COMM Major Requirements and Recommended Courses
The requirements to fulfill a Communication and Media Studies Major are at least 29 credits in Communication and Media courses. These must include the following:
Prerequisites: COMM 101 and COMM 102 with a grade of C or higher
Communication and Media Upper-Level Writing: One course from courses numbered COMM 350-399 or COMM 452/492
Communication and Media Capstone Seminar: One course from courses numbered COMM 450-499 (3 credits). Students may choose to take a capstone seminar or senior thesis course* to fulfill this requirement. Only ONE capstone seminar may count toward the major.
Additional Advanced Communication and Media Credits: 22 additional credits from courses numbered COMM 200-449 (not included in 1. and 2. above). No more than one of COMM 290, 291, 292 may count toward the 28 credits in the major. No more than three credits of independent reading/research (COMM 322/441/442) can be used to meet this requirement.
Here are some recommendations for courses from our members.
First, a common belief among Communication Majors is that you must take a class with Professor Jimmy Draper before you graduate. Two recommendations for Professor Draper’s courses are Comm 340 and Comm 414. Comm 340, Gender and the Media, addresses and engages with ideas about gender and its intersectionality with race, sexuality, class, and disability. Gender-related topics are brought to light in modern examples through media like the music industry, the film industry, advertisements, and more. The other course, Comm 414 Fashion and Media, critically studies the multi-trillion dollar fashion industry that is embedded in social constructs.
Another acclaimed professor at Michigan is Jamie Moshin. One of the many classes Professor Moshin teaches at Michigan is Comm 290, Public Speaking in the Digital Age. Comm 290 gives students the tools to be successful, compelling, and confident public speakers. Professor Moshin also specializes in American Jewish Identity and liminal Whiteness. He teaches Comm 305, Whiteness and the Media, which emphasizes Whiteness in the mass media and politics. Another section of Comm 305 is taught by Devon Powers and covers Branding and Promotional Culture. The course on Branding and Promotional Culture explains how brands can rise, be maintained, and be damaged based on cultural contexts and the move toward social media.
For seniors, Comm 490 with Anthony Collings is a great senior capstone to fulfill the requirement. Anthony Collings is a former CNN foreign and Washington respondent. He was with CNN for 16 years and won an Emmy for his contributions to the coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing. Also, Professor Collings was an AP correspondent in Moscow, London and Bonn, and a Wall Street Journal correspondent in New York. Comm 490 Documentary Journalism: Representing Reality on the Screen is a documentary course that examines and critiques films as well as encourages students to create their own documentaries.
Make sure to check out the LSA Course Guide here https://www.lsa.umich.edu/cg/default.aspx for courses to take this upcoming Winter semester!
—- Kristina Gurgone, November 2022
