cfpca - College of Fine, Performing & Communication Arts

Welcome to the Department of Communication at Wayne State University. The department includes programs in journalism, mass media and speech communication and offers undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees.

With more than 600 undergraduate and 200 graduate students, the department is large, diverse and dynamic. Our students train to be exceptional communication professionals, critical consumers, and skilled communication researchers. Students also have the benefit of a world-class education in a real world context. Journalism and public relations majors have opportunities for local and national internships with newspapers, radio and televisions stations, with PR agencies and other organizations. Media studies students frequently work in media production positions even before completing their degrees. Accomplished communication professionals teach many of our classes.

Extracurricular and Enrichment Programs
We also offer specialized extracurricular and enrichment programs. Our Journalism Institute for Minorities was found in 1984 to help address issues of diversity in media organizations. The Wayne State University Debate Team enjoys a national reputation and last year was ranked 10th in the nation.

Alumni
Departmental alumni work in media outlets, university settings, and in public relations positions throughout the nation and the world. Many have gone on to become leaders in the communication field.

Faculty
Our faculty is comprised of internationally recognized scholars and critics. The department enjoys active programs of research in music videos, visual rhetoric, interpersonal communication, communication and aggression, crisis and risk communication, communication and leadership, diversity in the media, and many, many others.

Role and Mission of the Department of Communication
The study of communication involves the theory, research and practice of message-based interaction among individuals, groups, institutions and cultures. Communication is a human and technological activity whereby ideas, information and perceptions are made common among individuals, groups, institutions and cultures.

The mission of the Department of Communication is to establish and maintain programs of scholarly research and creative activity, to provide excellence in academic instruction, to produce professional communicators who can excel in a variety of contexts, and to serve metropolitan Detroit, the state of Michigan, larger national and international communities, and the communication discipline at large. This mission entails:

• Excellence in the Generation and Critique of Knowledge about Human Communication: We seek to establish and maintain programs of scholarly research and creative activity that contribute to the larger understanding and the practice of communication. These programs should incorporate the range of empirical, critical and creative approaches to communication; yet remain focused so as to provide depth and continuity.
• Excellence in Teaching: We seek to educate students broadly in communication so that our students are familiar with the oral, aural, written and visual contexts and skills of communication. Our graduates should be skilled practitioners, critical consumers and thoughtful observers of communication processes.
• Excellence in Serving Multiple Constituencies: We seek to serve our communities and the communication discipline at large by example participation and leadership. We should interact with the individuals and institutions in the urban environment and provide services and knowledge, which are relevant to their communication concerns.