The School of Communication will serve the local region, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the nation by educating students through a liberal arts curriculum that prepares them for a range of careers in the field of Communication. We strive to develop ethical communication professionals who think critically and communicate effectively in a variety of contexts using the latest technologies. The School promotes excellence in teaching, learning, service, research, and creative works within and across academic and industry disciplines at undergraduate and graduate levels. A cornerstone of preparing students to communicate ethically and responsibly is the concept of free expression and valuing diversity of cultures, beliefs, and thought.
The College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences building opened its doors in 2016. On June 15 2021 the building was renamed Hemphill Hall in honor of the 7th president of °ÄÃÅÀÏÆæÈËÂÛ̳, Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D. The School's facilities include state-of-the-art television, digital and audio studios and a spacious Macintosh computer laboratory.
Thank you for visiting the School of Communication’s website. We welcome current and prospective students, alumni and friends of the School and it’s former departments, as well as faculty and staff of the University.
The School was formed in 2008 through the merger of the former media studies and communication departments, and we continue to offer our students two undergraduate majors with five concentrations, a graduate program, and several undergraduate minors. Currently we have over 300 undergraduate majors and more than 20 full- and part-time graduate students.
Our faculty members bring to our students a mixture of academic and professional hands-on experience that allows our programs to provide both theoretical underpinnings as well as career-enhancing skills. As do all programs at °ÄÃÅÀÏÆæÈËÂÛ̳, we focus on student learning and engagement – with the academic discipline, the profession and the community-at-large. Our courses require a mixture of individual effort and team-based projects, preparing students to excel in a variety of communication fields.
Please also click on our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube icons to learn more about what our students, and the School in general have been up to.
We all look forward to providing more information about our School and our various disciplines, so feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
Jennifer Walton, Ph. D
Director and Professor