Communication
OFFICE: 127 Media Center Communication Building, Marshall College
(858) 534-4410
http://communication.ucsd.edu
Professors
Courses
Communication at UCSD is a field of study which emphasizes the
role of different technologies of communication, from language,
to television, to the Internet, in mediating human experience.
It draws from such social science disciplines as anthropology,
psychology, sociology, and political science, and from the humanities
and fine arts, including theatre, literature, and visual arts.
Communication students will develop a critical awareness of the
communicative forces that affect their everyday lives.
The communication major is not designed as a training program
in advertising, journalism, production, or public relations. It
provides students with a solid liberal arts background necessary
for graduate studies in communication and other disciplines, and
for professional work in a number of communication-related fields,
including primary and secondary education.
Though the emphasis of the major is not a technical one, the
faculty in the Department of Communication believe that students
will develop a deeper understanding of how communication works
by exploring firsthand the capabilities and limitations of a variety
of media; students, therefore, will have the opportunity to conduct
part of their studies in video, writing, theatre performance,
or computer communication.
Within the Department of Communication curriculum are three
broadly defined areas of study: Communication as a Social Force,
Communication and Culture, and Communication and Human Information
processing. Students take courses in each of these areas.
Communication as a Social Force
How are social systems affected by communication technology?
What is the social organization of the communication industries?
How is the information presented by the media related to the characteristics
of the intended audiences? How do media fit into the power structure
of societies? Courses in this area address such questions. Students
analyze mass communications, the development of telecommunication
and information technologies, and the political economy of communication
institutions both at home and abroad.
Communication and Culture
Film, music, advertising, art, theater, ritual, literature,
and language are forms of communication which embody cultural
beliefs of the societies from which they come. These media can
influence and bring about changes in social behavior, styles,
and traditions. At the same time, individuals and groups can reshape
the media. Students will study the social production of cultural
objects, the cultural traditions that shape their form and content,
and various approaches to interpreting or reading
television, film, newspapers, language, rituals, and other forms.
Communication and Human Information Processing
How do people turn concepts and ideas into messages? What is
the process by which people receive and respond to those messages?
Each mediumwhether it is language, writing, or electronic
mediahas different properties that change the way people
create and comprehend messages. The impact of television on the
individual, the effect of literacy on individuals and on cultures,
the ways that concepts are transmitted in film, and the means
by which computers expand communication potentials are examples
of topics investigated in this area.
The Communication Major
Degree offered: Bachelor of Arts
The major consists of two lower-division courses and fourteen
upper-division courses. None of the major courses may be taken
on a Pass/No Pass basis.
Lower-Division
*COGN 20: Introduction to Communication
COGN 21: Methods of Media Production
Upper-Division
*COSF 100: Introduction to Communication as a Social Force
*COCU 100: Introduction to Communication and Culture
*COHI 100: Introduction to Communication and Human Information
Processing
*COGN 150: Senior Seminar in Communication
One media methods course
Three courses beyond the introductory courses: (one must be
chosen from each of the categories: COSF, COCU, and COHI)
Six upper-division communication electives
* These courses must be taken at UCSD.
Note: If students choose to do a 198, 199, or 197 note the following.
COGN 198, 199, 197 grading option is Pass/No Pass and only ONE
may be applied to the major to satisfy an upper-division elective.
AIP 197 must be petitioned for approval for the major.
Residency Requirement
Students are required to complete at least ten classes of their
overall work in the major at UCSD. Following are the communication
classes required to be taken at UCSD. See your college adviser
for further residency requirements.
COGN 20: Introduction to Communication
COGN 21: Methods of Media Production
COSF 100: Introduction to Communication as a Social Force
COCu 100: Introduction to Communication and Culture
COHI 100: Introduction to Communication and Human Information
Processing
COGN 150: Senior Seminar
One COCU elective
One COHI elective
One COSF elective
One COMT elective
Requirements for the Communication Minor
(Effective fall 1998)
The communication minor at UCSD is a social science minor. None
of the courses may be taken on a Pass/Not Pass basis. Students
are required to take seven courses in communication as follows:
*COGN 20 (Introduction to Communication)
Two courses of your choice from the following 100s:
*COSF 100 (Introduction to Communication as a Social Force)
*COCU 100 (Introduction to Communication and Culture)
*COHI 100 (Introduction to Communication and Human Information
Processing)
*Four upper-division communication electives within the areas
of the chosen 100 classes.
*These courses must be taken at UCSD within the communication
department.
Note: COGN 100, COGN 150, 197, 198, and 199 Media Methods,
and courses outside of the department may not be used as electives
within the minor.
The Honors Program
The Department of Communication offers an honors program to
those students who have demonstrated excellence in the communication
major. Successful completion of the honors program enables the
student to graduate With Highest Distinction, With
High Distinction, or With Distinction, depending on
performance in the program. The honors program requires an application.
Students wishing to be considered need to include the following
in their application: one faculty adviser who supports their admission
to the program, a verified overall GPA of 3.0 and a major GPA
of 3.5, and a brief but detailed description of the proposed research
or creative project.
Applications will be reviewed by a faculty committee, accepting
students who meet these criteria. Students who do not meet these
criteria but who have promising projects may be admitted by special
dispensation with strong faculty endorsement and a letter of
recommendation.
Once accepted into the Honors Program, students are required
to complete a two-quarter course sequence, COGN 191A/191B in
the
fall and winter quarters of their senior year. At the end of
the fall quarter, students will receive an IP grade report.
This grade
will change to the final letter grade at the completion of the
course sequence in the winter quarter. This grade is based on
attendance in the seminars and successful completion of the research
paper or creative production.
The Graduate Program
The Department of Communication offers a program of study leading
to the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Communication at UCSD seeks
to combine modes of analysis from the humanities and social sciences
to explore the history, structure, and process of communication.
The graduate program is conceived as a blending of the tradition
of critical communication research with the empirical tradition
of American scholarship. The program does not closely resemble
any other communication department in this country. It is related
by sympathy and interest to mass communication programs, but not
by kinship. Historically, this department grew out of an interdisciplinary
program jointly sponsored by the Departments of Drama (currently,
Theatre and Dance), Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology.
The department retains strong ties to the departments and disciplines
from which it developed.
The study of communication at UCSD places major emphasis on
historical and comparative approaches to symbolically mediated
human activity. The graduate curriculum is organized around
three perspectives: 1. Communication as a Social Force, 2.
Communication and Culture, and 3. Communication and the Individual.
Communication as a Social Force deals with the history and
political economy of mediated communication and the study
of the media as social institutions. The department is particularly
strong in the areas of telecommunications, regulation, and
information studies. Special interests include the increasing
importance of information and information technologies in
American society and the global consequences of media practices.
Communication and Culture involves the analysis of culture,
using traditions from literature, folklore, history, sociology,
and anthropology to focus on the social construction of interpretation
and meaning. Special interests include the study of broadcast
news, print journalism, commercial entertainment, and live
performances as communicative systems. The department is particularly
strong in the areas of popular culture, political culture,
and the relationship of nature to culture. Communication and
the individual involves examination of the individual as socially
constituted through language and other media. Special interests
include computer-mediated interaction, the effects of specified
media practices on individual consciousness, and the language
and culture of the deaf community. The program also emphasizes
a production component in which students test theory in practical
implementations. Some faculty and student interests bridge
the components of the curriculum. Faculty research interests
that do so include concepts of person and mind, communication
and collective memory; relations of language, power and culture;
gender and cultural forms; telecommunications and information
studies and communication and technology in the work place.
Ph.D. Requirements
1. 200A-B-C (Introduction to the Theory of Communication as
a Social Force, Communication and Culture, and Communication and
the Individual).
2. 294, The History of Communication Research.
3. At least three methods courses from the 201 methodology
sequence (see course listings).
4. Four courses in communication history and theory (see course
listings).
5. 280, Advanced Workshop in Communication Media.
6. 296, Communication Research as an Interdisciplinary Activity.
7. First-Year Exam and Evaluation: At the end of the spring
quarter of the students first year, the student must pass
a comprehensive written examination based on course work completed
during the first year.
8. Language Requirement: All students are required to demonstrate
proficiency in one language other than their native language.
9. Qualifying Examinations: Before the end of the fourth year
the student must take and pass an oral qualifying examination.
The exam will be based on two papers concerning two of the subfields
covered in the program. The student will also present a separate
dissertation proposal at the examination. At this time, the faculty
will examine the proposal for appropriateness and feasibility.
10. Teaching Requirement: In order to acquire teaching experience,
all students are required to participate in the teaching activities
of the university for three academic quarters.
11. Dissertation: Acceptance of the dissertation by the university
librarian represents the final step in completing all requirements
for a Ph.D. The dissertation committee must be approved by the
department chair and the dean of Graduate Studies.
Departmental Ph.D. Time Limit Policies
Students must be advanced to candidacy by the end of four years.
Total university support cannot exceed seven years. Total registered
time at UCSD cannot exceed eight years.
Student Advising
Faculty Graduate Adviser: Brian Goldfarb, Ph.D.
Faculty Undergraduate Adviser: Michael Schudson, Ph.D.
Undergraduate Student Affairs Advisers: Bea Velasco Jamie Lloyd
Graduate Program Coordinator: Gayle Aruta
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