Communication Arts
https://manchester.unh.edu/communication-arts-sciences
Shaping skilled communicators through creativity, technology and hands-on experience
With expert faculty, state-of-the-art studios and a vast network of internship opportunities, our Communication Arts program gives you the skills and experience to turn your passion into a profession. Our highly adaptable program opens doors to limitless career possibilities — shaping the next generation of filmmakers, journalists, HR specialists, marketers and beyond.
Recent data from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences shows that Communication Arts is the largest and most popular of the humanities disciplines. Part of this interest is because we live in a world where communication is a vital part of daily life, regardless of career or industry. But another part, potentially even more important, is the inherent flexibility that students find — not only during college, but in the job market after graduation.
Your interests inspire what you study, allowing you to focus your degree in areas like Advertising and Public Relations, Cinema and Media Arts, Digital Media, and Human Relations. Students can also further their professional and creative interests by doing real-world internships for credit.
Through hands-on learning in our classrooms, in the field and in our audio, video and editing studios, you'll shape the social, creative, analytical, and technical communication skills you need for success in industries from media to business, healthcare, education, and more.
Communication Arts (CA)
CA 450 - Introduction to Public Speaking
Credits: 4
Theories of rhetoric applied to the practice of speech composition, oral performance, and critical evaluation. Focus on student speeches for a variety of situations and audiences. Not for credit if credit earned for CMN 500.
Equivalent(s): CMN 403, CMN 500
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 500 - Media Writing
Credits: 4
An introduction to business, creative and freelance writing for a variety of media. Writing, editing and rewriting in areas such as video scripts, short magazine articles, audio scripts, ads, press releases, news, short one-act plays, blogs and more. Prereq: ENG 401. Writing intensive.
Attributes: Writing Intensive Course
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 501 - Internship/Communication in the Urban Community
Credits: 1-4
Field-based learning experiences. Connects students to the urban community and integrates their classroom education within a business or organizational setting. Students work under the direction of a faculty advisor and workplace supervisor to fulfill the obligations of the workplace internship plan and to complete individually-designed academic projects. Projects must be approved in advance by the faculty advisor. Open to matriculated students with a GPA of 2.50 or better and junior standing. Permission of instructor required. May be repeated, with 4 credits maximum accepted toward satisfaction of requirements for the CA major. Cr/F.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.
Grade Mode: Credit/Fail Grading
CA 502 - Image and Sound
Credits: 4
Image and Sound is a foundation course in the aesthetics of motion picture and sound production. This course explores the aesthetic principles that are used to communicate stories, emotions and messages in popular media. Students will study film, television and new media and survey production methods. This is not a production course per se, but is particularly helpful to students interested in video and film production. No credit for students who have completed CA 444.
Attributes: FinePerformingArts(Discovery)
Equivalent(s): CA 444
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 507 - Relational Violence
Credits: 4
This course explores relational violence and its impact on individuals, families, and communities. Topics include relational violence as a continuum, types of relational violence (domestic, gangs, hate crimes), causes of relational violence, PTSD, responding to relational violence, silencing, compassion fatigue, and restorative justice. Prereq: CMN 457 or permission of the instructor.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 508 - Conflict in Relational Communication
Credits: 4
Introduces communication theories relevant to the study of conflict interaction in interpersonal relationships. Considers interpersonal concerns contributing to conflict such as power, face-saving, and goals. Examines behaviors that affect our ability to resolve conflict, and strategies, such as mediation, to resolve conflict. Develops the ability to diagnose productive and destructive conflict patterns in relationships. The course is both theoretical and practical in orientation. A combination of lecture, discussion, case studies, and in-class group assignments are employed. Prereq: CMN 457.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 512 - Screenwriting
Credits: 4
Examines the preproduction phase of moving image media, focusing especially on the art and business of writing for the screen. Covers the process of developing student work from original story idea to completed, first draft screenplay. Topics include script formats, narrative structure, plot development, characterization, style, and marketing strategies. Prereq: ENGL 401, CMN 455 or CMN 456; or permission. Cannot receive credit if credit received for CA 512 Scriptwriting. Writing intensive.
Attributes: Writing Intensive Course
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 514 - Fundamentals of Video Production
Credits: 4
Beginning electronic field production using digital video and nonlinear editing formats. Covers basic aesthetic principles and practices of video communication. Introduces techniques for effective image and sound recording in the field, fundamentals of shot and sequence construction, and basic postproduction practices on nonlinear editing systems. Prereq: ENGL 401, CA 502 or CA 444, CMN 455, or permission. Preference given to CA majors. Special fee.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 515 - Advanced Video Production
Credits: 4
Advanced electronic field production and post production using digital video and nonlinear editing formats. Emphasizes original student work of increasing conceptual, formal, and technical complexity that begins to incorporate a wider range of images, sounds, and editing techniques. Prereq: CA 514 or permission. Preference given to CA majors. May be repeated with permission. Special fee.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 517 - Fundamentals of Audio Prod
Credits: 4
This course provides students with an introduction to the history, principles, and techniques of audio production. Through hands-on experience, class projects, and homework assignments, student learn how to use voice, music, writing, sound effects, and audio hardware and software to design sound and tell a story. This class will also look at the radio industry and how sound design is being used by a variety of industries. Special fee.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 518 - Advanced Topics in Digital Media Production
Credits: 1-4
Advanced topics in digital media production not covered in depth in other course offerings. Topics vary and change. May be repeated if topics differ. Prereq: CA 514 or CIS 515 or permission.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credits.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 519 - Advanced Screenwriting
Credits: 4
Advanced examination of the preproduction phase of moving image media, focusing on the art and business of screenwriting. Develops student works from original idea through the numerous steps to completed, second draft screenplay. Advanced topics and genres may vary. Prereq: CA 512. May be repeated with permission. Cannot receive credit if credit earned for CA #520 Special Topics in Communication: Advanced Screenwriting.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA #520 - Special Topics in Applied Communication
Credits: 1-4
New or specialized topics in applied communication not covered in regular course offerings. Topics vary; descriptions listing course content and any prerequisites are available during preregistration. May be repeated for credit if topics differ. Prereq: contingent on topic. Writing intensive when topic is advanced feature scriptwriting.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credits.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 522 - Graphic Design I
Credits: 4
Presents fundamentals of Graphic Design while touching on foundation art theories and vocabulary. Through examination and analysis of professional graphic design, students become familiar with the relationship between graphic design process, creative solutions and critical thinking. Students work with a variety of traditional and digital media, with an emphasis on the process of design, composition and typography. Class includes a significant amount of computer lab and creative studio time.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 523 - Graphic Design II
Credits: 4
Students explore the creative process that helps them communicate ideas and information to a target audience. Higher level, theoretical ideas related to communication, design and cognitive theories will be introduced. Students will engage in intermediate design projects through software and traditional media. Class includes a significant amount of computer lab and creative studio time. Prereq: CA 522, or permission of instructor.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 527 - History of Film
Credits: 4
The history of film since 1948. Historical analysis of the development of cinema since the emergence of television, both in the United States and abroad. Selected topics include cinema and the cold war, international stylistic movements, film exhibition, the decline of the studio system, new technologies, third cinema, globalization and economic consolidation. Prereq: CMN 455 or permission. Special fee.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 531 - History and Organization of Advertising
Credits: 4
Examines the development of advertising in historical context, focusing on the evolving structure and function of advertising agencies, market research practices, advertising design, anthropological approaches to advertising and consumer culture, and contemporary policy issues. Prereq: CMN 455 or permission.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 532 - Typography I
Credits: 4
Typography is the formal study of letterforms. Students gain perspective into this important field by starting with a focus on early visual communication, symbols, handwritten letterforms, calligraphy and the development of movable type. Students explore ways to categorize type into families and identify and define similarities and subtle differences in classical typefaces. Class discussions, projects, critiques and lectures focus of typography terminology, as well as the aesthetic discipline of using type effectively as designer.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 536 - LGBT Images and Perspectives
Credits: 4
This course explores the perspectives and images of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer individuals, from antiquity through modern day. Topics include: history, aging, religion, the media, and the law. Prereq: CMN 457 or permission of the instructor; majors only.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 538 - Gender
Credits: 4
How gender is created, maintained, repaired, and transformed through communication in particular historical, cultural, and relational contexts. Examines a variety of topics including the relationship between sex and gender, language, cultural mythologies, identity, health care, sexuality, and strategies for resisting conventional gender definitions. May not be taken for credit if student has already taken CA 506: Gender. Prereq: CMN 457 or permission.
Equivalent(s): CA 506
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 539 - Communicating in Families
Credits: 4
Explores the role of communication in the creation, maintenance, and transformation of family systems. Focus on how meanings of "family" are constructed through familial and popular discourses, and the consequences these communication practices have for lived experience. Prereq: CMN 457 or permission.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 540 - Public Relations
Credits: 4
This course provides students with an overview of the field of public relations, including its history, ethics, and current practices. Will include case studies of major public relations issues that have occurred both historically and in recent years; individual and class projects that enable students to determine how best to plan for and respond to public relations issues; and quest practitioners who work in various fields, including business, government, the non-profit sector, and education. Prereq: CMN 456 or CMN 455 or permission.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 542 - Social Media for Organizations and Business
Credits: 4
Focuses on the history, development and practical use of social media for organizational and business communications. A primary focus is on the latest social media tools and their use in developing social media campaigns. Hands-on student work is an important part of the course. Prereq: ENGL 401, CMN 455 or CA 500 - or permission. Cannot receive credit if earned for CA #520 Social Media for Organizations and Business.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 550 - Special Topics in Communication Organization, History, and Policy
Credits: 1-4
New or specialized topics in the organization, history, and policy of communication practices not covered in regular course offerings. Topics vary; descriptions of course content and any prerequisites are available during preregistration. May be repeated if topics differ. Prereq: contingent on topic.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credits.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 610 - Communication Technologies and Culture
Credits: 4
The role of communication technologies in shaping cultural meanings and human consciousness. Covers the work of Innis, McLuhan, Ong, Postman, Carey and others to understand the historical development of shifting communication technologies and patterns of culture from orality to computer communication. Also explores the dynamic between mass culture and sub-cultural appropriations of media forms and content. Prereq: any two CA courses (excluding CA 501), one of which must have CMN 455 as a prerequisite or permission. Writing intensive.
Attributes: Writing Intensive Course
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 612 - Narrative
Credits: 4
Considers the ways humans make sense of experience through the stories we construct within particular relational, cultural, and historical contexts. Explores a variety of topics including narrative conventions, canonical stories, subjectivity and reflexivity, the relationship between story and audience, space and time, memory and imagination, and narrative truth. Each student will conduct an original narrative research project. Prereq: any two 500 level CA courses (excluding CA 501), one of which must have CMN 457 as a prerequisite, or permission. Writing intensive.
Attributes: Writing Intensive Course
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 615 - Film History/Theory and Method
Credits: 4
Intensive study of philosophical, rhetorical, and methodological issues in film history research. Examines a series of selected historical problems in the areas of social, aesthetic, industrial, and technological film history up to 1948 and reviews existing historiography on these problems. Focus is on original student research. Prereq: any two 500 level CA courses (excluding CA 501), one of which must have CMN 455 as a prerequisite, or permission. Special fee. Writing intensive.
Attributes: Writing Intensive Course
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 618 - Documentary
Credits: 4
Exploration of the historical development, ethics, funding, socio-cultural significance, and communication strategies of documentary film and video. May focus on a particular genre or genres. Prereq: any two 500 level CA courses (excluding CA 501), one of which must have CMN 455 as a prerequisite, or permission. Special fee. Writing intensive.
Attributes: Writing Intensive Course
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 720 - Seminar
Credits: 4
Intensive readings and research course in a highly focused area of study. Topics vary. Descriptions of course content and any prerequisites are available during preregistration. May be repeated if topics differ. Prereq: contingent on topic.
Attributes: Writing Intensive Course
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credits.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading
CA 795 - Independent Study
Credits: 1-4
Advanced individual study under the direction of a faculty member. Content area and research project to be developed in consultation with faculty supervisor. Prereq: permission. May be repeated, with 4 credits maximum accepted toward satisfaction of requirements for the CA major.
Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 8 credits.
Grade Mode: Letter Grading