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Communication
The programs in Communication at Drexel provide students with a broad-based education. Through a range of courses, students develop both theoretical and practical skills that serve as a foundation for their future careers. The Communication degree has been part of the Drexel curriculum for more than 20 years now. Currently, we have approximately 300 majors in Communication.
The Communication program is an applied program that prepares students for careers in three concentrations:
All concentrations are part of the cooperative education (coop) program, which gives students the chance for full-time work experience while they are studying for their degrees. Students can choose a one-coop or a three-coop option. Each coop enables students to work full-time for six months at companies or media outlets where they are able to apply what they are learning in their course work and to gain valuable knowledge about the corporate environments in which they may be working once they graduate.
The Corporate and Public Relations students plan for careers in both large and small companies, where they might be doing activities such as traditional public relations, media campaigns, and public outreach; other graduates work for companies like Vanguard where they develop corporate communications, shareholder materials, newsletters (internal and external), and web communications. Core courses include such courses as PR, Advanced PR, International PR, Business Communication, Grant Writing, Professional Presentations, DeskTop Publishing, Electronic Publishing, and others.
Global Journalism students combine traditional journalism courses with study in areas that expand their understanding of the world, the impact of the media, and the role of technology in creating the environment that Thomas Friedman refers to in the title of his book, The World is Flat. Core courses include such courses as Journalism, Advanced Journalism, Journalism On-line, Global Journalism, International Communication, New Technologies in Communication, Globalization, and others.
The Technical and Science Communication students focus on the more technical aspects of communication, looking towards careers where they might work on developing software documentation, technical writing, or communications in the pharmaceutical industry. Core courses include such courses as Technical Communication, Technical Editing, Document Design and Evaluation, Grant Writing, Software Documentation, DeskTop Publishing, Electronic Publishing, and others.
All students receive a thorough grounding in foundational study in communication as well as specific skills development in their area of expertise. This programmatic focus builds upon a core of courses that provide students with a breadth of study across many of the Departments in the College of Arts and Sciences. We also offer regular special topics courses for our students. Two current offerings are Publishing Magazines, Journals and Newspapers and Environmental Communication.
Our students are encouraged to look outside the Department for increased opportunities to develop as professional communicators. One area is the Certificate in Writing and Publishing, which was jointly developed by the English Department and the Communication Program.
We recently undertook a major revision of our Communication program; these programmatic changes have been designed in part to take advantage of the knowledge base and disciplinary skills and expertise offered by the "Culture" part of the Department, drawing upon the skills of our colleagues in Anthropology and Sociology. Thus, we have included specific courses and areas that enhance the communication major and integrate it within the whole Department. In addition, these changes prepare communication majors for a world that is culturally diverse, continually changing, and advancing technologically. In keeping with Drexel's mission, the programs provides students with the tools they will need for professional careers in the corporate world as communication specialists, for graduate study in communication, and for post-graduate professional degrees in such areas as law and education.
For additional information, please contact Dr. Alexander Friedlander, Head of the Communication Division in the Department of Culture and Communication: phone: 215-895-1819, e-mail: sandy@drexel.edu.
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