Communication Studies Major (Speech Concentration), B.S.

College of Arts and Sciences

Department of Communication

Communication Studies Major Information

Department of Communication
ETSU Box 70667
Johnson City, TN 37614
(423) 439-7676
www.etsu.edu/cas/comm/default.aspx

The communication studies major prepares students for work in a broad range of fields that require the ability to work with diverse populations and lead others, articulate ideas and arguments effectively, and critically analyze messages. The skills garnered from the speech major easily translate into careers in law, government, health administration, patient educator, family/patient advocate, social service, the ministry, public relations, sales, training and development, management, human resources, community liaison, customer relations, and the business world at large. Communication Studies majors are natural candidates for work in social justice, civic engagement, and  diversity/equality efforts. Students will develop their skills as rhetorical critics and social scientists in the study and understanding of human communication. The department also provides a teacher education major in communication studies that requires 33 credit hours and a teaching minor that requires 24 credit hours.

General Program Information

To earn a degree from ETSU, there are specific course requirements put forth by ETSU, by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), by each college, and by each department. All students must meet the degree requirements at each of these levels. Please follow the format below:

University-level Degree and Graduation Requirements

• Degree and Graduation Requirements 
• Completion of a minimum of 120 credit hours is required.
• CSCI 1100  or the proficiency exam
• Proficiency Intensive Course Requirements
• Senior Exit Exam
• Additional Requirements for Transfer Students
• Second Bachelor Degrees
• Double Majors/Double Degrees

Total Credit Hours for Degree: 120

College of Arts and Sciences B.S. Degree Requirements

Students majoring in the College of Arts and Sciences must meet the following requirements for the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree. Some requirements must be taken in addition to the General Education Core, whereas others specify which courses from the General Education Core must be taken.

TBR General Education Requirements: 41 - 42 Credit Hours

Below you will see the categories and courses specified under TBR General Education Requirements. Note that certain courses are required for this degree, specific to this major. Thus, these courses will satisfy both a TBR General Education requirement AND a requirement of this major. (Other majors may require different General Education courses.) Where specific courses are required for this major, we only list those courses under the category. If there are no specific major requirements for a category, all course options appear.
 

Communication

9 credits, consisting of 6 credits of written composition and 3 credits of oral communication.

Written Composition

Complete both of the following: 

• ENGL 1010 - Critical Reading and Expository Writing (3 credits)
• ENGL 1020 - Critical Thinking and Argumentation (3 credits)

• Students required to complete learning support in writing must enroll in both ENGL 1011  and in ENGL 1010 . Additional information may be found on the University Advisement Center website www.etsu.edu/uac/learningsupport. Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in ENGL 1010  and ENGL 1020 .

Oral Communication

Complete one of the following:

• SPCH 1300 - Introduction to Communication Studies (3 credits)
• SPCH 2300 - Public Speaking (3 credits)
• SPCH 2320 - Argumentation and Debate (3 credits)

• When one of the oral communication courses listed above is completed to meet the general education core requirement, that course will not count toward ETSU’s oral communication-intensive requirement. (See “Other Graduation Requirements.”) Any additional course from this list that is completed will count toward the oral communication-intensive requirement.

Humanities and Fine Arts

9 credits, consisting of 3 credits of literature, 3 credits of fine arts, and 3 credits of humanities electives.

Literature

Complete one of the following: 

• ENGL 2030 - Literary Heritage (3 credits)
• ENGL 2110 - American Literature I (3 credits)
• ENGL 2120 - American Literature II (3 credits)
• ENGL 2210 - British Literature I (3 credits)
• ENGL 2220 - British Literature II (3 credits)
• ENGL 2330 - World Literature (3 credits)
• ENGL 2430 - European Literature (3 credits)

Fine Arts

Complete one of the following:

• ARTH 2010 - Art History Survey I (3 credits)
• ARTH 2020 - Art History Survey II (3 credits)
• DANC 3500 - Dance as a Human Experience (3 credits)
• HUMT 2310 - Arts and Ideas I (3 credits)
• HUMT 2320 - Arts and Ideas II (3 credits)
• MUSC 1030 - Introduction to Music (3 credits)
• MUSC 1035 - History of Jazz (3 credits)
• THEA 1030 - Introduction to the Theatre (3 credits)

Humanities Electives

Complete one of the following:

• ENGL 3150 - Literature, Ethics, and Values (3 credits)
• ENGL 3280 - Mythology (3 credits)
• ENTC 3020 - Technology and Society (3 credits)
• HIST 1110 - World History and Civilization to 1500 (3 credits)
• HIST 1120 - World History and Civilizations Since 1500 (3 credits)
• PHIL 1030 - Introduction to Philosophy (3 credits)
• PHIL 2020 - Introduction to Ethics (3 credits)
• PHIL 2040 - Philosophy as Conversation (3 credits)
• PHIL 2640 - Science and the Modern World (3 credits)
• RELI 2210 - Introduction to the Study of World Religions (3 credits)

Social and Behavioral Sciences

6 credits, consisting of two of the following: 

• ANTH 1240 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3 credits)

•  

• ECON 1050 - Economics and Society (3 credits) or
• ECON 2210 - Principles of Macroeconomics (3 credits)

•  

• ECON 2220 - Principles of Microeconomics (3 credits)
• GEOG 1012 - Introduction to Cultural Geography (3 credits)
• HDAL 2310 - Developmental Psychology (3 credits)
• HDAL 2340 - Understanding Cultural Diversity (3 credits)
• PSCI 1110 - Political Life (3 credits)
• PSCI 1120 - Introduction to American Government (3 credits)
• PSYC 1310 - Introduction to Psychology (3 credits)
• SOCI 1020 - Introduction to Sociology (3 credits)
• SOCI 2020 - Social Problems (3 credits)
• SRVL 1020 - Introduction to Service-Learning in the Community (3 credits)
• WMST 2010 - Introduction to Women’s Studies (3 credits)

History

6 credits, consisting of both of the following:

• HIST 2010 - The United States to 1877 (3 credits)
• HIST 2020 - The United States since 1877 (3 credits)

• Note:  HIST 2030 History of Tennessee  (3 credits) may be substituted for 3 credits of United States History.

Natural Sciences

Eight (8) credit hours in a SINGLE laboratory science from the following*:

• ASTR 1010 - Astronomy I (4 credits)

• and

• ASTR 1020 - Astronomy II (4 credits)

•  

• BIOL 1010 - Biology for Non-majors I (4 credits)
• BIOL 1011 - Biology for Non-majors Laboratory (0 credit)

• and

• BIOL 1020 - Biology for Non-majors II (4 credits)
• BIOL 1021 - Biology for Non-majors Laboratory II (0 credit)

•  

• BIOL 1110 - Biology for Science Majors Lecture I (4 credits)
• BIOL 1111 - Biology for Science Majors Laboratory I (0 credit)

• and

• BIOL 1120 - Biology for Science Majors Lecture II (4 credits)
• BIOL 1121 - Biology for Science Majors Laboratory II (0 credit)

• or

• BIOL 1130 - Biology for Science Majors Lecture III (4 credits)
• BIOL 1131 - Biology for Science Majors Laboratory III (0 credit)

•  

• CHEM 1110 - General Chemistry Lecture I (4 credits)
• CHEM 1111 - General Chemistry Laboratory I (0 credit)

• and

• CHEM 1120 - General Chemistry Lecture II (4 credits)
• CHEM 1121 - General Chemistry Laboratory II (0 credit)

•  

• GEOG 1110 - Earth Science: Weather and Climate (4 credits)

• and

• GEOG 1120 - Earth Science: Landforms and Processes (4 credits)

•  

• GEOL 1040 - Exploring Geology Lecture (3 credits)
• GEOL 1041 - Exploring Geology Laboratory (1 credit)

• and

• GEOL 1050 - Historical Geology (3 credits)
• GEOL 1051 - Historical Geology Laboratory (1 credit)

•  

• PHYS 2010 - General Physics I-Noncalculus (3 credits)
• PHYS 2011 - General Physics Laboratory I-Noncalculus (1 credit)

• and

• PHYS 2020 - General Physics II-Noncalculus (3 credits)
• PHYS 2021 - General Physics Laboratory II-Noncalculus (1 credit)

• or

• PHYS 2110 - Technical Physics I-Calculus Based (5 credits)

• and

• PHYS 2120 - Technical Physics II-Calculus Based (5 credits)

• * Higher-level laboratory courses in these departments also meet this requirement.

Mathematics

Students eligible to enroll in this math course must do so during their first calendar year of enrollment or prior to accumulating 33 semester credits at ETSU.

Complete one of the following:

• MATH 1530 - Probability and Statistics – Noncalculus (3 credits)

• or

• MATH 1910 - Calculus I (4 credits) as specified by major.

Communication Studies Major (Speech Concentration) Course Requirements: 36 Credit Hours

Take the following:

• SPCH 2330 - Communication Theory (3 credits)

Minor: 18 - 27 Credit Hours

Electives: 1-13 credit hours

Additional Information

Click here to view the Communication Studies Major (B.S.) Suggested Course Sequence 

Teaching Program Information

Speech Major Teacher Education - Students interested in pursuing a teacher education program for certification as a speech communication teacher must consult regularly with two advisors—one in the College of Arts and Sciences AND one in the Office of Student Services, 321 Warf-Pickel Hall, College of Education.