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Communication & Culture



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Major Related
Resources

Department of
Communication and culture

Mottier Hall
1790 East 10th Stret

Career Related
Resources

Career Resource
Library

625 North Jordan Avenue
Phone: (812)855-0576
Career Development Center
Arts and Sciences
Career Services
625 North Jordan Avenue
Phone: (812)855-0576

IUB Libraries Career Resources
Telecommunications Careers
Advertising/PR Careers
Liberal Arts Careers
10th Street & Jordan Avenue
Phone: 812-855-0100



Description of Major

The major in Communications & Culture (CMCL) provides students with a strong liberal arts education that emphasizes strategic, critical, and flexible modes of thought, as well as an understanding of the theoretical, historical, and practical applications of media technologies. The department is interdisciplinary, offering a wide variety of courses and flexible curriculum desgined to give students many opportunities according to their interests and needs. Some courses approach public culture from a rhetorical perspective to examine how language and images form attitudes and guide human conduct in social, political, and professional settings. Other courses adopt the perspective of performance and ethnography, investigating how communicative practices display cultural meaning and craft modes of social action. Still others emphasize the history, theory, and criticism of film, television, and new media. Courses are available for advanced students to gain production experience in both film and video.

Skills & Knowledge Developed in this Field of Study

Strong analytical and critical thinking skills; critical analysis of arguments; ability to use language effectively in speech and writing; abilitiy to explore meaning and articulate ideas for a variety of audiences; hands-on production experience in both film and video.

Minors and Second Majors that Expand Career Options with this Major

Business, biology, English, foreign languages, history, history of art, Liberal Arts Management Program (LAMP),philosophy, political science, public affairs (SPEA), religious studies, sociology, telecommunications, theatre.

Career Options

Careers Specific to the Bachelor's Degree

Marketing, sales, advertising, public relations, corporate and public sector consulting, media and film production, editing, writing (e.g. speech writing, editorial writing)and human resource management and training, secondary teaching (with teaching license)

Other Career Possibilities with a Bachelor's Degree

Many corporations prefer their prospective managers and other professional staff to have a liberal arts background which includes a breadth of knowledge, critical thinking skills, and the ability to write clearly and speak persuasively. CMCL offers a liberal arts education, and provides skills with an emphasis on strategic, critical, and flexible thinking, as well as on excellent communication skills. The CMCL majors graduate with a strong foundation upon which to rely in the changing world and work environment of the 21st century. The CMCL major is intended to help you develop ways of thinking, learning, and communicating that will open doors to a wide variety of careers in business, professional, and public spheres.

Careers that Normally Require a Graduate Degree

Teaching and research at the university level; higher education administration; law.

Employment Opportunities

Job Outlook

The major in Communications & Culture provides students with a strong liberal arts education that emphasizes strategic, critical, and flexible modes of thought. In the changing work environment of the 21st century, this opens doors to a wide variety of careers in the business, professional, and public spheres.

Salary Information

The average starting salary with a Bachelor's degree in communications (encompassing advertising, broadcast journalism, communications, journalism, public relations, and organizational communication) is $27,874, according to the Winter 2004 Salary Survey of the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Potential Career Growth

Graduates with liberal arts degrees and excellent communications skills are often well-positioned to move into management positions.

Placement Statistics for IU Graduates with this Major

Recent CMCL graduates have been employed in a diverse array of jobs in public relations and marketing, financial services, higher education administration, health care industry management, the pharmeceutical industry, event planning, real estate, and the non-profit sector. Others have gone to graduate school in academic or professional fields, and still others have joined ventures such as Teach for America.

High School Preparation

Students will be well prepared for a major in communication and culture by meeting the general requirements for admission to Indiana University and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Special Opportunities

Lambda Pi Eta National Communications Honor Society; Speech and Debate Team; Honors Program in Communication and Culture; earn Internship Credit in Communication and Culture; Studying Abroad is encouraged. With good planning, it is possible to complete your degree in four years even after a semester or a year abroad.

Noted Alumni

Not Available
Majors and Careers Series Spring 2000

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URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~udiv/majors
Comments: explore@indiana.edu
Created by Brian Smith, Dawn Bourbina, Ben Tesnar, and Stephen Grogg
Copyright 2000, The Trustees of Indiana University