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CMN 316

Questioning Data

The course examines how political and professional agendas shape the collection and reporting of numerical data and the techniques for assessing the validity of quantitative research. Students will learn to think critically about the use of data in both professional settings and daily life and to develop numerical literacy and research skills necessary to understand and craft messages that communicate the results of quantitative research to public and professional audiences. 

Core Electives, ProCom BA

CMN 317

Information, Technology, and Control

The shift from industrial to information society is characterized by the integration of information and information technologies into the political process, the economy, health, and other areas. While information technologies open up possibilities for citizens to engage in public life, they also offer regulatory institutions modes of monitoring and controlling citizens. This course examines the relationship between information technologies and governance, and develops students’ capacity to engage critically with competing notions of the information society.

Core Electives, ProCom BA

CMN 321

Knowledge Translation

Creating and communicating knowledge are central processes in contemporary organizations. Working with other subject matter experts, knowledge translation specialists are charged with assisting in developing new knowledge (digital, medical, scientific etc.) but also with sharing that knowledge with other often non-technical audiences. Using strategic, creative and critical approaches, this advanced course offers students the opportunity to investigate, practice and critique the genres and practices associated with knowledge translation.

Core Electives, ProCom BA

CMN 323

Introduction to Professional Practice

This course introduces students to the practice of professional communication within and between organizations. Students will examine the variety of forms that professional communication takes and explore the role of communication professionals in organizations. Focusing on the needs of specific organizations, students will consult with clients, conduct a stakeholder/audience analysis, and produce a formal report and presentation.

ProCom BA, Year 3

CMN 324

Strategic Storytelling in Industry

Stories are vibrant forms of expression that can engage others, promote values, encourage creativity, and inspire action. Students will learn the power and craft of storytelling as a professional communication strategy. Students will analyze basic concepts of narratology, examine case studies that illustrate a range of storytelling principles and practices, master a set of techniques for successful storytelling, and consider how new technologies suggest new ways of telling stories.

ProCom BA, Year 3

CMN 325

Communication and the Digital Enterprise

To be successful in today’s workplace requires an understanding of how to effectively identify, communicate, and mobilize data as information and knowledge in the operations of an organization. This course provides students with an opportunity to explore the effects of digital data on changing organizational knowledge and social structures. Students will learn to apply the fundamentals of oral, visual and written communication within digital media environments of text, audio, video, database, and virtual worlds.

ProCom BA, Year 3

CMN 373

Fashion and Communication

This course examines contemporary issues in communicating fashion, placing recent trends in fashion and retail communication in a historical context and drawing from fashion theory to explore how media formats starting from print have communicated fashion aesthetics and promoted products and lifestyles to consumers. Students will also take a critical and intersectional approach to thinking through how fashion and dress function as embodied forms of communication of personal, cultural and subcultural identities.

ProCom Minor, Service Course

CMN 376

ProCom Internship

In the internship Professional Communication students have the opportunity to gain insight into professional practice. The internship will be 240 to 320 hours and scheduled during the spring/summer term between second and fourth year. The internship is optional with admission at the discretion of the internship committee. Minimum GPA of 3.0 (B) required for consideration. This course is graded on a pass/fail basis.

Core Electives, ProCom BA

CMN 402

Theorizing Communication

This foundational course introduces students to the main schools of thought that comprise communication theory. Its objectives are to understand the interdisciplinary complexity that constitutes communication studies, to appreciate how theories allow scholars to build a body of knowledge in an organized and synthesized way, and to explore how the theories presented have implications and applications in our own lives as communicators.

ProCom BA, Year 4

CMN 406

Communication in an Indigenous Context

This course studies the nature and function of communication by, for, and about Indigenous peoples in both historical and contemporary settings. Students will take an expansive view of both text and textual analysis as they explore material culture (rock art, birchbark scrolls, wampum belts), historical documents and narratives (oral histories), policies and legal documents (treaties, statutes), and popular media representations. Indigenous theory will be the guiding framework for the course, but students will also be exposed to a range of other theoretical perspectives.

Core Electives, ProCom BA

CMN 408

Proposal and Grant Writing

This course provides an introduction to the multidimensional processes of grant-seeking and the strategic principles of writing proposals for venture support. From the perspective of both grant seekers and multidisciplinary peer-review audiences, students will learn how to identify and target funding sources/opportunities, translate project goals and problem statements into clear objectives and hypotheses, and coordinate activities to plan, develop, structure, and articulate feasible and conceptually innovative proposals.

Core Electives, ProCom BA

CMN 413

Corporate Communications

How does a company communicate its reputation and image and manage these intangible features when damaged? Through examining high-level communication strategies and products, students develop sensitivity to the language, formats, and images organizations use to manage their concerns. Students also practice skills corporate communication professionals employ to communicate with a variety of audiences.

Core Electives, ProCom BA

CMN 414

Interpersonal Communication

In this course, students will learn interpersonal communication theories and participate in a variety of individual and group exercises designed to develop the skills necessary for effective interpersonal communication. Students will learn how member diversity and communication medium affect group processes such as problem solving, decision making, resolving conflict, and negotiating.

Core Electives, ProCom BA

CMN 432

Communication in the Engineering Professions

Communication lies at the heart of the engineering professions. This course introduces students to the unique and varied communication challenges of their discipline. Through a combination of lectures, workshops, readings, and online simulations, students are exposed to the types of communication they will engage in as professionals and given the opportunity to refine their analytical, writing, presentation, and problem-solving skills.

Service Course

CMN 443

Contemporary Intercultural Communication

In today’s global environment, the success of almost any venture requires an understanding of intercultural issues. In this course various communication strategies and theories are analyzed in cultural context. Students learn how to overcome cultural barriers and engage in cross-cultural situations.

Core Electives, ProCom BA

CMN 447

Communication and Law

Communication practitioners must understand how law matters in every day communication and be cognizant of the principles, institutions, and practices that regulate communication in a range of media and contexts. In this case and theory-based course, students explore the intersections of communication and law through the study of semiotics and legal discourse; the social and technological contexts of communication that provoke and challenge legal regulation; freedom of expression; and the legal frameworks for the protection of consumers, individual privacy, and intellectual property in the digital age. 

Core Electives, ProCom BA

CMN 448

Introduction to Visual Communication

This course introduces students to the study of visual communication. Students will examine the ways visual images persuade us to act, think, and feel, and will also learn vocabulary, concepts, and histories related to visual meaning-making. Students will focus on the ways images, seeing, and being seen influence the ways we experience the world within professional and social contexts and how visual images and image-making manipulate and become manipulated by a surrounding visual culture.

ProCom BA, Year 2

CMN 450

Participatory Media and Communication

Students will investigate theoretical and technological facets of participatory culture. Internet users have the ability to take part in digital conversations on topics ranging from entertainment to politics. Skills in the composition of text, image, and audio are developed through the production of digital media. These compositional and technical skills will develop strategies that move consumers of media to become media producers participating in digital dialogues. Students will also explore ethical aspects of participatory culture. 

Core Electives, ProCom BA

CMN 453

Communication and Social Change

This course provides students with an opportunity to pursue advanced studies of the construction of social differences such as race, gender, sexuality, class and disability in professional communication through a range of theoretical lenses and in a variety of institutional contexts (e.g., media, education, law, health). Students also engage with communication in activist, advocacy and social justice contexts, including the theories and philosophies that inform communication practices in these contexts.

Core Electives, ProCom BA

CMN 480

Applied Research Methods I

As part of their careers, graduates in Professional Communication will be asked to conduct research projects in their workplaces. The objective of this capstone course is to provide students with the experience of designing such projects. The course will focus on research design and on data-gathering techniques such as interviewing, document collection, observation, and surveys. Students will develop research projects related to a specific organization or workplace.

ProCom BA, Year 4
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