Communication majors have the option of completing a concentration within the major by selecting one of the emphases listed below. Like the general communication major, each emphasis requires the four foundation courses, three intermediate courses, COMM 100 & 101, COMM 197 and six upper division electives; however, specific courses are identified to meet these requirements. Completion of an emphasis will be noted on student transcripts. Students may only complete one emphasis.
To declare or change a major, minor, or emphasis, fill out the SCU Registrar's Program Petition form.
Global Media, Culture, and Technologies
The Global Media, Culture, and Technology emphasis focuses on the complex intersections of media, culture, and technology in our globalized world. The relationship between media, culture, and technology takes diverse forms in different global contexts: from the powerful ways in which Silicon Valley social media behemoths like Facebook shape politics and culture in the Bay Area or Brazil to the role of hip-hop to register political protest among French immigrant communities, from the mobilization of newspapers by social movements centered on gender equity in India to the representation of disability in Iranian cinema. Cumulatively, the emphasis will cover important theoretical perspectives on global media, culture, and technology, provide students with a grounding in the history and political economy of global media technologies and industries, examine representation in different media forms and genres, and engage with questions of audience, reception, and affect. The question of what it means to be a critically engaged consumer, producer, and reader/viewer of global media is a key imperative that animates the emphasis. This emphasis communicates to students that we live in a global world, not as glib consumers of products but as global citizens who need competencies to engage with a constantly shifting, complex, and interconnected world.
Specific requirements to fulfill the Global Media, Culture and Technologies emphasis:
- COMM 80: Global Media, Culture & Technology (or COMM 2 prior to Fall 2022)
- At least two upper-division electives from this list:
- COMM 108: Special Topics in Global Communication
- COMM 141: AI and the Human in Cinema
- COMM 142: Visual Cultural Communication
- COMM 144: Diversity in Media
- COMM 171: Technology and Inequality in the Silicon Valley
- COMM 180: Global Popular Culture
- COMM 181A: Asian Pop Culture: Global Influence and Political Communication
- COMM 181D: Disability in Global Popular Culture
- COMM 183: Communication, Development, and Social Change
- COMM 184: Global Media and Postcolonial Identity
- COMM 185: Identity, Privacy, and Politics in the Digital Age
- COMM 187: Media and Social Movements
- At least one upper-division elective course from this list:
- COMM 114: Body Politics
- COMM 115: Communication and Gender
- COMM 115G: Gender, Health and Sexuality
- COMM 116: Intercultural Communication
- COMM 116G: Global Interpersonal Communication
- COMM 133: Hybrid Forms of Film
- COMM 137: American Film History
- COMM 143: Cinema in a Global World
- COMM 145: The Business of Media
- \COMM 154: Media Audience Studies
- COMM 189: Communication, Identity and Citizenship in Asia
Leadership Communication
Leadership is a process of social influence through which individuals move people toward a particular goal. Communication serves a core function in this process, as good leaders are often defined by their ability to communicate effectively. Much like other forms of communication, leadership involves a dynamic and symbolic exchange of ideas between groups of people, members of teams, and within organizations. Furthermore, leadership and what constitutes a “good leader” is a highly socialized construction. Leadership is also bounded by important social concepts including issues of (dis)abilities, ethnicity, gender and gender identities, race, sexuality, and socio-economic status.
Students who advance through the Leadership Communication Emphasis will not only learn about effective messaging, but will also develop competencies in areas that are critical to holistic leadership, such as conflict management, listening, intercultural communication, and ethics. Students engaged in this emphasis will critique contemporary leadership and focus their attention on how leadership can be a force for social change and justice.
Specific requirements to fulfill the Leadership Communication emphasis:
- COMM 10: Social Interaction (or COMM 1 prior to Fall 2022)
- Four upper-division courses from the following list:
- COMM 102: Special Topics in Social Interaction
- COMM 112: Persuasion
- COMM 115: Communication & Gender
- COMM 115J: Gender & Leadership
- COMM 115V: Vocation & Gender
- COMM 116: Intercultural Communication
- COMM 116T: Intercultural Competency: Training and Dialogue
- COMM 118: Communication and Sport
- COMM 119: Organizational Communication
- COMM 120: Group Communication
- COMM 121: Leadership Communication
- COMM 122: Communication Training & Development
- COMM 123: Negotiation, Conflict Management, and Mediation in Orgs
- COMM 125: Time & Communication
- COMM 126: Dark Side of Communication
- COMM 129: Advanced Public Speaking
- COMM 153: Dialogue and Deliberation
- COMM 187: Media & Social Movements
- A special Topics Course approved by the emphasis director
- COMM 198: Internship
Communication, Diversity, and Culture
Appreciation for cultural diversity is at the heart of SCU’s mission to educate whole persons to make a more just, humane, and sustainable world. Moreover, cultural communication competency is now an essential job skill in our global world. Friends, families, co-workers, and communities—local, regional, national, transnational—thrive when individuals and groups critically examine systemic hierarchies based on gender, race, ethnicity, cisheteronormativity, and socioeconomic class and actively use communication to challenge and dismantle those hierarchies through everyday communication and through all forms of media artwork, advocacy, and organizing. This emphasis engages the role of all forms and channels of communication and media in constructing, reflecting, representing, and managing diverse identities and interactions through interpersonal, organizational, institutional, and mediated channels. Courses in this emphasis engage with the full spectrums of sexes and genders, racial and multiracial classifications, socioeconomic classes, sexualities, (dis)abilities, citizenship and migrant statuses, and other key identities as they manifest in a dynamic world. Students will develop their own critical standpoints while learning to understand and respect those of others.
Specific requirements to fulfill the Communication, Diversity, and Culture emphasis:
- COMM 10: Social Interaction (or COMM 1 prior to Fall 2022)
- COMM 80: Global Media, Culture & Technology (or COMM 2 prior to Fall 2022)
- Four upper-division electives from this list:
- COMM 114: Body Politics
- COMM 115: Communication and Gender
- COMM 115G: Gender, Health and Sexuality
- COMM 115J: Gender & Leadership
- COMM 115V: Vocation and Gender
- COMM 116: Intercultural Communication
- COMM 116G: Global Interpersonal Communication
- COMM 116M: Multicultural Family and Communication
- COMM 117: Multicultural Folktales and Storytelling
- COMM 140: Race, Gender & Film
- COMM 140B: Black Cinema
- COMM 140C: Latinx Cinema
- COMM 140W: Women in Cinema
- COMM 140Q: Queer Cinema
- COMM 142: Visual Cultural Communication
- COMM 144: Diversity in Media
- COMM 171: Technology and Inequality in the Silicon Valley
- COMM 181D: Disability in Global Popular Culture
- COMM 183: Communication, Development and Social Change
- COMM 187: Media and Social Movements
Film and Culture
Digital Filmmaking encourages students to discover their voice using film to inspire social change. Students graduating with an emphasis in Digital Filmmaking will learn how to write stories for the big and small screens, critically analyze films and television shows, and produce high quality documentaries, short films and other short form content. Working with state-of-the-art production and editing equipment, students have the opportunity to experiment with form, genre and style through the lens of race, gender, and class. We are committed to creating a creative safe space for a diverse group of young filmmakers ready to explore what kind of storyteller they want to become. The Digital Filmmaking emphasis in the Communication Department at Santa Clara University believes that filmmaking is a transformative experience, and when realized, can be a vital tool in service of social justice.
Specific requirements to fulfill the Film and Culture emphasis:
- COMM 30: Digital Filmmaking
- COMM 50: Media and Technology Studies or COMM 80 Global Media and Culture (or COMM 2 prior to Fall 2022)
- At least three upper-division electives from this list:
- COMM 103: Special Topics in Film Production
- COMM 130: Screenwriting
- COMM 130A: Advanced Screenwriting
- COMM 131F: Short Fiction Production
- COMM 131D: Documentary Production
- COMM 131E: Immersive Media (AR/VR/Experimental) Production
- COMM 132: Film Production
- COMM 132D: Directing the Actor
- COMM 133: Producing
- COMM 133W: Producing the Web Series
- COMM 134: Cinematography
- COMM 135: Editing
- COMM 142: Visual Cultural Communication
- At least one upper-division elective from this list:
- COMM 104: Special Topics in Film/TV History
- COMM 136S: The Horror Film
- COMM 136F: The Family Melodrama
- COMM 137: American Film History
- COMM 138: Television History
- COMM 139: Documentary History
- COMM 140: Race, Gender & Film
- COMM 140B: Black Cinema
- COMM 140W: Women in Cinema
- COMM 140C: Latinx Cinema
- COMM 140Q: Queer Cinema
- COMM 143: Cinema in a Global World
- COMM 145: The Business of Media
- COMM 146: Hybrid Films
Journalism
Journalism serves as a basis for professional communication and is vital to a well-functioning democracy. By learning the Principles of Journalism, students gain a deeper understanding of how to practice Santa Clara University’s overall mission of social justice during and beyond their college years. Throughout this emphasis, students learn to seek, appreciate and produce journalistic storytelling that reflects diverse communities and provides voice to those unheard, while holding empowered entities and individuals accountable.
Students will become media literate, graduate able to discern information they encounter from digital and non-digital sources, and know how to evaluate sources and trustworthiness.
We are rooted in core skills, with an emphasis on ethical news judgment, professional curiosity and critical thinking. Students learn a journalistic process that includes accuracy and verification, research, planning, interviewing, clear writing and digital storytelling.
Our graduates are able to use their knowledge and skills to provide information to a specific audience in a way that they quickly and easily understand, using a variety of media tools.
Specific requirements to fulfill the Journalism emphasis:
- COMM 60: Journalism (or COMM 40 prior to Fall 2022)
- At least three upper-division electives from this list:
- COMM 106: Special Topics in Journalism
- COMM 131D: Documentary Production
- COMM 139: Documentary History
- COMM 160: Data and Researched based Journalism
- COMM 161: Advanced Journalism
- COMM 161C: Health Reporting
- COMM 163: Audio Storytelling
- COMM 164: Reporting on Justice
- COMM 165: Long Form Journalism
- COMM 165M: Magazine Journalism
- COMM 168: Community Journalism
- No more than one upper-division elective from this list:
- COMM 144: Diversity in Media
- COMM 145: Business of Media
- COMM 156: Media Literacy
- COMM 166: News and Democracy
- COMM 167: Communication Law
- COMM 169: Communication Ethics
Strategic Communication
Strategic Communication focuses on using a well-formulated plan to achieve the goals and objectives of a specific campaign or of an organization. Students graduating with an emphasis in Strategic Communication will learn multiple approaches to identify campaign goals and objectives and create a plan to achieve those objectives. Strategic communication includes choosing the right target audience, understanding their motivations, crafting a compelling message, delivering the message through appropriate media and channels, and assessing the effectiveness of the message. It’s about understanding the ever-changing communication environment and accounting for it in strategic decisions. It’s about using theory, data, and research to drive decision-making. The Strategic Communication emphasis in the Communication Department at Santa Clara University is a program that acknowledges the value of data, and teaches students how to use it to make the world a more just and humane place.
Specific requirements to fulfill the Strategic Communication emphasis:
- COMM 50: Media and Technology Studies (or COMM 2 prior to Fall 2022)
- Two upper-division electives from this list:
- COMM 150: PR Theories and Strategies
- COMM 151: Strategic Campaigns
- COMM 151A: Campaign Analysis & Evaluation
- COMM 157: Environmental Communication
- COMM 157A: Environmental Communication Capstone
- Two upper-division electives from this list:
- COMM 105: Special Topics in Media Studies
- COMM 119: Organizational Communication
- COMM 121: Leadership and Communication
- COMM 122: Communication Training and Development
- COMM 152: Media Advocacy
- COMM 154Y: Media and Youth
- COMM 155: Media Psychology
- COMM 158: Community Organizing
- COMM 156: Media Literacy
- COMM 187: Media and Social Movements