For students pursuing a communication degree, interests of each individual and future career goals are likely to vary greatly because the field of communications is diverse, offering many different opportunities for careers and concentrated fields of study. For anyone interested in a career that combines these varied interests and working closely with people and communication systems, this degree choice is a top option.
Skills, Qualities, and Interests of the Communications Student
One of the most important qualities for an individual to have when pursuing a communications degree is a desire to work in some way with people, whether in person, using various communications devices, or in writing. Additionally, many communications degree students benefit from an interest in public speaking, communications technologies, and public speaking as well. Additional information on the field of communications can also be found at the American Communication Association website.
Academically, students pursuing a communications degree could be interested in everything from learning how language is developed to studying the role of technology in building new communications channels. Students might have a specific interest in working with children, animals, or computers. Whatever interest a student has in the field, a communications degree will include coursework, research and case study, and possible internships.
Communications Degree Overview
As with the majority of degrees, students in a communications degree program will complete numerous general education courses in subjects such as science, mathematics, and information technology. In addition, a large portion of a degree curriculum in communication is focused on courses in linguistics, oral communication, written communication, and interpersonal communication.
Major coursework is designed to give students a foundation in understanding the ways in which language is developed and used in specific environments. Examples of courses often included in a communications degree program include rhetorical principles, public speaking foundations, professional writing, speech writing, theories in communications, and language development.
Specializations in Communications
In many cases, the courses completed in a communications program are taken in conjunction with a degree concentration or in order to specialize in a specific area of communications. These concentrations are often reflective of an individual’s specific interest in the field.
Common specializations often include mass media, linguistics, journalism and media production, political communications, organizational communications, technical writing, and digital communications. Coursework vary based on these specializations and might include additional study of communication law, intercultural communication, media theory, language acquisition, public speaking, and document design.
Communications Career Options
Specializing a degree in communications in order to meet personal interests and future goals is often the first step in building the skills and gaining the knowledge needed to enter into a number of different communications related career fields and positions. Possibilities for careers include broadcasting, business, international relations, politics, health care, human services, advertising and marketing, journalism, and technology.
Communications graduates are well-prepared to enter careers that rely on interpersonal skill and knowledge of communication processes, techniques, and technologies. The varied communication degree interests of individual students are matched with a variety of career paths that provide graduates with opportunities to a number of rewarding and successful careers in all types of industries.
