Communication Studies Courses

From Public Speaking to Nonverbal Communication

The below is a list of courses that are offered within the Communication Studies program. See if and when courses are offered in a given semester via the UT Tyler course schedule. You should also visit the College of Arts and Sciences Advising Office to ensure you are on track to graduate on time according to your course catalog and chosen minor. The faculty within the Communication Studies program are happy to meet with you to discuss courses, scheduling, and help with advising before registration begins. When you are ready to register, you should do so on the UT Tyler website. If you are a Communication Studies major, be sure to check out the degree requirements when deciding which courses to take each semester.

 

CMST 1315: Introduction to Public Speaking

The major aims of this course are to make students a more effective professional communicator, analytical thinker, and critical listener. Throughout the semester students study the theories and principles of effective communication, practice applying these principles in a variety of assignments, and critique the performances of other speakers. These assignments and exercises will work at developing your speaking abilities, organizational and preparation techniques, as well as the capacity to effectively appraise an audience and diverse backgrounds and ethically apply communication theory

 

CMST 1311: Introduction to Communication Studies

Theory and practice related to the dynamics of human communication. An examination of the process of attributing and sharing meaning, and the factors influencing intrapersonal, interpersonal, small group, organizational, rhetoric, public address, to name a few of the contexts in which communication studies applies. This course will overview and introduce students to the discipline and the theories used within the field. 

 

CMST 2310: Introduction to Research Methods

A review of research in the speech communication discipline. Broad application of both quantitative and qualitative investigative methods. Students learn to read and review work within the discipline.

 

CMST 2312: Global Health Communication

This course is a survey of and analysis of concepts, perspectives, research, and theories related to global health communication across various contexts. Communicative demands of health, healthcare, and health education and promotion, current issues and problems related to global health, and communication strategies employed to achieve health education, equity, and reduce health disparities will be examined.

 

CMST 2318: Interpersonal Communication

This course critically investigates, analyzes, and applies interpersonal communication to real world application. The course examines the influence of interpersonal communication in our lives by utilizing various tools throughout the semester. All course materials will enhance understanding of interpersonal communication, facilitate discussion, and encourage thoughtful approaches to communicating.

 

CMST 2320: Nonverbal Communication

This course will increase awareness, knowledge, and understanding of nonverbal communication. It will enhance skills related to personal nonverbal skills and will focus on how to adjust to the nonverbal communication of other people; such as touch, time, environmental contexts, physical appearance, and social communication cues.

 

CMST 2335: Argumentation & Debate

This class focuses on the theory and practice of argument in the academic debate setting. A secondary focus is on the application of debate theory to the practice of argument in general. Emphasis is placed upon research, analysis, case construction, and actual debating.

 

CMST 3310: Quantitative Research Methods

Along with effective communication skills, and a general good working knowledge of business principles, understanding research methods is one of the most important skills in the communication field. Social science research methods across the various contexts within the communication studies discipline. This course covers formalizing research questions, operational definitions, hypotheses and research question testing, measurement, sampling, research design, computer analysis, and scale development. 

 

CMST 3311: Qualitative Research Methods

This course is an exploration of qualitative research methods in the communication discipline. Evaluating and designing qualitative, communication-centered research will be a primary focus. An array of qualitative research approaches will be reviewed, including a variety of epistemologies (ways of knowing), ontologies (ways of being/reality), methodologies (ways of examining), and non-numerical representations (ways of writing and reporting) of qualitative data.

 

CMST 3314: Patient Provider Communication

This course develops a framework for exploring the processes involved in patient-provider communication. This course deepens the understanding of the field of health communication, health communication approaches, and represents ways to make the relationship between patients and providers stronger communicationally speaking.

 

CMST 3315: Lying and Deception

Deception occurs in communication behavior across species and lying (i.e., intentional deception) is a pervasive phenomenon in human communication. This course explores the varieties of deceptive communication, their causes, and consequences. Therefore the number of issues surrounding lies, truth, deception, leakage cues, and ethical perspectives surrounding lying and deception will be discussed. As deception occurs across contexts, this course examines lying and deception from many angles as well as the strategies used to detect their occurrence: in the media, politics, the internet, hoaxes and scams, interpersonal relationships, art, family and romantic relationships, etc.

 

CMST 3321: Business & Professional Communication

Principles of speech communication are applied to the communication needs of the professional. Public communication, small group communication and interviewing are explored as they relate to the business/professional arena. A practical/applied orientation is taken with an emphasis on selection interviews, problem solving, the oral presentation and advocacy of ideas. Emphasis is on clarity and persuasiveness in communicating with clients, associates, and other decision makers through oral, written, and visual means.

 

CMST 3322: Small Group Communication

Communication matters for both personal and professional lives. One of the experiences that all people all have (in different ways) is working with teams or small groups, whether that experience was enjoyable or not. However, it is extremely important that we learn how to communicate effectively when we are working with others in these settings for both our personal and professional growth.

 

CMST 3324: Public Health Communication

This class focuses on the role communication plays in health behavior change programs. You will develop an awareness for the components that go into developing effective health campaigns. Additionally, you will develop a foundational skill set to create health campaigns to combat the health issues that plague our society.

 

CMST 3325: Persuasive Communication

In this course, students will learn about fundamental communicative and psychological processes that are involved in social influence. The course covers prominent social scientific perspectives on persuasion that inform our understanding of what makes persuasive efforts compelling. This is not a course designed specifically to teach persuasive speaking skills; rather, it is meant to sharpen students’ understanding of how persuasion occurs.

 

CMST 3345: Crisis Communication

This course will examine the importance of crisis communication within various crisis contexts as well as examine the relationship among crisis-related theories, research, and practice. Effective crisis communication strategies will be evaluated as related to a variety of different crisis types, such as organizational reputation crises, natural disasters, public health crises, disease outbreaks, chemical spills, environmental disasters, crises associated with workplace violence, among others. Communication processes across pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis stages will be examined.

 

CMST 3350: Risk Communication

This course will examine what constitutes “risk,” risk communication theories, research, and the practice of risk communication in various settings. Risk communication plans and strategies will be evaluated as related to various target audiences, audience assessment and perception of risks, and the factors that influence whether or not people take action to protect themselves against risks and the role communication plays in these processes.

 

CMST 3355: Communication & Personal Relationships

This course develops a framework for exploring the processes involved in focused social interaction and communication in the context of personal relationships. This course will increase the knowledge of how appropriate communication processes and competencies can strengthen these relationships.

 

CMST 4199-4699: Independent Study

Independent study in specific areas of speech not covered by organized undergraduate courses. A maximum of six credit hours for independent study courses may be applied toward an undergraduate degree.

 

CMST 4310: Family Communication

Families are a universal human experience. Families are created and maintained through communication and have an impact on our larger societies and politics. Therefore we need to study them and students need the opportunity to learn how to adapt to family members' communication. This course critically evaluates and assess the current trends in families throughout the world and family communication research.

 

CMST 4315: Organizational Communication

An analysis of the flow of communication within formal organizations with emphasis on the interrelationship between interpersonal, small group and mass communication.

 

CMST 4319: Interpersonal Health Communication

This course is designed to provide an overview of contemporary scholarship on phenomena within the scope of interpersonal health communication. Ideally, students learn how communication among friends, family members, and professionals influences people’s well-being, and how, in turn, health and illness shape communication and relationship dynamics.

 

CMST 4320: Communication Theory

This course is a survey of the major theories/methodologies of communication and their application to the analysis of discourse. This course presents a historic range of theories of communication, including interpretive, critical, rhetorical, and scientific.

 

CMST 4326: Advanced Public Speaking

A course in the composition and delivery of speeches for various occasions, in audience analysis, and in speech criticism.

 

CMST 4327: Contemporary Rhetoric

Investigation of the shifting rhetorical climate of today's society and the changing modes of communication.

 

CMST 4330: Interviewing

The aim of this course is to introduce students to interviewing theory, prepare them for their roles as interviewers and interviewees, including in the mass communication setting, to instruct students in methods of interview preparation, and to provide students with practice in various types of interviews.

 

CMST 4331: Intercultural Communication

An examination of the relationship between communication and culture. The general concepts of intercultural communication, intercommunity communication, and relevant contrast-cultural and ethnic groups are examined. Designed to satisfy the multicultural requirements for elementary and secondary teachers.

 

CMST 4333: Religious Communication

This course will examine the symbolic construction of religion. It will explore the dialectic between the “sacralization” of the secular and the secularization of the sacred or religious.

 

CMST 4334: Political Communication

This seminar is an examination and analysis of the communication strategies used by modern presidential candidates and elected presidents.  Specifically, the course explores political communication processes and forms such as campaign speeches, television campaign advertisements, political debates, political websites, inaugural addresses, State of the Union addresses, and other political communication genres.

 

CMST 4344: Media Ecology

This seminar examines the influence of media on culture and consciousness. Such media could include traditional ones such as orality, television, radio, print, and writing as well as “new” ones such as email, instant messaging, blogs, Websites, and the like. The focus of the seminar is on the exploration of how media technologies shape how people and cultures think, value, and feel.

 

CMST 4360: Topics in Communication

A study of the application of communication in both professional and personal life. Such areas as teaching, business, listening, parliamentary procedure, and other studies more specialized than those currently offered in other courses may be included.

 

CMST 4370: Undergraduate Internship Program 

This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to learn and reflect on communication career paths in an off-campus environment. As such, students will examine the ways in which the Communication Studies coursework is applicable to a variety of career paths, work environments, and job titles.