Communication Studies

Faculty

Karen T. Erlandson, professor.
B.A., M.A., Michigan State University; Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara. Appointed 2002.

Megan R. Hill, chair and associate professor.
B.A., Oakland University; M.A., Ph.D., The Ohio State University. Appointed 2013.

Katey A. Price, assistant professor.

B.A., Lake Superior State University; M.A., Central Michigan University, Ph.D., The Ohio State University. Appointed 2015.

Jeffrey Cox, assistant professor.
B.A., Kenyon College; M.A., Indiana University, Ph.D., Michigan State University. Appointed 2013.

Katie Broekema-Tolksdorf, visiting instructor.

B.A., Albion College; M.A., Central Michigan University. Appointed 2019.

Jasmine LaBine, visiting instructor.

B.A., Western Michigan University; M.A., Western Michigan University. Appointed 2021.

Dan Lake, visiting instructor.

B.A., Michigan State University ; M.A., Northwestern University. Appointed 2021.

Introduction

Communication focuses on how people use messages to generate meaning within and across all kinds of contexts, cultures, channels, and media. It is intertwined with virtually every aspect of our lives and plays an integral role in everything from the development of our personal identities to the processes involved with changing our societies.

Our mission is to provide students with an understanding of communication that will help them fulfill the liberal arts mission of developing critical thinking and transferable skills in order to become educated and ethical members of a global society. Specifically, we provide a curriculum that will:

help students understand the importance of communication in a variety of contexts;
help students understand major theories in communication studies;
help students understand the research process;
help students gain competency in presentation skills;
prepare students for graduate study in communication studies and/or professional endeavors;
prepare students with the communication skills necessary to create and maintain healthy relationships and communities.

Communication Studies Department Website

Career Opportunities

Although this department’s courses are within the mainstream of the liberal arts tradition, intended to provide important theory and practice for all Albion students, concentration in communication studies is especially valuable for students preparing for professions such as marketing, public relations, advertising, sports marketing and management, event planning, politics, public service, education and the law.

Special Features

Internships are viewed as valuable learning experiences, and the department encourages all interested students to explore and pursue these opportunities. Juniors and seniors may participate in communication internships covering areas such as public relations, event planning, broadcasting and marketing, to name only a few. These internships may be completed during fall or spring semester locally, over the summer in areas such as Detroit or Chicago, or as part of an off-campus program such as Australearn, the Chicago Center or Boston University’s London program. Students are encouraged to discuss these opportunities with faculty in the Communication Studies Department for more information.

In addition, the Communication Studies Department awards several scholarships each year through two different scholarship funds. The Bernard T. Lomas Scholarship is awarded to outstanding incoming first-year students majoring in communication studies or a related field, and the William C. Henning Merit Scholarship, which is awarded to a select group of current communication studies majors who demonstrate academic excellence and promise. The department also sponsors the annual Kropscott Symposium, which provides students the opportunity to attend lectures and participate in workshops presented by scholars and practitioners in various communication fields.

The department offers students the option of completing several different majors or minors, including: a general communication studies major/minor, an integrated marketing communication major, a sport communication major/minor, or a health communication minor.

Student Learning Outcomes

Communication Studies Major

1: Describe the Communication discipline and its central questions.

2 : Employ Communication theories, perspectives, principles, and concepts.

3 : Engage in Communication inquiry.

4 : Create messages appropriate to the audience, purpose, and context.

5 : Critically analyze messages.

Integrated Marketing Communication Major

1: Describe the Communication discipline and its central questions.

2 : Employ Communication theories, perspectives, principles, and concepts.

3 : Create messages appropriate to the audience, purpose, and context.

4 : Critically analyze messages.

5 : Demonstrate the ability to accomplish communicative goals (self-efficacy).

6 : Utilize communication to embrace difference.

7: Influence public discourse.

Sport Communication Major

1: Define a personal connection within the professional and academic sports communication fields.

2 : Effectively communicate sports messaging across a variety of platforms, including writing, speaking and mediated communications.

3 : Critically analyze the socio-political connections with the culture and industry of sports.

4 : Apply effective organizational communication techniques.

5 : Articulate the global reach of sport.

6 : Recognize diversity issues in sport.

Communication Studies Minor

1: Describe the Communication discipline and its central questions.

2 : Employ Communication theories, perspectives, principles, and concepts.

3 : Create messages appropriate to the audience, purpose, and context.

4 : Critically analyze messages.

5 : Demonstrate the ability to accomplish communicative goals (self-efficacy).

Sport Communication Minor

1: Define a personal connection within the professional and academic sports communication fields.

2 : Critically analyze the socio-political connections with the culture and industry of sports.

3 : Apply effective organizational communication techniques.

4 : Articulate the global reach of sport.

5 : Recognize diversity issues in sport.

Health Communication Minor

1: Understand the connection between communication theory and the health professions.

2: Gain a solid understanding of the social sciences and the groundings and methodologies of communication research.

3: Put health, risk, and environmental communication perspectives into practice after graduation.