438 Advanced Media Research (3 credits)

This advanced course focuses on the principles and methods of community-engaged scholarship with an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Students will design and execute a research or writing project addressing critical public issues in collaboration with community partners. In partnership with the John Cardinal Foley Program for Media and Civic Engagement, the course culminates in a publishable or presentable project showcasing innovative approaches to community-engaged research.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 439 Managing Teams and Projects (3 credits)

This course prepares students to lead digital media teams and manage projects with strategic focus in nonprofit, community-based, and professional contexts. Students will learn to create strategic plans that align media initiatives with organizational goals, assemble and manage diverse teams in inclusive environments, and apply project management principles to deliver impactful results. This course emphasizes collaborative leadership, inclusive content creation, and ethical decision-making while equipping students to tackle real-world challenges in digital media through hands-on projects.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 441 Media and Community Engagement (3 credits)

Not-for-profit and community-based organizations rely on strategic digital communication to drive social change. In this course, students gain in-depth knowledge of communication theories and practices while collaborating with local organizations through the John Cardinal Program for Media and Civic Engagement. Working as part of a project team, students will design and execute research-based communication strategies in partnership with nonprofit organizations to address real-world challenges.

Prerequisites: COM 200

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 442 Non-Profit Communications (3 credits)

This course examines how not-for-profit organizations use strategic digital communication to drive social change. Students will explore communication theories and apply social media strategies while conducting research projects with local organizations through the John Cardinal Program for Media and Civic Engagement. Active participation in project teams is required as students collaborate with partners in the Greater Philadelphia area and beyond.

Prerequisites: COM 200

Attributes: CCC: Writing Intensive, Undergraduate

COM 443 Justice By Design (3 credits)

This course explores how systems of oppression and inequity are designed—and can be redesigned. Students will examine equity-based design approaches that address power, privilege, and oppression, ensuring fair distribution of benefits and burdens, inclusive participation, and recognition of diverse design practices. Through methods like asset-based community building, mutuality, and co-creation, students will learn to cultivate equity and justice. By the course’s end, students will apply these methods to their own work and develop actionable strategies for equity by design.

Attributes: CCC: Diversity, GEP: Diversity Course, Undergraduate

COM 444 Mindful Communication (3 credits)

In this experiential course, we combine the study of communication theory with mindfulness training. Mindfulness is about paying attention on purpose to what's happening in the present moment –without judgment. We will explore a range of research topics related to mindful communication, including attention, presence, deep listening, perspective taking, relational awareness, communication goals, conversational dynamics, and emotional intelligence. We will also examine real-world examples of mindful (and mindless) communication in relationships, school, public, and social media. With these skills, we can increase our ability to communicate effectively in each unique situation we encounter and modify unproductive communication habits.

Prerequisites: COM 200 and COM 201

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 445 Advanced Media Research (3 credits)

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 451 Privacy/Surv in the Dig Era (3 credits)

Based on your cell phone history researchers can predict where you will be 24 hours from now. You can download and install software onto a computer to monitor and capture everything a user does. Nearly every thing you buy is recorded in a database. Corporations track every page view and click. Your email is easily read by third parties. Target knows when a customer is pregnant. Even the post office scans and digitally images every piece of mail it sends. It is impossible to not leave a digital trace, and all of these traces are being collected. In this class we will look at how our digital lives intersect with and effect our privacy. Is privacy dead in the age of constant surveillance? Should we even care? And who benefits from all this data collection? We will look to answer these question both on a technological level, what is possible, and a critical level, what does this mean for democracy and society. We will also seek to put this knowledge into practice, understanding and using what tools and techniques citizens can employ to regain privacy both in their lives as individuals and citizens.

Prerequisites: (COM 200 and COM 201)

Attributes: Justice Ethics and the Law , Undergraduate

COM 452 Podcasting (3 credits)

Students focus on producing podcasts, from understanding form and genre to techniques in working with digital sound production. Students will learn advanced audio recording and post-processing techniques and tools, integrate music, write and revise scripts, publish and promote their work digitally, learn and practice interviewing techniques, and work collaboratively to create a cohesive series. Previous experience working with audio recording and editing will be helpful, though it is not a prerequisite. Communications Lab Fee $115

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 453 Visual Design II (3 credits)

In this course, students will develop a graphic design portfolio and deepen their knowledge of typography, color theory, the graphic design profession, and more. As a communications course, it emphasizes rhetorical dimensions of design, including purpose and audience. During the creative process, students will move through phases of research, planning, drafting, feedback, revision, and reflection-with an emphasis on sketching as a means of paying attention and gathering inspiration. Class projects may include branding materials, illustrations, posters, and magazine layouts for both print and digital formats. The primary goal of the course is to produce portfolio-quality work in graphic design and to build on skills and concepts covered in previous courses. Students should have at least a working knowledge of Adobe software products, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Qualified students may seek instructor approval

Prerequisites: (COM 202 or ART 190 or MKT 325 or CSC 341)

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 455 Music Protest & Social Justice (3 credits)

Popular musicians use their platform to release songs, videos, and statements that reveal, condemn, and inspire action in response to perceived social, political, and military injustices. These songs, videos, and statements exist within a complex system of power, cultures, values, politics, entertainment, music, and texts. In this course, we will consider that complex system by analyzing protest and social justice songs that cover important issues, including race, civil rights, sexual orientation, war, labor, and immigration, from Slavery Spirituals to the present moment. In doing so, we will see how protest music works within social movements, fights power, encourages activism, and, perhaps, inspires change.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 457 Black Women Content Creators (3 credits)

Linked by race, gender, and fate, but arguably little else, how do Black women content creators write themselves into the idea of America? This course examines, exclusively, Black women’s media creations to answer this question. Covering a wide array of approaches, students are positioned to effectively question notions of privilege and power driven by the intersectionalities of gender and race. Some background in Black history, culture, and/or literature is recommended, but not required.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 460 Health Communication Advocacy (3 credits)

This course will address the topic of health as it is enacted and defined within the discipline of communication studies. This course systematically explores and elaborates key concepts, principles, and underlying theories pertinent to public health communication campaigns and advocacy practices. Specifically, this course will provide students with conceptual and applied knowledge about communication interactions and its effects on health care, health practitioners, and patients. Topics include but are not limited to patient-provider interaction, social and cultural issues of health, mass media representations of health and healthy behaviors, and communication within health organizations.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 465 Bear Witness:Images/Soc Change (3 credits)

For most of us the visual experience of war comes from images. We will likely never see war first-hand so photographs, movies, video games and graphic novels help shape our collective understanding and memory of armed conflict. This course will investigate images of war from the United States, Iran, Spain, Rwanda, both World Wars, the war in Vietnam and the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will examine photographs, films and video games and discuss the dual purpose of war images - as pieces of art and as the documentation of an event.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 470 Communications Special Topics (3 credits)

Topics will vary according to the semester in which the class is offered.

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to students with a major, minor, or concentration in English.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 473 Special Topics/ Com&Digi Media (3 credits)

This special topics course will explore a specialized area at the intersection of technology and rhetoric.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 475 Crime, Justice, & Media (3 credits)

This course examines media narratives of crime and justice in the United States. We will analyze and discuss how these narratives impact incarceration, sentencing, policing and criminal justice policy. We will also consider how to produce new narratives, stories of redemption, through meetings and interviews with men and women who have or are serving life-without-parole sentences in Pennsylvania prisons, their families and advocacy groups lobbying for criminal justice reform. The course includes at least one group visit to a prison, accompanied by the instructor, to talk to men serving life sentences. Media production experience is helpful, but not required.

Restrictions: Enrollment limited to students with a class of Junior or Senior.

Attributes: GEP: Diversity Course, Faith Justice Course, Justice Ethics and the Law , Undergraduate

COM 480 Senior Capstone (3 credits)

This required course provides department majors an opportunity to propose, plan, create and present a project to demonstrate what they have learned during their time at the university. The course focuses on an individual, semester-long creative and/or research project. The project scope and logistics will be negotiated between the student and instructor. The project is designed to serve as a transition from undergraduate to professional work and/or graduate school. The course includes a public presentation at the end of the semester.

Restrictions: Enrollment limited to students with a class of Senior. Enrollment is limited to students with a major in Communication Studies.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 491 Communications Internship (1-3 credits)

An on-the-job learning experience in which students spend 12-15 hours a week over a semester, with opportunities to develop further their understanding of communications, ideally in a career field close to their own interests. Normally taken in the junior or senior years, after career interests have clarified through diverse courses in the curriculum.

Prerequisites: COM 200 and COM 201

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 492 Independent Study (6 credits)

Students will study a topic in communications with a faculty mentor.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 493 Indep Research Project I (3 credits)

Directed independent reading and research with a faculty mentor. Open to senior Communication and Media Studies majors and minors and other senior students by permission of the Chair. Includes Honors Thesis.

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 494 Indep Research Project II (3 credits)

Attributes: Undergraduate

COM 700 Health Communication and Educ (3 credits)

COM 711 Health Literacy (3 credits)