Prospective Students

Thank you for your interest in the Department of Communication at UC San Diego! Our department offers the Communication major, Media Industries & Communication major, and the Communication minor.

Communication Major

The Bachelor of Arts in Communication offers an interdisciplinary curriculum that investigates how communication systems, media institutions, built environments, and human activity shape economic, political, and cultural life. Core history and theory courses provide students space to engage in informed, reflective, and mindful dialogue about difficult social issues, confronting subjects such as race, gender, sexuality, class, policing, and war. Electives span a wide variety of topics including environmental communication, disability, activism, and language and are rich in hands-on learning and opportunities for designing and producing media, conducting fieldwork, and working with faculty at directed, regional community sites. Graduates of Communication will be well prepared for professions work in any communication- and media-related field, including education, technology, and law.

Curricular Topics

COMM Curricular Topics Include:

Activism & Social Justice
Art, Culture & Creativity
Disability, Health & Science
Environmental & Political Communication
Language & Global Flows
Technology, Data & Internet

Communication Transfer Student Plan

Year One

Fall: COMM 10 and COMM 100A
Winter: COMM 100B and Elective
Spring: COMM 100C and Elective

Year Two

Fall: Elective, Advanced Electice, and COMM 190
Winter: Elective and Advanced Elective
Spring: Elective and Elective

comm 2 year

Media Industries & Communication Major

The Bachelor of Arts in Media Industries & Communication offers a liberal arts curriculum that includes media literacy, institutional analysis, and skills acquisition. Core courses provide a historical and theoretical background for understanding our increasingly complex media and communication landscape, with a focus on the inner-workings of specific sectors (i.e. film, advertising, internet, tourism, etc.). Electives cover a broad range of topics from film analysis to surveillance culture. Students must also take skills-centered practice-based courses in media production, design, and/or other areas. This major welcomes both aspiring media practitioners (filmmakers, musicians, journalists, etc.) and those who aspire to work in media and culture as marketers, managers, digital specialists, lawyers, executives, policy analysts, HR professionals, and more.

Curricular Topics

Media Industies Curricular Topics Include:

Film, TV, Music, & Pop Culture
Media Production
Journalism & Publishing
Advertising, Marketing & PR
Digital Media

Media Industries & Communication Transfer Student Plan

Year One
Fall - COMM 10 and COMM 106
Winter - COMM 100B and Elective
Spring - COMM 100C and Elective

Year Two
Fall - COMM 106 Elective, Elective, and Advanced Elective
Winter - COMM 106 Elective; Advanced Elective and COMM Practice Course
Spring - Elective and Advanced Elective

Reflects two transfer courses: COMM 20, 30, or 40 and Practice Course

mic comp

Program Comparison Chart

Flexibility

Both the Communication and Media Industries & Communication Majors are designed for maximum student flexibility. With only 13 and 16 required courses respectively, these degree programs can be completed within two years, making them ideal for transfer students of all backgrounds as well as first year students pursuing double majors, work-study, internships, and opportunities abroad. The Communication department is one of the best ranked on campus for both time-to-degree and on-time graduation.

COMM Department by the Numbers

Transfer Students in COMM: 72%
Freshmen COMM students who Graduate in 3 Years: 15%
Average Number of Quarters to Degree for Transfers: 5.9
Average Number of Quarters to Degree for Freshmen: 11.9

Careers

Our programs seek to better prepare students for careers in the broadest sense, by providing the critical tools necessary for confronting a dynamic job market. This approach is based on our deep understanding of the speed at which media technologies change, the volatility of cultural marketplaces, and the complexity of communication and nonprofit sectors. These are not pre-professional or vocational programs because our objective is bigger and longer term–to support and foster informed and media literate citizens, responsible and imaginative creators, and ethical future leaders in the fields of media, communication, technology, and culture.

Accordingly, students in Communication can expect to graduate with analytical tools and critical skills applicable to a wide variety of careers, not only in the industry sectors traditionally categorized as “communication,” such as social media, journalism, film & TV, advertising, and marketing, but in other fields where communication systems are central, like education, government and public policy, law, business, and non-profit work.