Celebrating 50 Years

Learn about the past, present and future of the Communication & Journalism Department.

In our department, we study all forms of communication – interpersonal, organizational, intercultural, and mass-mediated through advertising, journalism and public relations. We create effective messages with words, images and sounds that are presented as speeches, news stories and advertising campaigns, just to name a few. We study the processes by which messages are sent and received so that we understand the effects and meanings of messages. To make our understanding concrete, we venture into communities around campus to practice our communication skills and learn from others.  For instance, every semester in COJO 111, our students connect with students at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Minneapolis to work toward a common good.

COJO courses prepare our students for careers in advertising, corporate communication, digital and electronic media production, journalism (in print, broadcast and web-based organizations), organizational communication, public relations and more. Our students take a core of courses that give them basic competence in writing and speaking, and then work with faculty advisors to select courses that help them specialize in a particular area of communication. All our students end their major with a capstone seminar in Communication Ethics, which ensures they understand how ethical principles apply to all forms of communication.