Mission Statement

CSB and SJU’s strategic communication studies major supplies you with theory and skills essential for your career and relevant to your life.

Strategic communication studies is an excellent foundation for many professions, because it focuses on the versatile, valuable skills of writing, speaking, listening, persuasion, analysis and critical thinking. It also provides exceptional preparation for graduate studies or law school.

Communication isn’t just important to your profession, it’s also key to your personal experiences and your role as a citizen in a society inundated with messages.

We deal with contemporary topics like the environment, social media, political campaigns and healthcare communication, while incorporating well-established theory and practice. You will have the opportunity to examine communication as it relates to important societal issues like sports, gender, culture, family, relationships, social movements, civil rights and traditional and new media.

Our courses focus on the key areas of message design, analysis of communication, and communication and community, with an emphasis on creating a broad knowledge base that sets our graduates apart.

Students will create effective messages.​

1. Students will write effective ethical messages that are appropriate responses to situations.​
2. Students will present effective, ethical oral messages that are appropriate responses to situations.​

Students will think critically about messages.​

1. Students will demonstrate competent analysis of a message.​
2. Students will demonstrate competent evaluation of a message.​
3. Students will use ethical frameworks to evaluate communication situations.

Students will think critically about the relationship between communication and community.​

1. Students will critically analyze how communication shapes participation in community.​
2. Students will demonstrate a concern for the impact of communication on community.​
3. Students will articulate and defend ethical reasons for justifying or condemning specific communication choices as they impact communities.