Ed Adams, Chair
360 BRMB, (801) 422-2997
College of Fine Arts and Communications Advisement Center
D-444 HFAC, (801) 422-3777
Admission to Degree Program
The degree programs in the Department of Communications have
a departmental application process with specific enrollment
limitations. Please see the college advisement center for details,
telephone 1-877-890-5414, or online at
http://cfac.byu.edu/com/.
Graduation Requirements
To receive a BYU bachelor's degree a student must complete, in
addition to all requirements for a specific major, the following
university requirements:
- The university core, consisting of requirements in general and
religious education (See the University Core section of this
catalog for details. For a complete listing of courses that meet
university core requirements, see the current class schedule.)
- A minimum of 30 credit hours in residence
- A minimum of 120 credit hours
- A cumulative GPA of at least 2.0
Undergraduate Programs and Degrees
BA Communications
Emphases:
Advertising
Broadcast Journalism
Communications Studies
Print Journalism
Public Relations
Minor Communications
Students should see their college advisement center for
information concerning admittance to the undergraduate
programs.
Graduate Programs and Degrees
MA Mass Communications
For more information see the BYU
2007–2008 Graduate Catalog.
General Information
Working under faculty direction, students in the department edit
and publish the Daily Universe as a laboratory newspaper for the
campus, produce daily television broadcasts on local cable, produce
@NewsNet.byu.edu for the Internet, plan advertising and public relations
campaigns, solve media sales and management problems, and use "new
media" in diverse situations.
The Department of Communications sponsors the
International Media Studies Program, which seeks to broaden
students' awareness of worldwide communications issues and
practices. Not only do students have opportunity to study the
media systems of other nations through classes and on-site
experiences, but media practitioners of other nations are also
brought to campus as lecturers and visiting experts.
The department encourages early admission. Students who
enroll in Comms 101, 211, and an introductory course and
complete the English requirement can apply to the major as early
as the second semester of their freshman year.
Departmental Requirements
- Each student must be formally accepted into a degree
program. Contact the college advisement center for admission
requirements or online at http://comms.byu.edu.
- All students must take a campus writing course before
applying for admission to the major. The following writing
courses fulfill this requirement and satisfy the GE First-Year
Writing requirement: Engl 150, Phil 150, or Honrs 150.
- Complete 80 hours outside the department, of which at least
65 hours must be in the liberal arts and sciences.
- Except for communication studies students, every student is
required to complete an internship. Although the department
operates an internship office (280 BRMB) that serves as a
clearinghouse for internship information, the responsibility for
securing an internship rests with the student. However,
students may not embark on any required internship without
prior approval from a faculty advisor, completing prerequisite
courses with a C– or better, before processing appropriate
documents with the Internship Office, and without being
enrolled in Comms 399R.
- Communications students must learn the design software
used in several of the communications upper-level courses
prior to attending the course. Students can learn the software
on their own or take an IT course. Call the IT Office (422-4000)
for more information or visit their Web site at
http://IT.byu.edu/go/adobepub
or http://IT.byu.edu/go/webpub.
- The following software will be used in these courses:
- Adobe Publishing — Comms 330, 331, 421, 428.
- Web Publishing — Comms 485, 487.
