Department website: http://comm.wvu.edu/
Degree Offered
- Bachelor of Arts
Nature of the Program
The Department of Communication Studies offers a curriculum to meet the needs of liberal arts and pre-professional students oriented toward communication-related careers such as marketing, sales, recruiting, management, and market research, among many others. The undergraduate curriculum focuses on the application of theory and research in human communication to a variety of personal, social, and organizational settings. All majors complete COMM 491 or COMM 492, an internship or directed study, and COMM 403, the capstone course. These two courses allow students to integrate academic content with real-world experience. For more information about this program, please go to http://communicationstudies.wvu.edu.
Students who earn a degree in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences must complete the University requirements, the College requirements for their specific degree program, and their major requirements.
Minors
All students have the possibility of earning one or more minors; follow the link for a list of all available minors and their requirements. Please note that students may not earn a minor in their major field.
Faculty
Chair
- Lindsay Morris-Neuberger - Ph.D. (Michigan State University)
Health and Risk Communication, Campaigns
Professors
- Alan K. Goodboy - Ph.D. (West Virginia University)
Instructional, Interpersonal, Quantitative Methods - Christine Kunkle - Ph.D. (University of Nebraska)
Family, Life-span, Interpersonal - Matthew M. Martin - Ph.D. (Kent State University)
Instructional, Interpersonal, Communication Traits - Lindsay Morris-Neuberger - Ph.D. (Michigan State University)
Health and Risk Communication, Campaigns - Scott A. Myers - Ph.D. (Kent State University)
Instructional, Family, Organizational
Associate Professors
- Elizabeth L. Cohen - Ph.D. (Georgia State University)
Media Psychology, Entertainment Education, New Media, Health and Risk Communication - Megan R. Dillow - Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University)
Interpersonal, Communication Theory, Relational Communication
Assistant Professors
- Katie K. Kang - Ph.D. (Rutgers University)
Organizational, Group - Daniel Totzkay - Ph.D. (Michigan State University)
Health Communication, Mass Communication - Megan Vendemia - Ph.D. (Ohio State University)
Communication Technology
Teaching Assistant Professors
- John G. Cole - M.A. (West Virginia University)
Instructional, Organizational, Computer Technology
Professors Emerita
- Melanie Booth-Butterfield - Ph.D. (University of Missouri)
- Joan Gorham - Ed.D. (Northern Illinois University)
- Virginia P. Richmond - Ph.D. (University of Nebraska)
Associate Professors Emerita
- Enid J. Portnoy - Ed.D. (West Virginia University)
- John Shibley - Ph.D. (Ohio State University)
Admissions for 2025-2026
- First-Time Freshmen are admitted directly into the major.
- Students transferring from within WVU must have a minimum overall GPA of 2.0 and a 2.0 in Communication Studies courses or have taken at least one COMM course with a minimum grade of C-.
- Students transferring from another institution must have a minimum overall GPA of 2.0 and a 2.0 in Communication Studies courses or have taken at least one COMM course with a minimum grade of C-.
Major Code: 1474
Click here to view the Suggested Plan of Study
General Education Foundations
Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement.
NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations | ||
| F1 - Composition & Rhetoric | 3-6 | |
| Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
or ENGL 103 | Accelerated Academic Writing | |
| F2A/F2B - Science & Technology | 4-6 | |
| F3 - Math & Quantitative Reasoning | 3-4 | |
| F4 - Society & Connections | 3 | |
| F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past | 3 | |
| F6 - The Arts & Creativity | 3 | |
| F7 - Global Studies & Diversity | 3 | |
| F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree) | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 31-37 | |
Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus.
Degree Requirements
Students must complete WVU General Education Foundations requirements, College B.A. requirements, major requirements, and electives to total a minimum of 120 hours. For complete details on these requirements, visit the B.A. Degrees tab on the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences page.
Departmental Requirements for the B.A. in Communication Studies
Completion of the major requires students to earn a minimum of 36 credit hours in Communication Studies courses. All students wishing to obtain a degree in Communication Studies must comply with the following:
- Capstone Requirement: The university requires the successful completion of a Capstone course: COMM 403.
- Writing and Communication Requirement: The Communication Studies Bachelor of Arts is a SpeakWrite Certified ProgramTM. SpeakWrite Certified programs incorporate and develop students’ written, verbal, visual, and mediated communication skills across the curriculum.
- Calculation of the GPA in the Major: A minimum GPA of 2.0 is required in all courses applied to major requirements. If a course is repeated, all attempts will be included in the calculation of the GPA unless the course is eligible for a D/F repeat.
- Experiential Learning: All students must complete a minimum of 3 credits internship (COMM 491 or COMM 492).
Curriculum Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| University Requirements | 78 | |
| ECAS B.A. Requirements | 6 | |
| Communication Studies Major Requirements | 36 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
University Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations (GEF) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (31-37 Credits) | ||
| Outstanding GEF Requirements 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8 | 28 | |
| COMM 191 | First-Year Seminar | 1 |
| General Electives | 49 | |
| Total Hours | 78 | |
ECAS Bachelor of Arts Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ECAS B.A. Requirements | 6 | |
Fine Arts Requirement | ||
Global Studies and Diversity Requirement | ||
| Total Hours | 6 | |
Communication Studies Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CORE COURSES | 9 | |
| Fundamentals of Communication Studies | ||
| Communication Research Methods | ||
| Communication Theory | ||
| ELECTIVE COURSES | 21 | |
Select 21 credit hours of COMM courses, with a minimum of 15 credit hours at the 300- or 400-level (excluding 490) | ||
| EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING: | 3 | |
| Professional Field Experience * | ||
or COMM 492 | Directed Study | |
| CAPSTONE: | 3 | |
| Capstone Seminar | ||
| Total Hours | 36 | |
- *
COMM 491 must be taken for a minimum of 3 credits.
Suggested Plan of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| COMM 191 | 1 | ENGL 101 (GEF 1) | 3 |
| COMM 173 | 3 | GEF 5 | 3 |
| GEF 2 | 4 | ECAS Fine Arts Requirement (GEF 6) | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | GEF 3 | 3 |
| General Elective | 4 | General Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| GEF 4 | 3 | ENGL 102 (GEF 1) | 3 |
| ECAS Global Studies and Diversity Requirement (GEF 7) | 3 | GEF 8* | 3 |
| COMM 203 | 3 | COMM 201 | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| GEF 8* | 3 | COMM 491 | 3 |
| GEF 8* | 3 | COMM Elective | 3 |
| COMM Elective | 3 | COMM Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| COMM Elective | 3 | COMM 403 (Capstone) | 3 |
| COMM Elective | 3 | COMM Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | COMM Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total credit hours: 120 | |||
- *
Courses taken to satisfy the F8 requirement may overlap with major courses. Students who complete a minor, a second major or a dual degree already meet F8.
Degree Progress
- By the end of the fourth semester in the major, students should have completed COMM 201 and COMM 203 with a minimum grade of C- in each.
- All majors must meet with a COMM adviser each semester.
Students who do not meet these expectations may be removed from their major.
Major Learning Outcomes
Communication Studies
Upon successful completion of the B.A. degree, Communication Studies majors will be able to:
1. Identify and explain the primary communication theories, perspectives, principles, and concepts associated with the Communication Studies discipline.
2. Analyze and critique messages using communication theories, perspectives, principles, and concepts.
3. Interpret, design, and conduct original communication-based research.
4. Create and deliver effective communication messages across oral, written, and mediated channels appropriate to the audience, purpose, and context.