Curriculum / Courses

• + COM 210 -Foundations of Communication
This course will provide an overview of the present state of the field of communication that is anchored in a biblical worldview. By paying attention to important communication terminology, historical developments, and key communication scholars and journals, students will recognize how communication can be used to serve others.
• + COM 220 -Global Communication
This course introduces students to global communication by exploring issues related to intercultural communication practices from a biblical perspective. It examines the important role of social, cultural, and historical context in human interactions.
• + COM 250 -Interpersonal Communication
This course focuses on the importance of interpersonal communication and the common barriers that confound relationships such as culture, conflict, gender, and perception of differences. Students will evaluate current connections from a Christian worldview and from that foundation identify strategies for strengthening personal and professional influences for mission/vision-minded goals.
• + COM 330 -Culture and Conflict Management
This course provides students with a basic overview of conflict resolution. The history, methods, and theory of conflict resolution will be explored. In addition, strategies in competitive versus collaborative negotiation will be examined in the context of culture and a Christian worldview.
• + COM 346 -Communication for Social Change
This course examines how individuals and groups use media, with an emphasis on social media, to accomplish social change. Students will explore communication theory and how it applies to the historical and current use of media to inspire followers, engage participants, and construct persuasive media campaigns that affect policy change. As part of the course, students will have the opportunity to design a social media campaign that raises awareness for a social justice issue. Prerequisite: COM 131
• + COM 350 -Leadership and Group Communication
Designed as an introduction to the principles of small group communication, Leadership and Group Communication provides a foundation for understanding teams and groups. Activities will allow students to experience the challenge of learning how to improve their group communication skills through participation. Exploring biblical characteristics of leadership and teamwork will provide students with a framework for communicating and effectively leading in a diverse world.
• + COM 360 -History of Communication
This course will provide a survey of various ways to organize the history of communication. Specifically, this course will emphasize major communication technologies and their impact on culture, society, and the church.
• + COM 370 -Crisis Communication
This course introduces students to the field of crisis communication. The course will explore through the use of case studies both internal and external as well as reactive and proactive models to crisis communication.
• + COM 410 -Communication Ethics
Communicating in interpersonal, group or organizational, intercultural, or professional settings opens the door to ethical issues. This course will aid the student in the consideration of ethical issues in communication from a biblical and theological perspective.
• + COM 420 -Public Relations
(Prerequisite: Global Communication) This course provides an introduction to public relations and its role in American society. Basic principles and theories are reviewed and the communications planning process is examined. Students will explore current issues and trends and analyze the ethical issues from both a legal and biblical perspective. Case studies will be utilized and discussed. In addition, the student will learn public relations writing skills and prepare a public relations plan. The course will serve as a foundation for those interested in a career in public relations as well as provide a helpful overview of the practice for those planning careers in other fields.
• + COM 438 -Internship (On Campus)
The internship provides an opportunity for the student to practice his or her learning in a real-world environment with a ministry, non-profit agency, or business.
• + MKT 265 -Social Media Marketing
This course will use a biblical framework to determine and guide the identification and use of this rapidly changes media. Students will develop engagement strategies using social media to advance the mission and vision of the organization by creating customer profiles in social media marketing. In addition to the identification of alternative social media platforms, this class will explore various engagement options to ensure cultural awareness. in advancing a marketing strategy.
• + PS 282 -Research Statistics
An introduction to research methodology and statistics as a liberal arts discipline, this course will not primarily be a number crunching course, though many statistical concepts will be presented in context. The emphasis of the course will be on developing an understanding of the principles and concepts underlying the use of statistics in social sciences research and applications. Topics to be explored include the formulation of questions and hypotheses, appropriate experimental design, sampling methodology, data analysis, and the presentation of results using graphical summaries and proper statistical notation. Offered alternate years.
• + SO 343 -Cultural Diversity
This course is designed to assist students in recognizing acculturative variations and behaviors based on race/ethnicity, gender/sexuality, disability, age and religious/spiritual orientation. The course will provide an overview of the role culture plays in oneÕs attitude/beliefs regarding these topics with an emphasis on how oneÕs own belief system impacts his/her relationships with others.