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Major Requirements

communication department

Class of 2014

Class of 2015 and beyond

For the class of 2013 and prior classes

Eleven courses are required for the major, consisting of the following four common requirements, four distributed requirements, and three electives.

Four Common Requirements (four courses)

  • CO 010 - Rhetorical Tradition
    This course, and/or CO 020, should be taken before any other course in the major.
  • CO 020 - Survey of Mass Communication
    This course, and/or CO 010, should be taken before any other course in the major.
  • CO 030 - Public Speaking
  • CO 350 - Research Methods

Four Distributed Requirements (four courses)

One of the Cluster Courses:
  • CO 040 - Interpersonal Communication (formerly numbered CO 253)
  • CO 249 - Communication Law
  • CO 250 - Mass Communication Ethics
  • CO 251 - Gender and Media
  • CO 255 - Media Aesthetics
  • CO 260 - American Public Address
  • CO 263 - Media, Law and Society
  • CO 268 - Business of Electronic Media
One of the Theory Courses:
  • Any course numbered between CO 360 and CO 380
  • Theory courses should not be taken until after a student has completed
    CO 010 - Rhetorical Tradition, CO 020 - Survey of Mass Communication, CO 030 - Public Speaking, and CO 350 - Research Methods
Two Writing-Intensive Seminars:
  • Any two courses numbered between CO 425 and CO 475
  • These are upper-level courses and should not be taken until after a student has completed CO 010 - Rhetorical Tradition, CO 020 - Survey of Mass Communication, CO 030 - Public Speaking, and CO 350 - Research Methods. Freshmen and sophomores should never register for writing-intensive seminars.

Three Electives (three courses)

  • May be chosen from available courses in the department

Note: Any three-hour class offered by the department can be counted as an elective, including CO 589 - Senior Internship Seminar and CO 592 - Honors Thesis. A limit of one three-credit internship (Senior Internship Seminar) may be taken as an elective.

 

For the class of 2014

Thirty-three credits are required for the major, consisting of the following four common requirements, four distributed requirements, and three electives.

Four Common Requirements (12 credits)

  • CO 010 - Rhetorical Tradition
    This course, and/or CO 020, should be taken before any other course in the major.
  • CO 020 - Survey of Mass Communication
    This course, and/or CO 010, should be taken before any other course in the major.
  • CO 030 - Public Speaking
  • CO 350 - Research Methods

Four Distributed Requirements (12 credits)

One of the Cluster Courses:
  • CO 040 - Interpersonal Communication (formerly numbered CO 253)
  • CO 249 - Communication Law
  • CO 250 - Mass Communication Ethics
  • CO 251 - Gender and Media
  • CO 255 - Media Aesthetics
  • CO 260 - American Public Address
  • CO 263 - Media, Law and Society
  • CO 268 - Business of Electronic Media
One of the Theory Courses:
  • Any course numbered between CO 360 and CO 380
  • Theory courses should not be taken until after a student has completed CO 010 - Rhetorical Tradition, CO 020 - Survey of Mass Communication,
    CO 030 - Public Speaking, and CO 350 - Research Methods
Two Writing-Intensive Seminars:
  • Any two courses numbered between CO 425 and CO 475
  • These are upper-level courses and should not be taken until after a student has completed CO 010 - Rhetorical Tradition, CO 020 - Survey of Mass Communication, CO 030 - Public Speaking, and CO 350 - Research methods. Freshmen and sophomores should never register for writing-intensive seminars.

Three Electives (nine credits)

May be chosen from available courses in the department.

Note: Any three-hour class offered by the department can be counted as an elective, including CO 589 - Senior Internship Seminar and CO 592 - Honors Thesis. A limit of one three-credit internship (Senior Internship Seminar) may be taken as an elective.

 

For the class of 2015 and beyond

Thirty-three credits are required for the major, consisting of the following five common requirements, three distributed requirements, and three electives.

Five Common Requirements (15 credits)

  • CO 010 - Rhetorical Tradition
    This course, and/or CO 020 and CO 040, should be taken before any other course in the major.
  • CO 020 - Survey of Mass Communication
    This course, and/or CO 010 and CO 040, should be taken before any other course in the major.
  • CO 030 - Public Speaking
  • CO 040 - Interpersonal Communication
    This course, and/or CO 010 and CO 020, should be taken before any other course in the major.
  • One of CO 330 - Communication Methods: Social Science or CO 340 - Communication Methods: Critical/Cultural. CO 330 and CO 340 will be offered beginning Fall 2012.

Three Distributed Requirements (Nine credits)

One of the Theory Courses:

  • Any course numbered between CO 360 and CO 380
  • Theory courses should not be taken until after a student has completed CO 010 - Rhetorical Tradition, CO 020 - Survey of Mass Communication, CO 030 - Public Speaking, CO 040 - Interpersonal Communication and one of CO 330 - Communication Methods: Social Science or CO 340 - Communication Methods: Critical/Cultural.

Two Writing-Intensive Seminars:

  • Any two courses numbered between CO 425 and CO 475
  • These are upper-level courses and should not be taken until after a student has completed CO 010 - Rhetorical Tradition, CO 020 - Survey of Mass Communication, CO 030 - Public Speaking, CO 040 - Interpersonal Communication and one of CO 330 - Communication Methods: Social Science or CO 340 - Communication Methods: Critical/Cultural. Freshmen and sophomores should never register for writing-intensive seminars.

Three Electives (Nine credits)

May be chosen from any three hour classes offered by the department.  Please note the following: 1) a maximum of six transfer credits will be accepted by the department and 2) a limit of one three-credit internship may be taken as an elective.

Full-time communication majors in the College of Arts and Sciences can count one three-credit course from the Woods College as a communication elective. This rule does not apply to courses transferred from another institution or to students transferring from another college within Boston College.

Sequence of Courses

The three required survey courses (CO 010 - Rhetorical Tradition, CO 020 - Survey of Mass Communication, and CO 040 - Interpersonal Communication) should be taken before all other courses in the major, followed by CO 030 - Public Speaking and one of CO 330 - Communication Methods: Social Science or CO 340 - Communication Methods: Critical/Cultural.

The five required courses, CO 010 - Rhetorical Tradition, CO 020 - Survey of Mass Communication, CO 030 - Public Speaking, CO 040 - Interpersonal Communication and one of CO 330 - Communication Methods: Social Science or CO 340 - Communication Methods: Critical/Cultural are prerequisites for all other communication classes. Majors should not register for a theory course, writing-intensive seminars, or any elective until after they have completed the courses noted above.

After finishing the common requirements (Sophomore year or the first semester of the Junior year), majors should enroll in a theory course. At some point during the Junior year, one or both writing-intensive seminars should be taken, but never in the same semester. If majors enroll in one writing-intensive seminar during Junior year, the remaining writing-intensive will be completed during Senior year.

Electives can be concluded concurrently with the distributed requirements. Please check course requirements and listings; some courses require professor permission and prerequisites for enrollment.