How important is communication? Considering it’s at the heart of how we write, speak and relate to one another, it’s arguably one of the most valuable skills you can learn if you desire to make an impact on the world.
Consider all the fields where communication is at the core of the work. Public relations. Brand management. Journalism. Law. Social media management. Event planning. The beauty is, as a communication major at George Fox, you will take courses that prepare you to be successful in any of these career paths – and countless others.
Our communication majors have landed positions in fields that include:
Digital marketing and analysis
Social media management
Public relations
Development and events coordination
Program management
And the diversity of their employers – Disney, Refugee Women’s Alliance, WE Communications, Anthropologie, Intel, Oregon State University athletics, and Bob’s Red Mill, to name a few – is a testament to the versatility of the degree.
In the human communication concentration, you will engage in coursework that prepares you for leadership and management positions, and to work in nonprofit organizations, politics, human resources, various ministry and parachurch organizations, as well as other fields related to communication.
In the public relations concentration, you will gain firsthand experience working for nonprofit and corporate clients, for whom you’ll create public relations materials that cater to the needs of the organizations and their constituents.
The organizational communication concentration is ideal if you’re interested in the fields of human resources, project management, event planning and coordination, consulting, promotions, fundraising, corporate training or customer service.
You will take communication courses that make use of real-world case studies that are particularly useful in organizational settings. These are combined with marketing or management classes, giving you a balanced education in business and communication.
Program Distinctives Why Study Communication at George Fox?
We connect you with the world of work. As a communication major, you’ll be required to land an internship that links you with industry and professional opportunities.
The way we conduct ourselves and communicate directly reflects our faith, so we aspire to be a major that teaches students to reflect Christ, no matter where they end up professionally.
Our department has built a large network of relationships with potential employers and industry sectors that offer promising employment opportunities.
We have an official chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). This provides you with the opportunity to enhance your education, build your network and develop as a leader.
Our department has an active chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the official honor society of the National Communication Association, that holds fun and celebratory student events throughout the school year, and we also have an active debate team that competes in multiple regional tournaments annually.
Courses / Curriculum What Will I Study?
All communication majors take courses in interpersonal communication, persuasive communication, and intercultural communication.
A required professional writing course explores trends in media convergence, focusing on the ways reporters, editors and designers create stories for the web.
As part of the human communication concentration, you will take a course in mass media and popular culture, in which you’ll analyze the role(s) of mass media in shaping and altering opinion and values in contemporary culture.
If you’re in the public relations concentration, you’ll build a professional portfolio of public relations work, including campaigns and data visualization materials.
Our organizational communication concentration allows you to integrate several business courses into your curriculum, including classes on marketing, consumer behavior, and management.
The Cornerstone Core is a set of 12 courses across 10 academic disciplines that undergraduate students take at George Fox to cultivate their character within the Christian context.
This course introduces students to the professional, personal, and spiritual dimensions of communication. By identifying how to live out one鈥檚 faith in interpersonal relationships, through public presentations, and by engaging in mediated communication, students will be encouraged to pursue clarity in communication motivated by the question: how do we better understand others and help them to understand us?
A presentation of key principles of persuasion as they are reflected in typical organizational communication contexts. Focus on developing a planning sequence that will function as a practical guide for designing, executing, and evaluating communication events. Students will be expected to develop a "real world" communication event, e.g., publicity campaign, speech, newsletter. Prerequisite: COMM 111 Communication in Society or equivalent.
Theoretical and reflective study and guided experience in dyadic and small-group communication, with attention given to interpersonal communication, listening behavior, nonverbal communication, and conflict resolution. Additional course fee is required.
This course is an introduction to quantitative and qualitative research methods commonly used in the field of communication and in social science in general.
This covers communication as it affects and is affected by language and culture. Topics include contextualized use of communication within speech communities, intercultural effectiveness, cultural communication theory, competent intercultural experiences in co-cultures (ethnic, gender, intergenerational, deaf, etc.) and global cultural groups. A student may not earn credit for both the lower-division and upper-division versions of this course.
This course is an experience in supervised field situations, the internship can be either on or off campus, involving extensive communication activity usually overseen by a professional or expert in their field. Admission to course and amount of credit are determined by the faculty supervisor. This course is offered each term. Up to 6 hours may count toward major requirements. Pass/No Pass. Prerequisites: Communication major, junior standing and completion of 9 credits in COMM coursework.
Designed to integrate skills and concepts from communication course work with ethical and spiritual principles through readings, written assignments, and assessment instruments. Students will complete portfolios that will include work samples and department exit exams along with a statement of what it means to be a Christian communicator. A service component may be included as part of the course.
This course explores trends in media convergence, focusing as well on the ways reporters, editors, and designers create stories for the web. Particular emphasis will be on web-based story design, the coordination of text and art, and the creation of stories for a variety of new media outlets. Prerequisite: WRIT 111 Caring for Words, enrollment in the Honors Program, or instructor permission.
Survey of the historical development of newspapers, magazines, broadcast media, and cinema. Analysis of the role(s) of mass media in shaping and altering opinion and values in contemporary culture.
A course that examines and applies theories of small-group structures, climate, roles, leadership, motivation, and conflict management. Prerequisite: COMM 111 Communication in Society or equivelent course.
A study of the major sources of communication theory (e.g., meaning theory, humanistic psychology, symbolic interactionism, relational theory, information processing) together with specific contemporary exemplifications of each approach. Special focus is on the nature and progress of scientific inquiry in communication theory. Prerequisite: 6 hours of communication or cinematic arts ourses, including COMM 111 Communication in Society.
A course in practical reason. Includes a survey of theories of argumentation, analysis of public arguments, and several speeches, including a debate. Prerequisite: COMM 111 Communication in Society or instructor's permission.
Methods of rhetorical criticism as applied to public communication of the past and present, including but not limited to speeches, broadcasts, films, and campaigns. Analysis of current trends in rhetorical criticism. Prerequisite: junior standing or above.
Complete the following:
6-hours of upper-division COMM coursework required. Courses in other disciplines must be approved by faculty advisor.
This introductory survey will examine the major functional areas of business and afford the student an opportunity to consider this major as a path to a career. Emphasis is given to contemporary business concepts, in particular, and examination of business as a field for stewardship.
An examination of organizations from a communication vantage point. Combines study of theoretical perspectives with skill development. Students will build organizational communication competencies through understanding the nature of communication in the organizational context and by practicing effective communication skills. Possible topics include communication networks and climates, superior-subordinate relationships, computer-mediated communication, organizational identification, communication audits, group and team communication, interviewing, meetings, and presentations.
A course that examines and applies theories of small-group structures, climate, roles, leadership, motivation, and conflict management. Prerequisite: COMM 111 Communication in Society or equivelent course.
This is an advanced study of organizational communication. Topics include, but are not limited to, organizational storytelling, communication technologies, career theory, power and resistance in organizations, and impression management. Students will be encouraged to recognize ways organizational communication can be improved through their everyday interactions. Prerequisite: COMM 270 Introduction to Organizational Communication or consent of instructor.
Study of the marketing concept, consumer demand and behavior, and marketing functions of the firm. The objective is to understand the development of marketing channels, products, prices, and promotion strategies.
Prerequisite or Co-requisite of BUSN 110 Introduction to Business
We will take a look at how customers shop, buy and use products and services to satisfy their needs and wants. This class highlights physiological and psychological content that promotes consumer behavior understanding, such as perception, learning, language, internal and external motivations, emotions. Creating personas is an outcome of consumer behavior knowledge, allowing you to instinctively know your customer and create personalized marketing campaigns that hit the target each time. Prerequisite: MKTG 260 Principles of Marketing.
We will incorporate traditional and non-traditional B2B and B2C techniques to effectively communicate with our target audience. You will learn how to create a unified, cohesive Integrated Marketing plan, essential to a successful marketing career. In today鈥檚 market, it is critical to know how to leverage digital strategies across a variety of deliverables including branding, design, usability, IT development, SEO, and social media integration to drive active commerce and audience engagement. You will learn how to solve business problems with a persuasive marketing strategy. Prerequisites: MKTG 260 Principles of Marketing and MKTG 300 Consumer Behavior: Know Your Customer.
A study of the theory and practice of management. The course involves discussion and application of areas such as social responsibility, strategy, problem solving, communication, change, job performance, and financial/operational controls.
Prerequisite or Co-requisite: BUSN 110 Introduction to Business.
This course recognizes that managers are also called upon to be leaders. The differences between a leader and manager will be discussed with focus on effective leadership and management skills, philosophies and orientations.
Prerequisite: MGMT 260 Principles of Management.
This course examines the complex and dynamic interactions of people and organizations in society. Particular focus will be on organizational theory, human perception, motivation, group dynamics, power, conflict, culture, leadership, organizational development, and managing change.
Prerequisite: MGMT 260 Principles of Management.
This course is an introduction to industry-standard graphic design applications such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign. Additional course fee required.
Students work collaboratively to explore story and script essentials, the technical, creative, and aesthetic elements of the video production process. Course includes professional script formatting, basic lighting, sound, camera operation, composition, and design of visual elements, producing and directing basics through lecture, classroom and supervised laboratory experiences.
A course designed to introduce and develop a clear concept of public relations as a communication profession. Topics to be covered include the function of public relations in both public and private enterprises; the process of planning and implementing a public relations communication campaign; techniques for communicating with various publics; and the laws and ethics governing the practice of public relations.
An examination of organizations from a communication vantage point. Combines study of theoretical perspectives with skill development. Students will build organizational communication competencies through understanding the nature of communication in the organizational context and by practicing effective communication skills. Possible topics include communication networks and climates, superior-subordinate relationships, computer-mediated communication, organizational identification, communication audits, group and team communication, interviewing, meetings, and presentations.
This course gives students an opportunity to apply their existing coursework to variety of historical and hypothetical situations. Students will learn to work in teams to research, craft, and present an effective and ethical message in a short amount of time; to recognize and evaluate the various PR techniques used in historical cases; to demonstrate knowledge of how PR strategies interact with the changing face of modern journalism, marketing, and advertising; and how to construct a strategic campaign that would roll out across a variety of platforms over a set schedule.
Prerequisites: COMM/JOUR 240 Introduction to Public Relations and Junior standing or instructor permission.
This course is an advanced study of research methods, data management, and data visualization. Topics covered in this course include, but are not limited to, advanced research methods, data cleaning and management, data visualization theory (e.g. perception, visual cognition), design, and data narratives and storytelling. Students will have opportunities to critique, replicate, and redesign current data visualizations, as well create original data visualizations that tell important stories to lay audiences. Prerequisites: COMM 260 Introduction to Communication Research Methods, equivalent course, or instructor permission; Junior standing.
This course prepares students for strategic communication and reputation management with internal and external stakeholders in a crisis. Students will understand the difference between an issue and a crisis, and plan resolutions through ethical, Christian perspectives. Prerequisite: COMM 240 Introduction to Public Relations, or instructor approval.
A course designed to provide fundamental knowledge and experience in reporting, writing, and editing news for the print media. Prerequisite: WRIT 111 Caring for Words, enrollment in the Honors Program, or instructor permission.
This course examines how social media intersects with existing psychological, communication, and marketing theories. In addition to providing a foundation in current terminology and trends, the course will also require students to develop critical thinking techniques in order to improve their media literacy. Students will analyze, evaluate, and prescribe communicative approaches in a variety of contemporary case studies, such as: crisis communication, public relations and branding, campaigns, citizen journalism, 鈥渂ig data,鈥� micromarketing, and social protest. Prerequisites: COMM 111 Communication in Society and sophomore class standing.
A presentation of key principles of persuasion as they are reflected in typical organizational communication contexts. Focus on developing a planning sequence that will function as a practical guide for designing, executing, and evaluating communication events. Students will be expected to develop a "real world" communication event, e.g., publicity campaign, speech, newsletter. Prerequisite: COMM 111 Communication in Society or equivalent.
Theoretical and reflective study and guided experience in dyadic and small-group communication, with attention given to interpersonal communication, listening behavior, nonverbal communication, and conflict resolution. Additional course fee is required.
Survey of the historical development of newspapers, magazines, broadcast media, and cinema. Analysis of the role(s) of mass media in shaping and altering opinion and values in contemporary culture.
A study of the major sources of communication theory (e.g., meaning theory, humanistic psychology, symbolic interactionism, relational theory, information processing) together with specific contemporary exemplifications of each approach. Special focus is on the nature and progress of scientific inquiry in communication theory. Prerequisite: 6 hours of communication or cinematic arts ourses, including COMM 111 Communication in Society.
Methods of rhetorical criticism as applied to public communication of the past and present, including but not limited to speeches, broadcasts, films, and campaigns. Analysis of current trends in rhetorical criticism. Prerequisite: junior standing or above.
A course designed to introduce students to the nature and function of gender differences in communication on a cross-cultural basis. Examines biological, cultural, linguistic, and power theories that attempt to explain these differences. Focus given to verbal (spoken and written) language as well as nonverbal communication codes. Counts toward globalization requirement.
This covers communication as it affects and is affected by language and culture. Topics include contextualized use of communication within speech communities, intercultural effectiveness, cultural communication theory, competent intercultural experiences in co-cultures (ethnic, gender, intergenerational, deaf, etc.) and global cultural groups. A student may not earn credit for both the lower-division and upper-division versions of this course.
A course designed to introduce and develop a clear concept of public relations as a communication profession. Topics to be covered include the function of public relations in both public and private enterprises; the process of planning and implementing a public relations communication campaign; techniques for communicating with various publics; and the laws and ethics governing the practice of public relations.
This course is an introduction to quantitative and qualitative research methods commonly used in the field of communication and in social science in general.
An examination of organizations from a communication vantage point. Combines study of theoretical perspectives with skill development. Students will build organizational communication competencies through understanding the nature of communication in the organizational context and by practicing effective communication skills. Possible topics include communication networks and climates, superior-subordinate relationships, computer-mediated communication, organizational identification, communication audits, group and team communication, interviewing, meetings, and presentations.
A course that examines and applies theories of small-group structures, climate, roles, leadership, motivation, and conflict management. Prerequisite: COMM 111 Communication in Society or equivelent course.
A course in practical reason. Includes a survey of theories of argumentation, analysis of public arguments, and several speeches, including a debate. Prerequisite: COMM 111 Communication in Society or instructor's permission.
This is an advanced study of organizational communication. Topics include, but are not limited to, organizational storytelling, communication technologies, career theory, power and resistance in organizations, and impression management. Students will be encouraged to recognize ways organizational communication can be improved through their everyday interactions. Prerequisite: COMM 270 Introduction to Organizational Communication or consent of instructor.
Career Outlook What’s After George Fox
Careers in media and communication are expected to continue to grow at a steady rate over the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. About 114,300 openings are projected each year, on average, in these occupations between 2022 and 2032. Employers are looking for college graduates who are creative and familiar with the changing media landscape.
According to the BLS, employment opportunities for public relations specialists will grow 6% between 2022 and 2032.
The best thing about the communications program at George Fox is how much effort the professors put into not only the teaching, but the creation of community through their classes as well. The skills I gained from the communications program will follow me throughout my career, and the relationships I built with the communication students and professors will be forever held dear to my heart. It was truly an honor to be a communications student at George Fox!
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