Learn more about earning your degree in Communication and Media
We envision a world where communication is founded on respect for individual autonomy and equality, and where such communication contributes to self-realization, self-determination, and democracy.
Our major prepares you for a diverse range of careers, including in journalism, politics, environment, public relations, non-profits, health, human resources, the law, politics, media, sports, academia, and entrepreneurship. Using active learning methods, courses are designed to teach you about the role of communication in society and provide you with experience in developing your oral, written, visual, and digital communication skills. Internships are a key part of your education, with opportunities at PR agencies, news outlets, arts organizations, political, legal and social justice advocacy organizations, non-profits and other organizations across Seattle.
You must choose a specialization, but the flexibility built into the curriculum allows you also double- or triple-specialize, and your educational plan accommodates it.
This specialization engages students in active learning about communication in a variety of contexts. You learn effective ways to communicate with each other, about differing cultural contexts, and persuasive advocacy.
Potential careers: Consulting, Politics, Diplomacy, Advocacy, Law, Human Resources, Entrepreneurship, Writing, Media and Digital Communication
This track introduces you to an integrated approach to managing all communications functions, including the underlying theoretical frameworks, innovative industry practices and influential role of communication in global and local organizations.
Potential careers: Public Relations, Social Media, Advertising, Nonprofit Management
Develop your skills to gather and disseminate stories through the media, using reporting, writing, visual and digital skills. Emphasis is placed on reporting for social change and developing an entrepreneurial approach to media content creation.
Potential careers: Entertainment, Broadcasting, News Reporting, Digital Media
One day in her CMME professional experience class, Desiree Lindsay met Trent Freeman, the Marketing and Communications Director of Treehouse, a prominent nonprofit that serves youth experiencing foster care. Having experienced foster care herself, Desiree was committed to a career focused on elevating youth who face more barriers than their peers. With the encouragement of her class professor, who knew Freeman, Desiree applied successfully for an internship with the non-profit. That internship turned into her being hired full-time as the PR Coordinator for Treehouse. Says Desiree, "Seattle U. gave me the experience, skills and connections I needed to stand out in a pool of applicants.”
Communication is a super broad degree, and that’s the beauty of it. You study communication, but it’s expected that you do something else on the side. For me, that’s music. I’ve related a lot that I’ve learned from Rhetoric and Society and Interpersonal Communication back to music, developing strategies to grow my music, grow other people’s music, and manage and develop my record label.
Marc Gleckman | Class of 2019
On a trip to New York City during his junior year at Seattle U, Nick McCarvel walked into the office of Tennis Magazine and asked about an internship. Eight years after graduating with a degree in journalism, McCarvel was covering major sporting events of all types on every continent. “Journalism continues to change as the digital landscape expands, but the skills remain the same. Professor Sonora Jha was a guiding light. Thanks to her and the journalism faculty I got the foundation to get me where I am today.”
It helps to have professors who not only know your name, but also understand what and how other professors teach, creating a more unified and diverse department faculty. Dr. Philpott really opened my eyes to the career possibilities I had with a Communications degree. (Don’t tell him, but I aspire to be a communications consultant some time in my life as well.)
Jordan Chan | Class of 2019Think about double or triple specializing, and maybe even try a class that you’re nervous about. I originally specialized only in Communication Studies but took a Strategic Communication class just to see how I liked it. I ended up loving it, despite being nervous about it at first. Now I’m double-specializing, and I’m so thankful I decided to try that class. Don’t limit yourself to just what you think you may be good at – the great thing about this major is that you can really customize it.
Kendyl Puhan | Class of 2019After taking a variety of classes across a multitude of disciplines, I fell in love with communications. I felt inspired by the communication and media theories I was learning about in class because they helped me make meaning of contemporary issues movements developing across the nation. I quickly came to recognize the effects of media on society, and most importantly, I learned to view the art of communications and media as a tool for social change.
Marta Gamez | Class of 2019
Professionally, Dr. Carlson comes to academia with a background in public relations. She has six years of agency and non-profit experience as an account executive, account manager and director of communications. Her primary research interests are in media law and policy as they pertain to new media, freedom of expression and social justice. Her current work focuses on hate speech in social media.
Prior to teaching, Dr. Evans was an entertainment journalist, working with many organizations in both New York and Los Angeles, including Entertainment Weekly, People, MTV, Guest Informant and BET. He also worked as an entertainment producer for Headline News at CNN in Atlanta. Dr. Evans is also a documentary filmmaker whose production company, CrossRoads Productions, creates media literacy videos to educate adolescents on various multicultural issues.
With a strong focus in strategic communication, Dr. Liu has published extensive research about social media’s influence on human behavior and civic engagement. Her work has appeared in many of the top communication journals, including Public Relations Review, Journal of Advertising, and Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. Recently, her research has been focused on social media influencers. Dr. Liu instructs students on topics of strategic communication and social media management.
As the Instructor and Director of Forensics for the Communications Department, Dr. Hanson oversees the Speech and Debate team and teaches several classes about speech communication. Outside of his work on campus, Dr. Hanson is the executive director of Climb the Mountain Speech and Debate Foundation and president of West Coast Publishing.
Communication and Journalism
Communication and Media Studies Graduates
For Digital Communication
