The primary objectives of the Communication Department are: to understand and teach the functions, processes, and effects of communication; to attempt to influence communication environments in which we live in a contributory way; and to provide professional preparation for communication-oriented careers, including communication technology, journalism, public relations, organizational communication, and the mass media.

Given these goals, the Department attempts to meet individual performance and career needs with a flexible curriculum. Students select one of the seven tracks offered and confer with their advisors to plan their courses of study. These focused areas of study are not a vocational education, but they will help to prepare students for several employment possibilities.

The six tracks, or concentrated areas of study, offered in Communication are: Communication Technology, Interpersonal Communication and Rhetoric, Journalism (Print Journalism and Broadcast Journalism), Organizational Communication, Public Relations (Public Relations and Advertising), and Radio-Television. In brief, the Department's commitment to a broad-based study of communication activities permits a more intelligent choice of career fields. In addition, it provides a more meaningful classroom experience during the junior and senior years.