Communication Major: Business Applications Option (B.A.)

The Department of Communication in collaboration with the Department of Marketing and the Department of Management in the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics offers a business applications option for communication students. The objective of the business applications option is to offer a select group of communication students the opportunity to augment the liberal arts focus of their major with professional training in such areas as marketing, advertising and organizational behavior. Qualified students who meet all requirements will graduate¹ with a B.A. degree in communication: business applications, an achievement which will be recorded on their official transcripts.

Minimum Requirements for Option Eligibility

1. Declared communication major.

2. Completion of CMN 455 Introduction to Media Studies, CMN 456 Propaganda and Persuasion, and CMN 457 Introduction to Language and Social Interaction with a C or better.

3. Completion of at least one CMN 500-level course with a C- or better.

4. Maintain minimum in-major GPA of 2.5.

• Student enrollment in the Business Applications Option will be contingent upon space availability.
• Overall, total enrollment should not exceed twenty students in any given academic year.

¹

 Students admitted to the option must earn a minimum 2.5 cumulative grade point average in major courses at graduation or they will, by default, graduate with a BA in Communication without the special option designation on their diplomas.

Degree Requirements

All Major, Option and Elective Requirements as indicated.
*Major GPA requirements as indicated.

Major Requirements

Majors must complete ten courses (40 credits) with a 2.0 overall average in the major.

¹

• Majors must earn a grade of C or better in each introductory course.

²

• Students must complete the 400-level prerequisite before taking a 500-level course.
• At least two of the three 500-level courses must have different 400-level prerequisites.
• Majors must earn a grade of C- or better in all three analysis courses.
• CMN 500 Public Speaking, CMN 599 Internship, and CMN 575 cannot be used to fulfill an analysis course requirement.

³

• Students are eligible to take upper-division courses after successfully completing at least two of the 500-level analysis courses, each with a different 400-level prerequisite.
• At least one of the student's four upper-division courses must be at the 700 level.
• Majors must earn a grade of C- or better in all upper-division courses.
• Up to four credits of CMN 795 can be used towards the major, but can only fulfill the capstone requirement with department approval. 
• CMN 796 Comm-Entary Journal cannot be used to fulfill the advanced-level requirement.

¹

Students undergo a business applications internship experience that must be completed in one semester. (Prerequisites: CMN 455, CMN 456, CMN 457)

Capstone Requirement

The Discovery Program Capstone requirement may be fulfilled by completing any 700-level communication course except CMN 796 Comm-Entary Journal. CMN 795 Independent Study can only fulfill the capstone requirement with department approval and can be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.

Additional Information

• A maximum of 8 credits of CMN 795 Independent Study may be counted toward the major.
• CMN 799H and CMN 796 cannot be used to fulfill an advanced course requirement.

Transfer students must complete 20 credits of their communication coursework at UNH to complete the major satisfactorily. Exchange students may transfer no more than 10 approved credits from another institution to be applied toward completion of the communication major at UNH.

Candidates for a degree must satisfy all of the University Discovery Program requirements in addition to satisfying the requirements of each individual major program. Bachelor of arts candidates must also satisfy the foreign language proficiency requirement.

Major department courses may not be used to satisfy Discovery category requirements except in the case of a second or dual major.

Students will be able to describe the Communication discipline and its central questions. We expect students to be able to:

• Explain and synthesize the history of Communication theory.
• Articulate the differences between approaches within the discipline (media studies, language and social interaction, and rhetorical studies).
• Identify contemporary debates within the field.
• Distinguish Communication scholarship from other areas of study.
• Understand the role of Communication scholarship in society.
• Articulate the relevance of communication in civic life, including an ability to apply key concepts in the field to world events, situations, or problems.

Students will be able to think critically about communication processes by applying communication theories and concepts. We expect students to be able to:

• Identify theories, perspectives, principles, and concepts relevant to the discipline.
• Recognize academic writing, identify the work’s thesis, explain its method, assess the evidence used, and determine its significance.
• Engage with communicative patterns, processes, problems, and practices that they encounter in their personal, professional and civic lives.
• Acquire effective frameworks for describing, analyzing, reflecting upon, and engaging with those patterns, processes, problems, and practices.

Prepare students to become thoughtful and proficient communicators. We expect students to be able to:

• Become critical consumers of messages.
• Understand how meanings are constructed by speakers and audiences.
• Evaluate claims and arguments, and to be able to explain how they are grounded.
• Recognize the collaborative construction of meaning and its relation to social change.
• Explore the ways in which various forms of communication constitute, maintain, and transform social life.
• Formulate coherent arguments/theses, provide support for their perspectives, and communicate them clearly and logically.
• Select creative and appropriate modalities and technologies to accomplish communicative goals.
• Adapt messages and coordinate communication with others recognizing the diverse needs.