We educate you in the liberal arts tradition

The Communication major at UMass Amherst follows the liberal arts tradition, emphasizing the critical thinking, systematic analysis, and writing and speaking skills that make for engaged citizenship. We emphasize theory and methods of inquiry, as opposed to technical training; we do not offer any industry-oriented, how-to classes in public relations, advertising, or broadcasting. We do, however, offer some great career-enhancement courses, among them Public Speaking, Film and Television Production Concepts, Program Process in Television, and Screenwriting. Students also gain applied training and skills through internships, service learning, and extracurricular campus experiences.

Themed subject areas help you focus in an expansive field

Communication is a broad field, so our undergraduate courses are organized into subject areas:

• Interpersonal Communication and Culture
• Media and Popular Culture Studies
• Media, Technology, and Society
• Rhetoric and Performance Studies
• Film Studies

Download a PDF copy of the Communication major brochure, and find out our current course offerings.