Communication: Oral - BA

Excellence in communication is a key to personal and professional success. A St. Kate's communication: oral major provides a student with theoretical understanding and practical skill in oral communication. This is an interdisciplinary major offered by the English and Communication Studies Departments. Students’ instructors will share their genuine dedication to the responsible use of language in all its forms and work with them to master their craft. The curriculum offers students the opportunity to develop their powers of clear explanation and persuasion, which are the keys to success for professional communicators.

Internships are available and encouraged. Students intern in the communications offices of major corporations and at small businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, advertising and public relations agencies, and radio and television stations and networks. Recent internship sites include Best Buy, BI Performance Services, Dynamark Corporation, Ecolab, Green Tree Financial, Medtronic, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, KMSP-TV, KDWB radio station and the St. Paul Heritage and Festival Foundation.

Students in this major demonstrate extraordinary leadership skills, activism and student involvement. For example, three out of four recent presidents of the senate (St. Kate's student government organization) have been communication or communication studies majors.

The communication: oral major is ideal for students considering careers in human resources, human relations, organizational consulting, public relations, promotion and advertising, management, sales and a wide range of other positions within organizations. Students who choose this major work closely with faculty to design their program of study. Speech communication courses blend the traditions of rhetoric with contemporary communication theory to provide students with critical-thinking, speaking and listening skills necessary to become a successful and responsible leader.

In order to assist students in choosing a career path that most suits their interests, the Communication Club - a student club - has begun a speaker series that allows students to ask graduates about how majoring in communication had an impact on their professional careers.

See also: Communication Studies, English, Education - Communication Arts and Literature with Grades 5-12 Teaching Licensure (for those interested in teaching communication arts and literature in secondary schools)

This major is offered in the College for Women only.

Curriculum

Communication majors satisfy the Writing Requirement for Majors by completing ENGL 2302W Writing for Writers or ENGL 3360W Professional Writing. They complete the Liberal Arts and Sciences Core Writing Requirement with three other writing intensive courses (CORE 1000W The Reflective Woman or CORE 2000W The Reflective Woman, CORE 3990W Global Search for Justice, and any other writing-intensive course in this interdepartmental major or another department).