UG Coordinator Message

Welcome! As the Undergraduate Coordinator I am excited that you are contemplating or have decided to complete an undergraduate degree in the School of Communication Studies. Please feel free to e-mail or contact me anytime if you would like more information about any of specific degree programs or would like to me to answer any questions. Faculty and staff in the School of Communication Studies will challenge, support, engage, and enhance your educational experiences at Kent State University from your first to your final course.  

You are in Good Company!

You have chosen one of the most adaptable, flexible, and relevant degrees offered at Kent State University.  More and more students across the nation are recognizing the centrality, significance, and importance of communication today by graduating with a bachelor's degree in communication.  From 2000 to 2009 the number of communication graduates with a bachelor's degree across the U.S. increased 100%,from roughly 35,000 graduates in'99-'00to over 78,000 graduates in '08-'09 (Statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics, 2011).

You Can Incorporate Several New Options into your Degree Studies!

The School of Communication Studies serves over 500 majors and minors in a wide array of concentrations and areas of studies:

The School of Communication Studies recently established two new concentrations that will be available in the fall of 2011 in health communication and global communication.Furthermore, the interpersonal communication major and minor will reflect expanded course offerings, including new classes in family communication, relational communication, and communication across the life span.  Finally, the School of Communication Studies has made adding a specialized minor more attractive and possible to complete within a year or less,with four new 18-credit minors in organizational communication, interpersonal communication, health communication, and public communication.These new developments are the result of engaged faculty who want to provide students with the best education and training in communication that the discipline offers.

You will be Prepared for Extending a Tradition of Excellence!

Your training in Communication Studies theory, research, and skill development will provide you the most up-to-date information being published and presented at international, national, and regional communication conferences.  The faculty study and publish primary research about communication practices and processes occurring through various mediums. This means that your training will incorporate the most dynamic and cutting-edge treatment of human communication applicable to a variety of careers where effective communication is critical.

Your Comm. Studies Degree will provide a Competitive Advantage in the Job Market!

Businesses, organizations, healthcare industries, and nonprofit agencies consistently rank effective communication skills as the most important job-hiring consideration, ranking even above technical skills.  Pursuing a Communication Studies degree will allow you the ability to bring diverse insights to the role of communication in a variety of ways.  Managers, communication experts, teachers, sales representatives, political communication consultants, communication strategists, and leaders are a few examples of possible careers for degree-seeking students.  Communication studies degrees examine the role of communication in a wide range of settings and how to adapt messages to diverse situations and circumstances.  Finally, as a Communication Studies student you can enhance your educational experiences by participating in several events that take learning beyond the typical classroom through internships, study abroad opportunities, honor society membership, and peer mentoring/training programs for COMM 15000, Introduction to Human Communication.

Jeffrey T. Child, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor and
Undergraduate Coordinator
Kent State University
School of Communication Studies
PO Box 5190
Kent, OH 44242
Office: (330) 672-1224
E-mail: jchild@kent.edu

Updated: February 2011