School of Communications > Communication Program > Undergraduate Studies
Undergraduate Studies
declaring | requirements for graduating | important degree information | tuition | scholarships | transfer students | Important Forms
The undergraduate program reflects the department's commitment to the mission of the College of Social Sciences: to provide our students an academic climate focusing on research and active learning in fundamental communication processes, with specific emphasis on the areas of interpersonal, intercultural, and international communication; telecommunication; organizational and management communication; and multimedia production. These courses of study provide preparation for fruitful careers, enlightened citizenship, and lifelong learning.
Communication 201 is a prerequisite for all other Communication courses (see courses).
Declaring a Major in Communication
You must be a University of Hawaii at Manoa undergraduate student before you can declare Communication as your major field of study. To declare a major in Communication, you must
- Be enrolled in UHM Introduction to Communication (COM 201),
or have already completed UHM COM 201 with at least a "B",
or have already completed the equivalent of UHM COM 201 with at least a "B" - Have completed at least 12 credit hours of university or college classes
- Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5
After a student declares his or her major in communication, the department assigns that student a faculty adviser. In addition, the undergraduate chair serves as an informative contact for declared communication majors and for students aspiring to be communication majors.
The system of guidance for students in the graduate program parallels the undergraduate advising structure. However, once a graduate student is admitted to candidacy, that student chooses a permanent adviser for the remainder of her/his program.
Requirements for Bachelor's Degree
Students must complete 36 credit hours of Communication classes including:
- The foundation course: COM 201 – 3 credits – with a grade of
"B" or better.
If you do not have a "B" or better you must retake the course. - 300 & 400 level electives (COM 320 – COM 499) of which 12 or more credit hours are at the 400 level (30 credits total).
- A Senior Thesis Project: COM 490 – 3 credits – with a grade
of "C" or better.
If you do not have a "C" or better you must retake the course. - Cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 for Communication courses.
The undergraduate curriculum in communication emphasizes an active learning, inquiry-based course of study.
The department has an extensive Internship Program (COM 495) through which a student can earn up to three (3) credits toward their major.
Students are eligible to enroll in COM 495 upon completion of a minimum of three (3) electives from the advanced areas of concentration in communication.
In keeping with the department's active-learning/research-based focus, students may select their electives from special topics (COM 459) and undergraduate seminar (COM 480) courses.
In addition to the foregoing, students may select electives from the following categories:
- General – COM 453, 454, 451 (WI), and 452 (WI)
- Intercultural Communication – COM 420
- International Communication – COM 441 and 442
- Mass Communication – COM 436
- Multimedia Communication – COM 337 and COM 437
- Organizational Communication – COM 423
- Telecommunication Services – COM 432, 437, and 438
- Video Production – COM 431, 433, and 434
Students may earn up to three (3) credits for Directed Research (COM 499) courses, after they have taken a minimum of three electives from the advanced areas of concentration.
Important Degree Information
Before registering for a course be sure that you have met all the prerequisites. Backtracking is not permitted. Backtracking is taking a course without successfully completing its prerequisites. If you take a course before completing the prerequisites it will not be counted toward your degree.
- A cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher is required for all COM courses taken in order to graduate.
- All COM courses taken will be calculated into your cumulative COM GPA. Those include courses that have been retaken and/or "D" and "F" grades.
- A grade of "D" or lower in any course will not be counted toward your major requirements but the grade will be calculated into your cumulative COM GPA.
- Students may repeat any course in which they receive a C- or below.
- If a course has been retaken both grades will be calculated in your cumulative COM GPA.
- For courses that use a Plus / Minus grading system a grade of C- does not satisfy the "grade of C or better" requirement.
- Once you have declared Communication as your major, you have the option of proceeding with the standing curriculum requirements or the subsequent revised curriculum requirements.
Tuition
All tuition and fee charges at the University of Hawaii campuses are subject to change in accordance with requirements of State law and/or action by the Board of Regents or by the University administration. Tuition is based on the number of credit hours for which you enroll, according to the rates shown on the UHM Admissions & Records - Tuition & Fees web page.
Scholarships
There are no Communication scholarships per se but the Louis Hess Miller fund has limited awards available which are normally used in conjunction with the Study Abroad program. Contact Professor Dan Wedemyer (Crawford Hall 321 / 956-3356 danw@hawaii.edu for details.
The Broadcast Education Association offers a number of scholarships for professors, industry professionals and students involved in teaching and research related to radio, television, and electronic media. The deadline for applications for the 2009-2010 academic year is October 10, 2008. Details and applications for the BEA scholarships can be found at their web site http://www.beaweb.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=scholarships_and_grants.
Transfer Students
Detailed information concerning the admission requirements for transfer and foreign students can be found at the University's Admissions of Transfer Students web page.
Your feedback on this document is welcomed. If you would like further information about the Department of Communication, please send e-mail to commgrad@hawaii.edu (graduate program) or commug@hawaii.edu (undergraduate program).
