Communication Major

The Department of Communication offers a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and a minor.

For information on BA and BS requirements, read the PSU Bulletin (Catalog) under “Degree Requirements” and see the PSU website on Advising.

There is no formal process for admission to the Department of Communication for undergraduate students, although you must be officially admitted to Portland State University before declaring a major.

Coursework

All students, whether taking a major or minor, must complete courses in communication with a letter grade (not a pass-fail grade) and earn at least a C grade. If you earn a grade of C-minus or less then the course cannot be counted toward your major or minor.

The Major

Below are the requirements for the major in communication: 

• Meet the general University requirements
• Complete 60 credits in communication courses (with a grade of C or better)
• Complete an additional 4 credits of Writing 222 or 333
• Complete the required core courses in communication: 

• Comm 200 Principles of Communication
• Comm 311 Research Methods in Communication
• Comm 316 Communication, Individuals and Discourse
• Comm 326 Communication, Society and Culture

Note: Comm 200 is a prerequisite for the other core courses.

• Complete 44 credits of electives within the Department of Communication

For the 44 credits of electives in communication, note the following:
• At least 36 credits of electives must be in upper-division communication courses, of which

• At least 16 credits of electives must be in courses numbered in the 400-series

• No more than 8 credits may be counted toward the major from courses numbered Comm 401-409

Here's the Math

Remember that you will need to take 64 credits in requirements as a communication major: