Exploring the UCLA Department of Communication Studies: A Comprehensive Overview

The UCLA Department of Communication Studies offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to understanding human communication across various levels of analysis. This dynamic program provides students with a solid foundation in communication theories and principles, preparing them for a wide range of careers and advanced studies. The major leads to a Bachelor of Arts degree and combines courses from multiple departments, offering a unique breadth of subject matter.

Curriculum Structure and Requirements

Students pursuing a Communication major at UCLA must complete a set of lower and upper-division courses. The major consists of at least 45 units, including required courses, providing a broad understanding of the field.

Lower Division Courses

While the specific lower-division course requirements aren't detailed in the provided text, it's crucial to understand that these courses lay the groundwork for advanced study in communication. Generally, these courses introduce students to fundamental concepts and theories in the field.

Upper Division Courses

The upper-division curriculum delves into specialized areas within communication. Key areas of study include:

Mass Communication and Media Studies: Explores the role of media in society, including its effects, impact on culture, and ethical considerations.
Interpersonal Communication: Focuses on communication processes in relationships and social interactions.
Communication Technology and Digital Systems: Examines the influence of technology on communication patterns and the implications of digital media.
Political and Legal Communication: Analyzes communication within political and legal contexts, including rhetoric, persuasion, and media coverage of political events.

The curriculum is subject to change, and enrollment in the major is limited and competitive, requiring an application to the selection committee.

Core Course Examples and Descriptions

The UCLA Communication Studies department offers a diverse array of courses covering various aspects of communication. Here are some examples, drawing from the provided list:

Communication 100: Communication Science: Examines fundamental principles in human communication science. It requires a prerequisite of course 10, Linguistics 1, Sociology 1, Psychology 10, or instructor consent.
Communication 101: Freedom of Communication: Explores legal, political, and philosophical issues related to free expression, access to audiences, and access to information.
Communication 102: Principles of Argumentation: Focuses on the analysis of propositions, tests of evidence, and briefing techniques.
Communication 104: Rumors, Gossip, and Urban Legends in Journalism: Explores the role and impact of these phenomena in media and society.
Communication 105: Conspiracy Theories, Media, and Middle East: Analyzes conspiracy theories in Middle Eastern media, examining their relationship to society and politics. It emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach, and background knowledge of the Middle East is not required.
Communication 106: Reporting America: Introduces students to Western European and Middle Eastern news media, with a focus on comparative case studies.
Communication 107: Terrorism in Journalism: Focuses on how media outlets in the Middle East represent Islamist terrorism, exploring the evolution of the meaning of terrorism in Muslim societies.
Communication 108: Communication and Identity: Studies the relationships between communication, culture, and identity, examining how texts construct experience, difference, and subjectivity.
Communication 110: Gender and Communication: Explores the intersection of gender and communication.
Communication 111: Conflict and Communication: Analyzes the prevalence of conflict in daily life and how communication affects reactions to and consequences of conflict.
Communication M113: Nonverbal Communication and Body Language: Explores how nonverbal cues convey information, focusing on the production and perception of various communication formats.
Communication 114: Understanding Relationships: Explains the types of communication that occur in close relationships, especially romantic relationships.
Communication 115: Interpersonal Dynamics: Surveys recent scientific approaches to dyadic communication and interpersonal relationships.
Communication M117: Negotiation: Covers the art and science of negotiation in securing agreements between independent parties.
Communication 120: Group Communication: Examines group communication from perspectives of evolutionary psychology, communications, and psycholinguistics.
Communication M123: Social Cognition: Surveys research from the field of social cognition, emphasizing cognitive processes involved in interpersonal and intergroup communication.
Communication M125: Talk and Social Institutions: Explores communication and social interaction in major institutional sites in contemporary society.
Communication 126: Evolution of Interpersonal Communication: Examines interpersonal communication from the perspective of evolutionary behavioral science.
Communication 129: Natural Language Processing for Social Science: Develops students’ understanding of Natural Language Processing (NLP) model architectures.
Communication 130: Science of Language: Introduces the foundations of the science of language, with connections to practical issues in communication.
Communication 131: Computer Models of Communicators: Introduces using computerized methods to model communication processes.
Communication 132: Multicultural Television: Provides a critical evaluation of television programming and scholarly research of new developments in television.
Communication 141: Films of Persuasion: Social and Political Advocacy in Mass Society: Examines how films communicate about public issues.
Communication 145: Situation Comedy and American Culture: Analyzes the history of sitcoms and their influence on American life and culture.
Communication M147: Sociology of Mass Communication: Studies the relationship between mass communication and social organization.
Communication 148: Marketing Communications: Explores marketing, advertising, and behavior from the viewpoint of evolutionary psychology and biology.
Communication M149: Media: Gender, Race, Class & Sexuality: Examines how media culture induces people to perceive various dominant and dominated groups of people.
Communication 151: Computer-Mediated Communication: Examines how computer technology, particularly the Internet, has influenced patterns of human communication.
Communication 152: Analysis of Communication Effects: Surveys experimental and field research on the effects of communications. Requires course 100 or consent of instructor.
Communication 153: Introduction to Data Science: Examines how large-scale data can be used to systematically measure various aspects of human activities.
Communication 155: Artificial Intelligence and New Media: Reviews the origin and modern development of artificial intelligence (AI) and its recent breakthroughs, with special emphasis on its usages of media industry.
Communication 158: Python for Social Sciences: Focuses on the practical applications of Python in social sciences, particularly for data analysis.
Communication 159: Artificial Intelligence and Society: Explores the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on society.
Communication M161: Electoral Politics: Mass Media and Elections: Assesses how mass media presentations influence political beliefs and actions, particularly during election campaigns.
Communication M165: Agitational Communication: Studies agitation as a force for change in existing institutions and policies in a democratic society.
Communication M169: Critical Vision: History of Art as Social and Political Commentary: Explores art as social and political commentary.
Communication 170: Legal Communication: Studies trial and appellate processes as systems of communication.
Communication 171: Theories of Freedom of Speech and Press: Explores the relationship between the freedoms of speech and press and values of liberty, self-realization, self-government, truth, dignity, respect, justice, equality, association and community.
Communication 173: Affect and Emotion in Political Communication: Emphasizes the importance of affect, emotion and personality in politics.
Communication 174: Entertainment and Politics: Focuses on a wide range of entertainment media.
Communication 175: Criticism and the Public Arts: Introduces methods and problems of criticism in the public arts.
Communication M176: Visual Communication and Social Advocacy: Explores how visual communication reaches diverse audiences in communicating major social and political topics.
Communication 178: Propaganda & the Media: Examines the nature of propaganda, the institutional structure of the American media, and the relationship between propaganda and the American news media.
Communication 179: Images of the USA: Explores the roots of the USA’s images in the minds of people abroad.
Communication 185: Field Studies in Communication: Provides fieldwork experience in communication.
Communication 186: Media, Ethics, and the Digital Age: Examines media ethics using a case-study approach.
Communication 188A: Variable Topics in Mass Communication: Explores selected topics in mass communication.
Communication 188B: Variable Topics in Interpersonal Communication: Explores selected topics in interpersonal communication.
Communication 188C: Variable Topics in Communication Technology and Digital Systems: Explores selected topics in communication technology and digital systems.
Communication 188D: Variable Topics in Political and Legal Communication: Explores selected topics in political and legal communication.
Communication 189: Advanced Honors Seminars: Exploration of topics in greater depth through supplemental readings, papers, or other activities and led by lecture course instructor.
Communication 189HC: Honors Contracts: Individual study with lecture course instructor to explore topics in greater depth through supplemental readings, papers, or other activities.
Communication 191A: Variable Topics Research Seminars: Mass Communication: Explores selected topics in mass communication.
Communication 191B: Variable Topics Research Seminars: Interpersonal Communication: Explores selected topics in interpersonal communication.
Communication 191C: Variable Topics Research Seminars: Communication Technology and Digital Systems: Explores selected topics in communication technology and digital systems.
Communication 191D: Variable Topics Research Seminars: Political and Legal Communication: Explores selected topics in political and legal communication.
- Communication 191E: Variable Topics Research Seminars: Practicum: Explores selected topics in communication.
198A: Limited to junior/senior majors.
198B: Requisite: course 198A. Continuation of work initiated in course 198A.
198C: Requisite: course 198B. Completion of research developed in courses 198A, 198B. Presentation of honors project to supervising faculty member.

Additional Area Elective Courses

Students can choose from a variety of elective courses to further specialize their knowledge in specific areas of communication. These electives may be selected from the core course list or from other approved courses.

Class Sizes and Subject Matter

Communication classes vary in size, from large introductory courses with approximately 250 students to smaller, more intimate seminars limited to around 25 students. The subject matter covers contemporary issues such as computational methods in media analysis, social networks, political communication, social vision, and evolutionary approaches to interpersonal communication.

Honors Program

The department offers an honors program for students with a GPA of at least 3.6 in the major. This program involves completing a required course of study and an independent research project during their senior year.

Career Preparation and Opportunities

A Communication degree from UCLA provides a theoretical foundation in the social sciences, preparing students for graduate-level study in various academic fields and professional schools. The department also helps students connect their studies to career opportunities.

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Field Studies Course

The Field Studies course allows students to apply communication theories to real-world practice through internships. This hands-on experience gives graduates a competitive edge in their career paths. By engaging in internships, students learn how to apply theory to practice, gaining valuable experience.

Career Paths

UCLA's Communication major prepares students for diverse career paths in fields such as:

Broadcasting
Corporate Communication
Digital Media
Event Planning
Journalism
Marketing
Media Analysis
Public Relations

The major emphasizes research, providing opportunities to participate in research projects through labs or independent study. The surrounding Los Angeles area offers plentiful opportunities for real-world learning and internships due to being a hub for many media and communication-related industries.

Student Perspectives

Some students find communication courses less academically rigorous compared to other majors, however, the skills learned outside the classroom are critical for Communication-related career paths. Networking is especially important for liberal arts majors, as there aren't always specific clubs dedicated to each industry.

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