Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to visit with an advisor before registering each semester?
No. You can use the Academic Advisement Report on BroncoWeb to see the classes you need to take and the classes you have already taken to meet your degree requirements. http://registrar.boisestate.edu/aar-faqs.shtml If you have questions about scheduling, you can meet with the department academic advisor for help.
When should I meet with my advisor?
You should meet with your advisor for guidance and advice that you cannot get from your Academic Advisement Report or the Departmental Academic Advisor. Faculty advisors can help you plan for your future career, recommend internship opportunities, and assist you with any issues that arise.
What do I need to do to get my degree?
- Meet the university’s “minimum credit requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree” in the catalog http://registrar.boisestate.edu/class-schedules.shtml. Students need to get a C or better in university core classes.
- Meet Department of Communication core requirements by taking at least one course from each of five departmental categories. For example, the first category is “Communication Arts.” Students need to get a C or better in department core classes.
- Meet Department of Communication elective requirements by taking 21 more credits in the department, at least 18 of which are upper-division (300 or 400 level).
- Earn the minimum number of credits required by the university to earn your degree. For most Communication majors, this means after they do the university core, the departmental core, and departmental electives they still need 20-30 credits of electives to graduate. These electives MAY be Communication classes but do not HAVE to be. You may choose to use your elective credits to earn a minor.
- Of your total credits, at least 40 must be upper-division. This is a university requirement. Where the 40 credits come from does not matter.
- Attain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 by the time of graduation and a grade of C or better in all required classes.
Are there specific courses that COMM majors must take for the university core?
No. You just need to meet university requirements as they are listed in the catalog and your Academic Advisement Report.
Can I use COMM 101 or COMM 112 to meet university core requirements?
You can use either COMM 101 or COMM 112 for Area II core requirements, but not both. If you really want to take both, one could count as your three credits of lower division COMM electives.
I have lots of other questions about core requirements. Should I see a COMM advisor?
You can, but you probably do not need to. Student Sucess Coordinators in room 117 of the Business Building can answer questions not specifically related to COMM majors. Also, you can use the Academic Advisement Report system in BroncoWeb to assess your progress. The AAR will give an accurate account of what your degree requires and what you still need to take. For help on running an AAR, please go to http://broncoweb.boisestate.edu/publications/faculty/aar.pdf
Do the additional nine credits of Area I and II courses have to be from the list of “approved Area I and II courses” in the catalog and schedule of classes?
No, you can take any class from any of the departments that are listed in the Area I and Area II lists. For example a student could take 9 more credits from Art (an Area I) department even if he/she had already taken six credits of Art to meet Area I requirements. These classes can be any level (100-400).
What is the department core?
The department core is a menu of courses intended to ensure that students are exposed to a number of ways of looking at communication. Each student must take one class from each of the five categories. The categories are Communication Arts, Communication Contexts, Analysis and Criticism/Research, Communication Theory and Philosophy, and Advanced Studies. Sometimes faculty refer to these categories by letter. For example, Communication Arts is “Area A” or “Category A.”
I took more than one class in one of the five categories. Is this a big mistake?
Most students will eventually take more than one class in some of the categories. As only one class is needed to meet the category requirement, the other class moves down to become a “departmental elective”. If you are working on an Emphasis Area you will need to be more careful with this, because emphasis areas have specific requirements that need to be met after the department core.
Can I take my departmental electives before finishing the departmental core?
Yes. You don’t have to finish the departmental core before moving on to departmental electives.
Can I take Internship credits and have them count toward my departmental electives?
Yes, within limits. If you are working on a specific emphasis area (e.g., Media Studies) there is no place for those to fit into the 36 Communication credits of the degree. Even if you are a general Communication major, you may count only 6 credits of internship toward your 21 credits of departmental electives. And, you may take no more than a total of 9 credits of any combination of internships, independent study, practica, or communication activities to meet this 21 credit requirement.
Can I take workshop credits and have them count toward my departmental electives?
Yes, up to three workshop credits can count toward the departmental electives requirement.
Do the classes I take for my Certificate also count toward my Communication degree?
Yes, classes you take to meet your certificate requirements can also meet Communication degree requirements. For example, COMM 302 Research Methods meets the area D Analysis and Criticism/Research requirement, as well as the Public Relations Certificate core requirement.
If I take a course that meets more than one degree requirement, will the credits for the course count more than once as well?
No. It is important to note that while the class meets both requirements, the credits are only counted once.