Welcome to Communication Studies

Division: Communication
Dept Chair: Rob Dewis
email: rob_dewis@wvm.edu
tel: 408-855-5327
Counseling: 408-855-5030

Faculty:
 
Rob Dewis
email: rob.dewis@wvm.edu
tel: 408-855-5327
 
Betty Ensminger
email: betty.ensminger@wvm.edu
tel: 408-855-5308
 
Steve Lipman
email: steven.lipman@wvm.edu
tel: 408-855-5044
 

What is Communication Studies?

Communication Studies is more than just Public Speaking. It's learning about communication and learning to apply effective and appropriate communication skills in a number of settings, incuding Interpersonal, Intercultural, Team or Group relationships, and various forms of Media. Come, explore and learn to improve your own communication skills for a better job, a better community, and a better life!

What can I do with Communication Studies?

Many people who have earned Certificates or Degrees in Communication Studies have gone on to professions in many fields. These are some of them:

• Broadcasting
• Consumer Affairs
• Public Relations
• Advertising
• Education
• Marketing
• Government
• Human Resources
• Law
• Community Affairs
• Politics
• Negotiations
• Journalism
• Customer Service
• Recreation
• Management
• Recruiting
• Sales
• Screenwriting
• Social Services
• Theater
• Counseling

What makes us special?

• An exemplary teaching faculty dedicated to assisting students improve communication effectiveness.
• Offers a ten unit certificate that demonstrates your communication competence to universities and employers.
• Updated curriculum in Interpersonal, Intercultural, Career Communication, Group Communication, Mass Communication and Voice and Articulation.
• Current multi-media technology
• Communication Activities/ Forensics program that is individualized to the self-paced needs of students.
• Accelerated and weekend classes.

What will I learn?

Upon completion of communication studies courses, students will:

• Demonstrate a better understanding of the communication process by identifying, explaining, and applying current communication theories as they relate to a variety of contexts (e.g. interpersonal, intercultural, group, public and professional communication, and mass media).
• Demonstrate increased competence by identifying, explaining, and applying effective communication skills in a variety of contexts (e.g. interpersonal, intercultural, group, public and professional communication, and mass media).
• Demonstrate improved interpersonal skills by identifying and developing a repertoire of strategies for improved communication effectiveness and demonstrate the strategies in oral and written contexts.
• Demonstrate critical thinking by identifying, analyzing, and evaluating the com-munication behaviors of others and themselves in a variety of contexts (e.g. interpersonal, intercultural, group, public and professional communication, and mass media).
• Demonstrate improved research, organizational, and critical thinking skills by finding and evaluating reference material and organizing and presenting effective messages adapted to specific audiences. Outcomes will be assessed by a series of embedded class assessments, exams, and problem solving exercises, by class assignments, presentations and projects, research assignments and self analysis in oral and written contexts.