Dr. Susan Sci, Associate Professor, Chairperson

Dr. Janna Goodwin, Professor

Dr. Robert Margesson, Associate Professor

Dr. Meghan Cohen, Associate Professor

Dr. Emily Stones, Associate Professor

Departmental Information

In today's society when truths are distorted by many popular but biased media sources, when people spend more time on devices than they do connecting face-to-face, and when conflict characterizes our cultural narratives—we need, more than ever, a dimensional understanding of communication in all of its interdependent aspects.

The Communication major at Regis puts students in the same rooms with an outstanding faculty of scholars and cultural critics, experienced broadcast producers, international public relations specialists, media activists, business communication professionals, conflict management experts, scriptwriters and storytellers, accomplished masters of debate and argumentation, and other public speakers.

Students take courses within a comprehensive curriculum designed to excite interest in all aspects and forms of communication with focal areas of Human Communication and Conflict, Public Relations and Civic Engagement, and Media and Society. Graduating seniors leave our program well-equipped for family, social, and professional life. Some advance to graduate programs while others begin rewarding careers in marketing, public relations, media production, audio production, social media management, education, business and nonprofit management, law, real estate, community service, sports, sales, health care, event planning, and the arts—and other paths too numerous to mention.

Majors choose from among three areas of emphasis:

A Media and Society emphasis educates and guides students so that they may be informed, ethical and creative practitioners, leaders, critics and consumers in the professions and industries of media and technology. Emphasizing practical application through community engagement and production, students have opportunities to create online content (i.e., podcasts, videos, websites, etc.); write for our school newspaper, The Highlander; write critical-cultural reviews of popular culture texts to present at conferences, and much more.

The Public Relations industry is growing all across the globe, including in developing nations and emerging markets like India and Kenya. There are opportunities for skilled PR practitioners to work in a wide variety of industries and geographic regions. A Public Relations and Civic Engagement emphasis at Regis focuses on ethical and transparent public relations that works for social good. While we approach PR primarily from an advocacy lens, students are equipped with the theoretical and practical skills needed to tell stories to a wide variety of people across a range of platforms.

Studying in the Human Communication and Conflict emphasis area means understanding human experiences as systemic, co-created, emergent, narrative, and performed. Students look at which aspects of communication can be quantified and predicted; which can be understood as being about meaning and emotion, and which are best grasped in the contexts of power and justice. They explore consequences of a conflict-obsessed society. Studying human communication develops knowledge and practices that (unique in their centrality to everything we do) can transform the quality of our lives. Students learn to think with greater insight, complexity and nuance about performed behavior, relationships, and how people make meaning.

A learning portfolio and professional website are developed over a three-course “Career Foundations” sequence. All majors must complete an internship and simultaneously complete COM 498E-W Internship in Communication before graduating.