Political Communication and Advocacy balances communication theory and skill relevant to the 21st century with an understanding of the politics and ethics of the public sphere. The program prepares you for such careers in the public affairs officer in the public or private sector, as well as making you a better critical consumer of political information.
As a Political Communication major, you will learn to use modern communication tools to produce and disseminate effective and persuasive messages, organize an advocacy campaign, and facilitate communication within and across organizations. You will learn about the political environments in which you will deploy these skills, analyze messages, and learn to communicate effectively through hands-on experiences both in and out of the classroom.
Admission
For admission as a Political Communication and Advocacy major in one of the programs, a student must have completed at least six (6) credit hours in the intended major with a grade-point average of 2.5. The student must also have an overall grade-point average of 2.5. Interested students should apply for admission to the division director. Once admitted, students will be assigned an advisor with whom they should consult each semester about their course of study. Majors and minors must earn a grade of C or better in all major courses, all general education courses and all professional education courses. Courses in which a student earns a grade of D will not count toward the fulfillment of program requirements except by written permission from the division director.
Requirements
The Political Communication and Advocacy major is 36 credit hours including:
Core Courses (9 credit hours)
- POLSC 101: Introduction to U.S. Government
- POLSC 268: Media and Politics
- COMM 227: Political Communication
Three courses on Producing Communication (9 credit hours)
- COMM 206: Communicating with Social Media
- COMM 220: Digital Video Production
- COMM 221: Digital Audio Production
- COMM 321: Electronic Journalism
- COMM 298: Independent Research
- COMM 365: Internship/Practicum
- ENGL 352: Writing in Digital Environments
- ENGL 353: Writing and Editing Process
- ENGL 357: Special Topics in Writing (when relevant)
- POLSC 370: Field Experience
One course on Political Communication Environments (3 credit hours)
- POLSC 206: State and Local Politics
- POLSC 207: Urban Politics
- POLSC 215: Parties and Elections
- POLSC 260: Special Topics in Political Science (when relevant)
Three courses from the following two areas, with at least one course from each area (9 credit hours)
Organizational Communication
- COMM 244: Public Relations
- COMM 313: Persuasion
- COMM 337: Leadership Communication
- COMM 301: Law of Mass Communication
- COMM 298: Independent Research
- COMM 335: Organizational Communication I
- COMM 365: internship/Practicum
- POLSC 370: Field Experience
Cultural Communication Analysis
- ENGL 359: Rhetoric, Writing and Society
- COMM 222: Critical Television Studies
- POLSC 241: American Political Thought
- POLSC 262: Politics and Film
- POLSC 263: Politics and Superheroes
- POLSC 260: Special Topics in Political Science (when relevant)
- POLSC 360: Independent Study
- POLSC 370: Field Experience
Capstone (6 credit hours)
The capstone project will be the senior project or thesis in either Communication (COMM 324 and 369) or Political Science (POLSC 250 and 350). The student will be required to take the methods course in the appropriate department and fulfill all other requirements that are pre-requisite for the senior project course.
*No more than six credit hours of research or internship credit can count toward the major.
Program Requirements (30 credit hours)
Transfer Policy
All transfer students must take ACSU 101: Transfer Student Orientation. It is a one-on-one orientation, for no cost and carries zero credit hours. This is a graduation requirement for transfer students.
Transfer Students with fewer than 30 hours
All requirements of the general education curriculum.
Transfer students with more than 30 hours
Students who have completed the Illinois Articulation Initiative General Education Core Curriculum (IAI/GECC) requirements (37-41 credit hours) must take the following additional mission-based courses at SXU in order to fulfill their general education requirements:
- Philosophy 150: The Examined Life
- One religious studies course
Students have the opportunity to qualify for SXU's IAI/GECC Articulation Agreement as long as the majority of the general education core has been met prior to transferring. Any remaining general education courses may be taken from Saint Xavier University.