This course provides research experience in either social science or the critical/interpretative research tradition for juniors and seniors. Students assist a department faculty member in various aspects of the research process (e.g. reviewing literature, gathering and analyzing data, etc.). Students must prepare and submit a written summary of their research work for a final grade. Interested students should contact the department chair to see what research opportunities are available in a given semester.

Upper level courses in various areas of the communication discipline. Course content varies with each offering.

Deception occurs in communication behavior across species, and lying (i.e., intentional deception) is a pervasive phenomenon in human communication. This course explores the many varieties of deceptive verbal and nonverbal behaviors as well as their motives and consequences, and provides an overview of the research into deception as it has occurred in the field of Communication.

This course is part of the human communication and technology curriculum. This course explores issues and questions about computer-mediated communication in multiple contexts, in order to understand the psychological, interpersonal, professional, social, and cultural implications of computer-mediated communication. The objective of Communication and the Internet is to develop a critical view of online communication by applying the processes and principles of social scientific theories and research to issues and patterns of Internet communication.

The course focuses on critical understanding and evaluation of Disney as a constitutive element of contemporary culture both in the United States and globally.

Since organizations cannot exist without communication and interaction, organizational life is filled with communication activities that intersect with personal boundaries. Management and coordination, training, decision-making, and conflict are only a few examples. On another level, organizations are themselves the products of the constant processes of organizing. Thus, communication forms and maintains organizations by enabling the process of organizing.

Using a variety of different organizational lenses (e.g. culture, workgroup, and agent), students learn to think through how social identity issues materialize in modern organizational policy and practice. Course materials encourage students to take the role of diverse organizational agents as they face ethical dilemmas in examining contemporary social identity issues such as gender, race, class, and age. Students can expect a variety of theory and application integration through intensive class discussion, reflective and analytic writing assignments and a final research project.

Using a variety of different organizational lenses (i.e. culture, workgroup, and agent), students learn to think through issues in modern organizations. Course materials encourage students to take the role of organizational agents as they face ethical dilemmas in examining contemporary organizational issues such as gender, language, class, and technology. Students can expect a variety of theory and application, integration through intensive class discussion, ethics case papers, and an in-depth group project, which includes a 40-minute professional presentation.

Health communication campaigns are coordinated, large-scale efforts to promote health and reduce health risks. Campaigns are traditionally rooted in 1) persuasive approaches which focus on altering attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors and 2) communicative approaches that evaluate multiple levels of communication, different channels, and diverse communication technologies.

This is an advanced relational course, ideal for students who have previous exposure to relational theory and constructs. This course introduces a variety of 'dark side' topics and issues that are often neglected as important phenomena in the scope of human relationships.