Open Emphasis

Communication majors with interests and needs that are not served by the school’s traditional emphasis areas can develop, propose and acquire faculty approval for a special open emphasis program. If you desire to specialize in a combination of emphasis areas, you can develop a plan of study that would guide you through your program.

Possible combinations might include, for instance, combining IMC with print journalism, or specializing in documentary journalism. It is required that you work with an adviser to develop your open emphasis plan of study.

The process students must undergo to gain approval includes the following:

1. Write a proposal in conjunction with a faculty adviser.
2. The proposal should include a list of courses that is substantially different from those in the school’s other emphasis areas. More specifically, the list of courses that together make up the required 18 credits must differ by at least 2 courses from those in the traditional emphasis areas.
3. The proposal must be comprehensible and justifiable to a faculty committee, which meets several times each semester to review open emphasis proposals. The dates for such meets are established at the start of each semester and are available in 102 Elliott Hall.
4. Students interested in open emphasis programs should submit proposals at the beginning of their junior year of study or upon completion of 18 credit hours in the major.

CURRICULUM

For the full curriculum and required courses, click HERE