ABSTRACT
Santa Clara University's undergraduate major in communication introduces students to humanistic and social scientific approaches to the study of mass and interpersonal communication and provides a grounding in the practice of communication through course offerings in speech, video production, and journalism. Several common goals are emphasized across the curriculum: the integration of theory with practice; the ethical responsibilities of communicators; the study of how communication is shaped by cross-cultural and cross-national factors; a critical examination of mass media industries and their practices with particular attention to perspectives left out by mainstream media; and teaching students to anticipate important social issues presented by emerging technologies. We hope students will emerge from our program as effective communicators, and that they will match their understanding of the communication process with their commitment to raising critical questions about access to and the performance of communication media.
