Introduction

Please click here to see Communication department information.

These degree requirements are subject to periodic revision by the academic department, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences reserves the right to make exceptions and substitutions as judged necessary in individual cases. Therefore, the College strongly urges students to consult regularly with their major advisor and CLAS advisor to confirm the best plans of study before finalizing them.

Program Delivery

• Communication Department courses are offered in a variety of formats, including 8 and 16 week online classes and in person classes. Not all classes are offered in all formats. Talk to a major advisor for more information. 

Declaring This Major

• Click here to go to information about declaring a major.

General Requirements

To earn a degree, students must satisfy all requirements in each of the three areas below, in addition to their individual major requirements.

• CU Denver General Graduation Requirements
• CU Denver Core Curriculum
• College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Graduation Requirements
• Click here for information about Academic Policies

Program Requirements

1. Students must complete a minimum of 39 COMM credit hours.
2. Students must complete a minimum of 15 upper-division (3000-level and above) COMM credit hours.
3. Students must earn a minimum grade of C- (1.7) in all courses that apply to the major and must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 2.0. Courses taken using P+/P/F or S/U grading cannot apply to major requirements.
4. Students must complete a minimum of 18 COMM credit hours, 15 of which must be upper division, with CU Denver faculty.

Program Restrictions, Allowances and Recommendations

1. Communication majors may complete up to six credit hours of COMM 3939 Internship.
2. A maximum of six credit hours of independent study courses may be applied to the major.
3. Students may transfer in up to 21 COMM credits.
4. In addition to required Communication courses, students are required to take seven elective courses (21 hours), which may consist of classes chosen from any combination of Communication Pathway and Inquiry and Analysis courses.

• community service and public affairs
• global and intercultural communication
• health communication
• media and cultural studies
• strategic communication

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete the following required courses:		15
COMM 1001	Presentations and Civic Life
or COMM 2050	Professional Presentations
COMM 1011	Communication and Communities
COMM 1021	Introduction to Media Studies
COMM 2020	Communication, Citizenship, and Social Justice 1
COMM 2075	Researching and Writing in Comm
Complete a minimum of seven courses (21 credit hours) in Communication (COMM) electives. At least 12 credits must be taken upper-division (3000 level or higher).		21
Complete at least one of the following exit courses: 2		3
COMM 3939	Internship
COMM 4040	Communication, Prisons, and Social Justice
COMM 4051	Advanced Strategic Communication
COMM 4430	Communication, China, and the US
COMM 4500	Health Communication
COMM 4525	Health Communication and Community
COMM 4550	Rhetorics of Medicine & Health
COMM 4558	Digital Health Narratives
COMM 4660	Queer Media Studies
COMM 4688	Senior Seminar: Transitioning from College to Career
COMM 4700	Thesis and Project Practicum
COMM 4995	Global Study Topics (Travel Study)
Total Hours		39

¹

Students studying at the International College at Beijing will take COMM 2021 instead of COMM 2020.

²

Exit courses include a High Impact Practice, such as: experiential and service learning, collaborative learning, writing-intensive assignments, global education, a focus on diversity and inclusion, and/or a project-based capstone class.

To learn more about the Student Learning Outcomes for this program, please visit our website. 

To review the Degree Map for this program, please visit our website.