School of Communication

Overview

The School of Communication’s degree programs, minors, and immersions emphasize applied theory and practical knowledge that build the communication skills necessary to succeed in a variety of industries. Coursework leverages strengths from across the university to develop proficiency in technical or professional areas such as design, photography, marketing, healthcare, or technology and creates interdisciplinary opportunities to practice these skill sets inside and out of the classroom. Our faculty are dedicated to exceptional teaching and providing individual attention to students. The school maintains a small feel, with a strong sense of community and a commitment to student mentorship.

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Degree programs

Advertising and Public Relations BS, Communication BS (with journalism option), and Communication MS

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Minors offered

Advertising and public relations, American arts, communication, film studies, journalism, health communication, and visual culture

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Immersions offered

Advertising and public relations, American arts, communication, film studies, journalism, and visual culture

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Undergraduate Programs

Students develop relevant skills through a core of courses focused on the theories of advertising and public relations, communication, or journalism and their application in the real world. A professional core from a different college such as Saunders College of Business or the College of Art and Design develops complementary skill sets in areas such as marketing, photography, or design. Electives and liberal arts courses complete the curriculum.

This advertising and public relations degree prepares you to analyze audiences, craft persuasive messages, and create compelling connections with the right audiences on the right platform, from websites, social media, and blogs to video and photography sites and news channels.

Learn more about the Advertising and Public Relations BS program 

In our communication degree, you’ll develop the key skills you need to become a successful communication professional.

Learn more about the Communication BS program 

In RIT’s journalism option, you’ll master the skills to successfully interview, investigate, write, edit, report, and publish news and featured stories across a range of digital media.

Learn more about the Journalism Option - Communication BS program 

Graduate Programs

The master’s program combines focused study in communication with coursework in an applied or professional area such as marketing, health systems administration, information technology, or digital publishing. You’ll be able to analyze of communication problems, develop solutions, and creatively craft messages to target audiences.

An innovative communication MS degree that combines the latest research technology with essential communication expertise to prepare you for careers in the communication industry and for pursuing graduate work at the doctoral level.

Learn more about the Communication MS program 

Minors and Immersions

The advertising and public relations immersion provides opportunities for the advanced study of selected areas central to the persuasive arts as they apply to advertising and public relations, as well as education and practice in the writing, speaking, and design skills required of these professions.

Learn more about the Advertising and Public Relations Immersion program 

The advertising and public relations minor prepares students to analyze audiences, write advertising copy, prepare press releases, select media, and manage broad-scaled persuasive campaigns. Students are grounded in the basic theories of persuasive communication enabling them to create persuasive messages with a strong emphasis on ethical decision-making.

Learn more about the Advertising and Public Relations Minor program 

This immersion provides students with the opportunity to study the American arts through a variety of disciplines, including painting, architecture, film, photography, music, theatre, and mass media. Each course presents American art within the context of the broader current of American life, including its history, philosophy, social, and cultural traditions.

Learn more about the American Arts Immersion program 

This minor provides students with an opportunity to study the American arts in a variety of disciplines, including painting, architecture, film, photography, music, theatre, and the mass media. Courses present American art within the context of the broader current of American life, including its history, philosophy, social, and cultural traditions.

Learn more about the American Arts Minor program 

Employers show a preference for effective communicators with strong analytic or logical reasoning skills. An immersion in analytic and expressive communication provides you with the opportunity to develop both oral and written communication abilities grounded in reasoned argument, which in turn contributes to your individual confidence and empathetic thinking. Courses in this immersion may rely in part upon great or transformative texts selected for their relevance for learning rhetoric, argument, critical thinking, and/or ethics, and have the option to incorporate activities in RIT’s Expressive Communication Center.

Learn more about the Analytic and Expressive Communication Immersion program 

Advanced study of selected areas of communication, including an overview of the fields of persuasion, mass communications, public speaking, and small group communication. Students will understand and apply several modes of communication in academic, professional, and personal situations.

Learn more about the Communication Immersion program 

Students gain a foundation in human communication theories, research, and skills. Students select courses in mass media analysis, communication in professional and organizational contexts, communication skills, and critical reflection of and on communication in society.

Learn more about the Communication Minor program 

The film studies immersion allows students to engage in the study of global cinema using a variety of interdisciplinary methodologies and perspectives. Coming from the disciplines of English, anthropology, philosophy, fine arts/visual culture, political science, history, and modern languages, the immersion investigates cinema’s mass appeal as a form of entertainment, but also the power it wields as a disseminator of ideas, history, values, aesthetics, behavior, and cultural norms.

Learn more about the Film Studies Immersion program 

Film studies explores the role of cinema in our contemporary global culture. Using methodologies and perspectives from a variety of disciplines, such as English, anthropology, philosophy, fine arts/visual culture, political science, history, and modern languages, the film studies minor investigates cinema’s mass appeal as a form of entertainment, but also the power it wields as a disseminator of ideas, history, values, aesthetics, behavior, and cultural norms.

Learn more about the Film Studies Minor program 

The health communication minor provides students with theoretical and applied knowledge about communication’s role in health care delivery, doctor-patient communication, health campaigns and public health, and other areas related to the dissemination of health information. This collaborative minor is designed for students interested in health care fields or health and risk communication.

Learn more about the Health Communication Minor program 

The journalism immersion provides opportunities for the advanced study of selected areas of journalism, including its history and relevant legal and ethical issues, and for education and practice in writing and editing skills required of journalists.

Learn more about the Journalism Immersion program 

The journalism minor provides students with a foundation in the professional study and practice of journalism. Courses offer a broad perspective that includes historical, legal, and ethical issues of specific concern to journalism, as well as learning and practice writing in a journalistic style for delivery across multiple media platforms.

Learn more about the Journalism Minor program 

Visual culture explores the role of visual media in everyday life and its critical function in the dissemination of ideas in the public sphere. Emphasizing comparative critical approaches to the convergence of art, popular media, science, and technology, the immersion engages globalized visual media ranging from photography, television, film, new media (the web, digital imaging, and social networks), architecture, design, and art (painting, sculpture, and multimedia forms) in the context of such social arenas as art, news, science, advertising, and popular culture. The goal is to help students develop media literacy.

Learn more about the Visual Culture Immersion program 

Visual culture explores the role of visual media in everyday life and its critical function in the dissemination of ideas in the public sphere. Emphasizing comparative critical approaches to the convergence of art, popular media, science, and technology, the minor engages globalized visual media ranging from photography, television and film, to new media (the web, digital imaging, and social networks), architecture, design, and art (painting, sculpture, and multimedia forms) in the context of such social arenas, as art, news, science, advertising, and popular culture.

Learn more about the Visual Culture Minor program 

Student Resources

Here you will find additional resources for the School of Communications, such as co-op opportunities and student organizations.

See Resourcesfor the School of Communication

Annual Student Research in Communication Conference

The RIT School of Communication hosts graduate, undergraduate, and high school students from across New York state and beyond to share their research in communication and related disciplines during our Student Research in Communication Conference.  Research paper submissions on any topic within the communication field and related disciplines (including advertising, public relations, media studies, film studies, journalism, and others) are invited. Read about our most recent conference, how to submit papers, and deadlines for submitting >