*Public Communication is currently undergoing a name change and is referred to in this FAQ by its forthcoming name: Rhetoric and Public Advocacy
1. What are the benefits of pursuing the Rhetoric and Public Advocacy concentration with the Strategic Communication major?
This concentration helps students to develop their communication knowledge and abilities so that they can advocate for causes, issues, policies, laws and organizations. These abilities include
Advocating for personal, political or organizational goals
Analyzing various forms of both private and public communication
Creating, organizing and delivering messages that inform, persuade and inspire
Developing means of communicating with target audiences
Gaining a better understanding of local, national and international affairs
Critically engaging in issues of social justice, cultural identity and ethical communication
2. What distinguishes Rhetoric and Public Advocacy from other areas of communication?
This study has a strong tradition dating back more than 2,000 years to the ancient Greeks and their analysis of persuasion in the public arena. Its strong tradition focuses on the power of human communication in public and private arenas.
3. What are some typical subjects or issues that students might study?
Rhetoric and Public Advocacy allows students to study a variety of topics, including presidential discourse, persuasion in the mass media, political talk shows, celebrity gossip, gamer culture, sports cultural criticism, religious advocacy, social movements, nonprofit organizations, and debates on everything from race to marriage to freedom of speech to hip-hop and Lady Gaga.
4. What careers do students pursue who have studied Rhetoric and Public Advocacy?
This concentration prepares students for careers in
Public advocacy
Politics and government communication
Grassroots activism and social movements
Law and the judicial system
Marketing, media management, and news casting
Political, nonprofit, and corporate lobbying
Graduate school and academia
5. What are the course and GPA requirements for the concentration?
To graduate with a major in Strategic Communication and a Rhetoric and Public Advocacy (aka Public Communication) concentration students must complete 124 credit hours with at least a 2.0 GPA. Strategic Communication majors take four department core courses: Public Speaking (STRC 1111), Communicating Leadership (STRC 1112), Introduction to Communication Theory (STRC 2111), and Strategies and Tactics of Persuasion (STRC 2112). In addition, they complete 18 credit hours within the concentration, including Campaigns and Movements in America (STRC 2296), Argumentation (STRC 2222), Political Communication (STRC 3323), Rhetorical Theory (STRC 3333), Analysis of Public Discourse (STRC 3396), and Seminar in Public Communication (STRC 4839), as well as two electives in the department.
Public Communication FAQs
*Public Communication is currently undergoing a name change and is referred to in this FAQ by its forthcoming name: Rhetoric and Public Advocacy
1. What are the benefits of pursuing the Rhetoric and Public Advocacy concentration with the Strategic Communication major?
This concentration helps students to develop their communication knowledge and abilities so that they can advocate for causes, issues, policies, laws and organizations. These abilities include
2. What distinguishes Rhetoric and Public Advocacy from other areas of communication?
This study has a strong tradition dating back more than 2,000 years to the ancient Greeks and their analysis of persuasion in the public arena. Its strong tradition focuses on the power of human communication in public and private arenas.
3. What are some typical subjects or issues that students might study?
Rhetoric and Public Advocacy allows students to study a variety of topics, including presidential discourse, persuasion in the mass media, political talk shows, celebrity gossip, gamer culture, sports cultural criticism, religious advocacy, social movements, nonprofit organizations, and debates on everything from race to marriage to freedom of speech to hip-hop and Lady Gaga.
4. What careers do students pursue who have studied Rhetoric and Public Advocacy?
This concentration prepares students for careers in
5. What are the course and GPA requirements for the concentration?
To graduate with a major in Strategic Communication and a Rhetoric and Public Advocacy (aka Public Communication) concentration students must complete 124 credit hours with at least a 2.0 GPA. Strategic Communication majors take four department core courses: Public Speaking (STRC 1111), Communicating Leadership (STRC 1112), Introduction to Communication Theory (STRC 2111), and Strategies and Tactics of Persuasion (STRC 2112). In addition, they complete 18 credit hours within the concentration, including Campaigns and Movements in America (STRC 2296), Argumentation (STRC 2222), Political Communication (STRC 3323), Rhetorical Theory (STRC 3333), Analysis of Public Discourse (STRC 3396), and Seminar in Public Communication (STRC 4839), as well as two electives in the department.