Communication

The Online Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication

Online BA

Are you looking for:

  • A degree that provides you with an enormously flexible career path?
  • A degree that is marketable?
  • A degree that can benefit you as significantly in your personal life as it does in your professional life?
  • A degree that is taught by dedicated, full-time faculty members who are experts in their areas of specialty?
  • A degree that can be successfully completed from start to finish entirely online?

Then the Online Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Western Illinois University is the degree for you!

The online Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication provides students with the opportunity to attain valuable skills and knowledge relating to understanding and promoting the effective management of human communication processes. This degree can be completed entirely online regardless if you enter the program as a freshman or as a student transferring from another institution. Communication majors graduate and go on into career paths that may include (but are not limited to) sales, politics, law, management, customer service/experience, public relations, healthcare, marketing, recruiting, training and development, and human resources.

The Online Communication degree reflects the regular Communication B.A. degree currently offered by the department. To earn this degree a Communication major must complete the following requirements:

  • WIU's General Education requirements
  • 42 credit hours of required and elective Communication courses
  • WIU's Foreign Language/Global Issues (FLGI) requirement, which may be fulfilled by successfully completing one of the following:

    1. an intermediate foreign language requirement;
    2. a General Education global issues course;
    3. a Communication global issues course (COMM 381); or
    4. an approved Study Abroad program.
  • An approved minor. (See a list of minors that may be completed online here.)

For the Online B.A. in Communication, you will complete a challenging and diverse program of coursework which includes both core and elective classes:

Core Courses – (12 s.h.):

  • COMM 130, Introduction to Human Communication
  • COMM 247, Argumentation
  • COMM 311, Quantitative Research Methods in Communication
  • COMM 344, Interpersonal Communication

Elective Courses - (30 s.h., at least 9 s.h. at the 400 level):

  • COMM 254, Great Speeches
  • COMM 305, Interviewing
  • COMM 309, Communication Theory
  • COMM 310, Qualitative Research Methods in Communication
  • COMM 312, Rhetorical Criticism
  • COMM 315, Gender and Communication
  • COMM 343, Organizational Communication
  • COMM 345, Social Media
  • COMM 356, Persuasion
  • COMM 381, Intercultural Communication
  • COMM 409, Conflict Management
  • COMM 413, Advanced Organizational Communication
  • COMM 425, Health Communication
  • COMM 441, Rhetoric and Public Culture
  • COMM 445, Social Media Analytics
  • COMM 456, Persuasive Campaigns
  • COMM 496, Internship

To help you with any questions that you might have about your degree program we have a dedicated, national-award winning academic advisor who can assist you with your course schedule, choosing minors, and keeping you moving smoothly on your way to completing your degree. You are also welcome to contact the Department of Communication directly if you have any questions regarding enrollment in the program, expectations or requirements for the degree, or any other information that you might be seeking.