Welcome to the Department of Communication

The mission of the Department of Communication is to advance knowledge and practice of effective and ethical communication through teaching, scholarship, and engagement. We develop educated persons who possess the critical skills and analytical training, the social and historical perspective, the creative and technical abilities, awareness of and sensitivity to public affairs issues, and the practical expertise required to become effective creators and interpreters of both personal and public communication.

The Department of Communication is part of the School of Communication Studies, which also includes the Department of Media Journalism & Film and is located in the College of Arts and Letters. Our undergraduate and graduate programs offer a wide variety of courses, from interpersonal and small group communication to public relations and political communication. Six themes link these diverse specialties:

• communication competence (oral, written, and relational)
• ethical public and interpersonal discourse
• application of communication principles and skills in diverse cultural and social environments
• effective and ethical leadership and participation in collective action
• ethical advocacy
• analysis of issues relevant to the application of communication knowledge and skills in responsible citizenship

We offer undergraduate programs in Communication Studies, Organizational Communication, Public Relations, Socio-political Communication, and Speech & Theatre Education. Beginning Fall 2007 additional programs will include Intercultural Communication & Diversity, Health Communication, Rhetoric, and Interpersonal Communication, as well as an undergraduate certificate in Conflict and Dispute Resolution. Graduate programs include a Master of Arts degree in Communication, a graduate certificate in Conflict and Dispute Resolution, and an option focusing on applied communication in the interdisciplinary Master of Science in Administrative Studies degree.

We invite you to learn more about us by browsing this site, and we hope to have the opportunity to speak or meet with you directly. Please contact us at:

Department of Communication
375 Craig Hall
Missouri State University
901 S. National Avenue
Springfield, Missouri 65897

Communication@MissouriState.edu
(417) 836-4423