Mission

The undergraduate program in Communication Studies at Louisiana State University equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary to be sophisticated, effective, and ethical communicators in their communities, workplaces, and everyday lives. Our goal is to prepare students to successfully address the increasingly complex communication challenges in our global and diverse world. 

In our program, students will obtain an awareness of the history and scope of the communication discipline, and acquire oral, written, and visual communication skills through the creation of presentations, participation in aesthetic performances, and the generation of other forms of original research. Throughout their coursework, students will learn to analyze, interpret, and critique aesthetic, public, interpersonal, and mediated communication. Using performance, empirical, and critical/interpretive methods to engage local and global social issues, students will develop advanced ethical and intercultural competence, as well as an appreciation for the diversity and plurality of experiences and perspectives in society. Students will also gain an advanced understanding of communication processes, and develop skills rooted in research-based best practices, such as critical thinking, conversation, cognitive empathy, listening, persuasion, argumentation, performance practice, multi-media production, teamwork, and leadership.

Graduates of our undergraduate programs have found positions in a variety of communication-related careers including but not limited to non-profit organizations, law and politics, the arts, entertainment, journalism, communication training and consulting, social justice and equity advocacy, speech writing, business, public relations, education, sales and marketing, and human resources. Graduates have also pursued advanced academic or professional degrees in fields such as communication studies, law, psychology, media studies, performance studies, and marketing. 

Background

Established in 1928, the LSU department of Communication Studies is one of the oldest communication departments in the nation, granting the first PhD in the South. Today, we draw from the insights of art, social science, and philosophy to study the practice of communication. To study communication at LSU is to explore how we form, maintain, and transform the symbolic environments we inhabit through rhetoric, performance, and interpersonal interactions. Our department is committed to using scholarship to inform and thereby improve our practices of communication so as to enable the advancement of culture.

Louisiana State University situates academics within a rich cultural milieu. As a Research-Extensive university, LSU offers graduate degrees in over 60 programs with students from every state and over 120 countries. The LSU campus, called “a botanical joy” in a listing among the 20 best campuses of America, is located in the southern part of the city of Baton Rouge and is bordered on the west by the Mississippi River. Members of the LSU community can participate in a variety of events, from nationally touring art exhibits, speakers, and performers to a robust athletic scene and Mardi Gras parades that range from Cajun to contemporary. Just a short drive from New Orleans, Baton Rouge provides extended opportunities for soaking up local culture.

Three Areas of Research, One Great Tradition:

• Interpersonal Communication: The research and analysis of intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, and health communication.
• Performance Studies: The interpretation and production of performance on stage, in art and mediated settings, and in ordinary life.
• Rhetorical Studies: The theory and criticism of persuasive discourse that functions to instigate social change and critical public reflection.