Curriculum

The Bachelor of Science in Strategic Communication degree requires 45 units total, including the major, concentration, elective certificate, and elective and distribution courses.

Students take eight core courses in communication studies and choose a major concentration in Corporate Communication and Branding, Research and Analytics, or Leadership. Strategic Communication students also select an elective certificate comprised of four courses from outside of the major.

Core and Major Concentrations

Course List

Course	Title
Core Courses
COMM_ST 205-DL	Theories of Persuasion
COMM_ST 225-DL	Communication and Culture
COMM_ST 250-DL	Team Leadership and Decision Making
COMM_ST 360-DL	Theories of Organizational Communication
COMM_ST 392-DL	Global Culture, Commerce, and Communication
COMM_ST 394-DL	Research Seminar
COMM_ST 395-DL	Topics in Communication Studies (Digital Media & Society)
COMM_ST 398-DL Capstone
Major Concentrations (choose one)
Corporate Communication and Branding
COMM_ST 261-DL	Introduction to Corporate Strategic Communication
COMM_ST 395-DL	Topics in Communication Studies (Crisis Communication)
MKTG 320-DL	Brand Management
MKTG 370-DL	Introduction to Public Relations
Leadership
ORG_BEH 301-DL	Organization Behavior
ORG_BEH 307-DL	Leadership Principles
ORG_BEH 310-DL	Organizational Change
ORG_BEH 391-DL	Topics in Management: (Cultural Competencies & Global Leadership)
Research and Analytics
COMM_ST 201-DL	Research Methods in Communication Studies
SOCIOL 226-DL	Sociological Analysis
MKTG 350-DL	Market Research
COMM_ST 352-DL	Social Network Analysis

Elective Certificates

Elective certificates provide students with the opportunity to build skills in a wide range of areas to meet career objectives and earn a stand-alone credential to demonstrate expertise in the professional arena.

Elective Certificates - choose one

Artificial Intelligence

Biology for Health Sciences (available Fall 2025)

Business Essentials

Data Science

Health, Science, and Society (available Fall 2024)

Human Resources

Law and Policy (available Fall 2024)

Programming

Public Health (available Fall 2025)

Social Justice (available Fall 2024)

Strategic Management

Degree Requirements

In addition to the core courses, major concentration, elective certificate, and elective courses, the B.S. degree requires 14 units of distribution courses that includes a writing requirement and courses from three areas: humanities, science and math, and social sciences. Two distribution courses focus on diversity and inclusion, one course within the United States and one course within global perspectives. Students complete a philosophy course on professional ethics for one of the four humanities distribution courses.

SPS-Degree Requirements

Courses	Units Earned
Writing Requirement: English 111 and 205	2
Humanities	4
Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning	4
Social Sciences	4
Major Requirements	8
Major Concentration	4
Elective Certificate	4
Electives	15
Total	45