Bachelor of Arts in Communication

Students collaborate with faculty to prepare a focused plan of study in such contexts as:

Interpersonal Communication: The study of communication behaviors in dyads (pairs) and their impact on personal relationships.

Organizational Communication: The study and assessment of networks within organizations, including the design of training to improve supervisor-employee communication.

Media and Mass Communication: The study of the uses, processes, and effects of mediated communication.

Health Communication: The study of provider-client interaction as well as the diffusion of health information through public health campaigns.

Public Relations: The study of the management of communication between an organization and its audiences.

Graduates from our program have found jobs in:

Thank you for your interest in pursuing a major in the communication department. Our goal is to maintain our number of students to that which can be well served by our faculty resources. We strive not for quantity, but for quality in our group of student majors. The information detailed on this page applies only to currently enrolled Clemson University students who are seeking a change of major (e.g., changing from undeclared to communication, changing from psychology to communication, etc.). The department accepts a maximum of only 30 internal transfer students per year. The selection process is very competitive. Meeting the minimum criteria to apply to the major is no guarantee of admission. The typical profile of a successful applicant to the major includes a GPR of approximately 3.0 or higher, a superior writing sample, and an overall application which demonstrates an understanding of and commitment to a career in communication.

Application Process

A committee of faculty members will review applications twice a year, according to the schedule printed below. Late applications will not be considered.

Minimum Requirements to Apply

To be eligible to apply for admission to the Department of Communication, applicants must have completed 15 credit hours, including ENGL 1030, COMM 1010 and COMM 2010 (with a B or better). Students must have a minimum GPR of 2.5 to apply. However, as noted above, a GPR in that range is typically not competitive in the application process.

In order for an application to be considered by the department’s Undergraduate Admissions Committee, it must include a completed online application, statement of purpose (a quality response to the prompt requesting an explanation for interest in pursuing a major in communication), a brief writing sample (e.g., a completed paper from a previous class with the grade removed), and an up-to-date resume. By providing all information listed in the application, the applicant agrees to a full review of all materials, including their transcript to verify the minimum course/GPA requirements are met.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete. The Undergraduate Admissions Committee will not consider incomplete applications.

The department will mail notification of acceptance or rejection to students on or about the appropriate decision date noted above. If there are any questions about this process, please contact Andrew Pyle, Ph.D., at 864-656-1567 or apyle@clemson.edu.

Our academic advisors work with freshmen, sophomores, students changing majors, and transfer students. Services include:

• Academic advisement
• Course selection
• Transferability of courses; and
• Completion of various academic forms.

Academic advisors are also available to meet with prospective students considering various majors within the colleges. All students are encouraged to make appointments with an advisor in their intended major.

Students of communication are gaining wonderful, practical experience in a variety of fields not just across the country but around the world. Over the past ten years, our students have worked in every major job market in America with some of the giants in the communication industry. Communication students can use internship experience to discover their interests or to more finely tune the process of achieving academic goals. Jobs seem to cover a whole spectrum of interests. Places where students have completed internships include:

In addition, students have worked in a host of television markets and for public relations firms, political organizations and sports teams. Students participating in an internship must work a minimum of 120 hours and are evaluated by the site supervisor. They may complete two semesters of internship experience. For more information, contact Dr. Andrew Pyle.

The Department of Communication change-of-major application process is now closed. If you feel you have reached this message in error, please contact the Department of Communication undergraduate coordinator, Dr. Andrew Pyle.

These meetings are for current Clemson students who are interested in applying to the Communication major. The dates are below. You must complete the form below to receive the Zoom link for the meeting.  Please note individual Explore Appointments will be available on Mondays beginning in April. If you have any questions, please reach out to Kaela Gardner at kaelag@clemson.edu.

• January 9^th at 9am
• February 6^th at 2:30pm
• March 6^th at 11am

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