Communication, Media and Design

The Communication, Media and Design undergraduate bachelor's degree program encompasses 36 of the 120 credit hours required for a bachelor's degree.
This provides you with the opportunity to pursue multiple majors, minors or concentrations while working toward your Communication, Media and Design degree. All courses are 3 credits unless noted.

Clarkson Common Experience
The following courses are required for all students, irrespective of their program of study. These courses are offered during the fall semester, with FY100 First-Year Seminar being required of only first-year students. Both FY100 and UNIV190 are typically taken during the fall semester of the first year at Clarkson.

• FY100  First-Year Seminar (1 credit)
• UNIV190 The Clarkson Seminar (3 credits)

Communication, Media and Design Core Requirements
Students majoring in Communication, Media and Design are required to complete the following courses:

• COMM210 Theory of Rhetoric for Business, Science & Engineering
• COMM217 Introduction to Public Speaking
• COMM490 Senior Communication Internship
• COMM499 Communication Professional Experience

Communication, Media and Design Core Electives
The following are electives students are required to complete for the Communication, Media and Design major.

300-Level Communication, Media and Design Course:
Students must complete one Communication, Media and Design course at the 300-level from the following:

• COMM312 Public Relations
• COMM313 Professional Communications
• COMM314 Placemaking, Marketing and Promotion
• COMM330 Science Journalism

400-Level Communication, Media and Design Course:
Students must complete one Communication, Media and Design course at the 400-level from the following:

• COMM410 Theory & Philosophy of Communication
• COMM412 Organizational Communications & Public Relations Theory
• COMM428 Environmental Communication

Courses with Technology Expertise:
Students must complete at least 6 credits with information technology expertise.

Mathematics/Statistics Electives:
Students must complete at least 6 credits from the mathematics (MA) and/or statistics (STAT) subject areas.

Science Electives:
Students must complete at least 6 credits, including a lab course, from the biology (BY), chemistry (CM), and/or physics (PH) subject areas.

Knowledge Area/University Course Electives:
Students majoring in communication will have approximately 42 credit hours available to use toward Knowledge Area and/or University Course electives.

Free Electives:
Students majoring in communication will have approximately 42 credit hours available to use toward courses of their choice.

Communication, Media and Design electives (21 credits) chosen from the following:

• COMM100 2D Digital Design
• COMM217 Introduction to Public Speaking
• COMM219 Introduction Social Media
• COMM226 Short Film Screenwriting
• COMM229 Principles of User-Experience Design
• COMM245 Writing for New Media
• COMM310 Mass Media & Society
• COMM322 Typography & Design
• COMM326 Feature Film Screenwriting
• COMM327 Digital Video Production I
• COMM329 Front-End Development for the Web
• COMM345 Information Design
• COMM360 Sound Design
• COMM391-395 Special Topics
• COMM420-425 Communication: Independent Study (1-9 credits)
• COMM427 Digital Video Production II
• COMM429 Full-stack Development
• COMM447 Design-Driven Innovation
• COMM448 Portraying Innovation Through the Lens
• COMM449 Narrating Innovation
• COMM450 Leading Innovation
• COMM470 Communication Internship
• COMM480 Undergraduate Teaching Assistantship in Communication & Media (1-3 credits)

Clarkson University offers a minor in Communication that is available to all undergraduate students with the exception of Communication majors. Courses used to fulfill the requirements of the minor include writing, speaking, graphic design, and theory. To achieve a minor in Communication, students must achieve a 2.0 grade average in six three-credit courses, distributed in the following fashion:

All courses are 3 credits unless noted.

Communication Minor Core I

Students are required to complete one course from each of the following groups:

Writing:

• COMM210 Theory of Rhetoric for Business, Science and Engineering
• COMM219 Introduction to Social Media
• COMM226 Short Film Writing
• COMM245 Writing for New Media
• COMM312 Public Relations*
• COMM313 Professional Communication*
• COMM314* Communicating, Promoting, and Marketing “Place”
• COMM315* STEAM Journalism
• COMM326 Feature Film Screenwriting
• COMM330 Science Journalism
• COMM428 Environmental Communication*

Speaking:

• COMM217 Introduction to Public Speaking
• COMM312 Public Relations*
• COMM313 Professional Communication*

Communication Minor Core II

Students are required to complete one course from each of the following groups:

Design:

• COMM100 2D Digital Design 
• COMM229 - Principles of User-Experience Design
• COMM320 Photography
• COMM322 Typography and Design
• COMM327 Digital Video Production I
• COMM329 Front-End Development for the Web
• COMM345 Information Design
• COMM360 Sound Design
• COMM375 Product Design
• COMM427 Digital Video Production II
• COMM447 Design-Driven Innovation
• COMM448 Portraying Innovation Through the Lense
• COMM449 Narrating Innovation
• COMM450 Leading Innovation

Theory:

• COMM310 Mass Media and Society
• COMM315* STEAM Journalism
• COMM314 Communicating, Promoting, and Marketing "Place"
• COMM410 Theory and Philosophy of Communication
• COMM412 Organizational Communications and Public Relations Theory
• COMM428 Environmental Communication*

Communication Minor Core Electives

Other Communication Courses:

Students must take two other communication courses.

*Course may be used for one of two groups but not both.

The minor in business is designed for students with a major outside of the Reh School of Business who wish to pursue a collateral area in business.

Completion of the minor provides broad exposure to the foundations of major business functions, complementing technical majors very well. These areas include accounting, economics, finance, law, organizational behavior, operations management and marketing.

All courses are 3 credits unless noted.

Business Core Requirements

All students choosing to minor in business must complete 18 credit hours, or six courses, from among the following:

• EC150 Principles of Microeconomics or Economic Principles and Engineering or EC350 Economics
• EC151 Principles of Macroeconomics or Economic Principles and Engineering or EC350 Economics
• AC205 Introduction to Accounting for Decision Analysis
• LW270 Law and Society I
• OS286 Organizational Behavior
• FN361 Financial Management I
• OM331** Operations & Supply Chain Management
• MK320** Principles of Marketing

*Students who complete EC350 Economics are exempt from taking EC150 and EC151. EC350 covers material from both EC150 and EC151. EC350 will satisfy one course toward the minor. Students must then choose their remaining five classes from AC205, LW270, OS286, FN361, OM331 or MK320.

**Students choosing to take either OM331 or MK320 must also complete IS200 Computer Application Fundamentals (1 credit) or IS211 Intro to ERP Tools and Applications (3 credits) either as a prerequisite or a co-requisite.

Stand out with a Literature and the Arts Minor on your diploma

The minor provides you with the opportunity to explore works of literature, film and drama from diverse cultures and perspectives. Our courses enable you to investigate how the human condition and experience have been captured in literature and art.

All courses are 3 credits unless noted.

What Can the Literature and Arts Minor Do for You? 

A literature and the arts minor shows that you are well-rounded, well-read and can talk about big ideas in an engaging way. If you are a STEM, business or pre-professional major, a literature and the arts minor will set you apart from others with similar degrees by signaling the breadth and depth of your education. It will prepare you for the ever-changing modern world by giving you the skills needed to adapt quickly as jobs change. That’s one of the perks of being a passionate lifelong learner. 

Like a humanities major, a literature minor has practical applications. For example, did you know that according to The Princeton Review, humanities majors score better on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) than biology majors do? Literature is all about using words effectively, and medical schools are looking for applicants who can communicate well with patients. 

In short, a literature and the arts minor will prepare you for life.

Literature and Arts Requirements

To complete the requirements for the literature and the arts minor, you simply need to take five LIT and/or FILM courses and enroll in LIT499 to complete the Minor Portfolio. 

Course Offerings:

• FILM237 The Horror Film
• FILM2xx Major Marginalized Movie-Makers
• FILM322 The Hollywood Cinema
• FILM345 Film and Native America
• LIT220 American Gods
• LIT221 Great American Authors
• LIT222 Philosophy for Life
• LIT225 American Short Story
• LIT227 Tales from the Tropics
• LIT230 Monsters in the House
• LIT235 Science Fiction
• LIT240 Gender and Popular Culture
• LIT248 Nobel Prize Winners

• LIT250 World Literature
• LIT253 Greek Mythology
• LIT255 Close Encounters of the X Kind
• LIT262 Women Acting Out
• LIT265 Creative Writing
• LIT270 Comics of Conscience
• LIT275 Demons and Witches
• LIT280 Disaster Lit
• LIT335 Violence and Reconciliation
• LIT355 Power, Exploitation, and Freedom: Postcolonial Literature
• LIT380 Shakespeare's Game of Thrones: Blood, Lust, and Power

The minor in product development and marketing is for students interested in exploring concepts and tools associated with the design and marketing of new products.

Through coursework, you will learn about marketing new products, including clear message development, appropriate distribution channel identification, customer acquisition and engagement, customer co-innovation and social media and analytics use to manage messaging.

All courses are 3 credits unless noted.

Product Development and Marketing Core I
Students are required to complete the following courses:

Marketing:

• MK/PY321 Consumer Behavior 
• MK332 Marketing Research 
• MK436 Creativity, Innovation, New Product Development

Marketing Portfolio:

Students must complete a 0-credit new product development and marketing portfolio to maintain a repository of work from the minor classes related to work during their time at Clarkson.

• MK419 New Product Development and Marketing Portfolio (0 credit)

Product Development and Marketing Core II
Students must complete one of the following courses:

• SB236 Introduction to Customer-Focused Design 
• COMM229 Principles of User Experience Design

Students must complete two of the following courses:

• COMM100/DA100 2-D Digital Design
• COMM210 Theory of Rhetoric for Business, Science and Engineering
• COMM219 Introduction to Social Media
• EC370 Economics of Innovation
• COMM345 Information Design