School of Interpersonal Communication
Greg Shepherd, Director
Elizabeth Graham, Associate Director
Anita C. James, Undergraduate Program Director
Nagesh Rao, Graduate Program Director
The School of Interpersonal Communication offers a liberal education, emphasizing the scientific and artistic basis of communication. It is firmly committed to providing quality instruction in the theoretical bases of human communication and the application of theory within a number of specific contexts. Students choose areas of specialization and specific courses that can lead to professional or preprofessional competence in such fields as training and human resources, foreign service, law, politics and government, human services, labor-management relations, personnel, campaign and propaganda administration, and poll and survey research.
Students majoring in interpersonal communication must choose ne area of specialization from the following possible emphases or major tracks: organizational communication, political communication, communication in human services, or legal communication. In addition to satisfying the track requirement, all majors must have a 28-hour related area that complements the coursework composing the major track. The related area is designed in consultation with a faculty advisor who must approve the coursework composing the related area. Through its advising program, the School of Interpersonal Communication makes every effort to identify the goals of its students and to design academically sound programs that address these goals.
Special Opportunities
Internship Program
For you to have an opportunity to apply the theory of the classroom to the practical world of the workplace, the School of Interpersonal Communication supports a large and carefully supervised internship program. During the academic year, about 30 interpersonal communication majors serve as student interns within a wide variety of occupational settings. Many of these internships are identified and developed by the students. The period of an internship is usually 10 weeks, and 1 to 15 credits may be earned. To qualify for an internship, you must be a major in interpersonal communication and must satisfy a series of school requirements. For more information regarding this program, contact the school's internship director.
Forensics Program
Through its forensics program, the School of Interpersonal Communication provides the opportunity for all University students to meet outstanding undergraduates from 300 or more colleges or universities in intellectual competition. Approximately 20 tournaments at other schools and several held on campus enable you to develop skills in debate, extemporaneous speaking, oratory, rhetorical criticism, and oral interpretation. Excellence in scholarship and superior performance in speech communication are rewarded in several ways. Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha national honorary is open to students in the upper third of their classes who excel in forensics. The Lorin C. Staats Award is given to the outstanding senior who has participated with distinction in several forensic areas. The outstanding junior or senior in debate receives the Francis McVicker Maxwell Award. You need not be an interpersonal communication major to participate in the forensics program. For more information regarding Ohio University forensics, contact the director of the forensics program.
Preparation for Law School
The Association of American Law Schools states that the goals of prelegal education are:
(1)Comprehension and expression in words,(2)Critical understanding of the human institutions and values with which the law deals, and (3)Creative powers in thinking. As a student in the School of Interpersonal Communication who plans to enter law or paralegal school, you will find excellent opportunities for meeting these goals. In addition, all Ohio law schools require an undergraduate degree from an approved institution before admission.
As a prelaw student in interpersonal communication, you will be individually counseled and advised in developing a total course of study to meet the intellectual challenges of the legal profession. Suggested areas of study include communication theory and practice, argumentation, legal oratory and communication, English composition and literature, history, political science, business law, behavioral sciences, humanities, comparative arts, economics, and philosophy.
Prelaw students are encouraged to investigate the legal communication track of the interpersonal communication major.
Communication Research Center
This center for the development and distribution of communication research studies coordinates the research activity of scholars in the full range of communication disciplines and seeks federal,state, and private grants to support its research activity. A research lab houses videotaping equipment to study interpersonal communication interactions.
Transfer Requirements
If you wish to transfer into the School of Interpersonal Communication, you must have earned at least 48 quarter hours (32 semester hours) of coursework with a minimum g.p.a. of 3.0 (or 3.0 over the last three quarters) to be considered for admission. You may be given additional consideration if you have special talents or are a member of a historically underrepresented group. Approval of transfer requests depends on the ratio of applications to the number of available openings in the program. Because the number of applications may exceed the number of openings, simply meeting the minimum transfer requirements does not guarantee approval of a transfer request.
Degree Requirements
In addition to the three sets of tier requirements and the
192 total hours specified by the University, all majors in the School of Interpersonal Communication must complete:
(1)a 24-hour sequence of core courses, (2)a set of courses that defines one of the four major tracks offered by the school, and (3)a 28-hour related area approved by a faculty advisor and designed to complement and supplement the substance of the major track. Only one approved course in the major field can be applied toward the Tier II requirement.
Core Courses
All majors in the School of Interpersonal Communication must complete a 24-hour sequence of six courses composing a common core of knowledge. It is the intent of this requirement to provide all majors with foundation work upon which areas of specialization can be built. A grade o C or better is required in each course in teh core. The six core courses are:
INCO 101 Fundamentals of Human
Communication 4
INCO 103 Public Speaking 4
INCO 205 Group Discussion 4
INCO 206 Communication in Interpersonal
Relationships 4
INCO 234 Introduction to
Communication Theory 4
INCO 342 Communication and
Persuasion 4
Major Track Requirements
It is the intent of the School of Interpersonal Communication to provide its majors with the best features of liberal arts and professional education. Through the tier requirements of the University and the core course requirements of the school, you are taught problem solving, thinking paradigms, and creative expression. It is through the major track that you will establish an area of specialization. The available tracks provide training in a broad spectrum of human communication. While the tracks provide focus to the major, they typically are not intended to be career specific. Instead, each track provides instruction applicable to a variety of potential careers subsumed by the content domain of the specific track. You are expected to satisfy the requirements of at least one of the following four tracks. You should select a track in consultation with your faculty advisor.
Communication in Human Services
Major code BC5339
Human service professionals and the agencies in which they work are concerned with meeting people's needs in such areas as physical and psychological health, child and family services, and social and economic welfare. Given the nature of their work, these professionals and agencies confront special considerations necessary to understanding and engaging in human communication. The communication in human services track in interpersonal communication is designed to provide you with broad exposure to these considerations. Courses emphasize the role of human communication in family dynamics and in health, communication processes in human services agencies, and important communication skills for the human service professions.
1 Required Courses
INCO 240 Health Communication 4
INCO 422 Communication in the Family 4
2 Three courses selected from the following:
INCO 304 Principles and Techniques
of Interviewing 4
INCO 306 Interpersonal Conflict
Management 4
INCO 406 Advanced Interpersonal
Communication 4
INCO 410 Cross-Cultural
Communication 4
INCO 420 Gender and
Communication 4
INCO 430 Communication and
the Campaign 4
Legal Communication
Major code BC5341
This track is intended primarily as a preprofessional degree program for students contemplating careers within the legal profession. The approach is to emphasize the role of communication in general and argumentation and debate in particular. The courtroom oratorical practices of such masters as Cicero, Strafford, Erskine, Hastings, Marshall, Webster, and Darrow are considered in detail. Other topics receiving emphasis within the track include a survey of rhetorical theory from the Golden Age of Greece to the present; interviewing principles and techniques; ethical and rhetorical implications of constitutional guarantees on political, social, and religious speech; and the theory, research, and practice of analyzing human messages produced in natural settings. Prelaw students should prepare broadly for a legal career, and this track provides one means of accomplishing such preparation.
1 Required Courses
INCO 215 Argumentative Analysis
and Advocacy 4
INCO 250 Introduction to Rhetorical
Theory 4
INCO 304 Principles and Techniques
of Interviewing 4
INCO 315 Legal Argumentation 4
INCO 351 Courtroom and Rhetoric 4
INCO 442 Responsibilities and
Freedom of Speech in
Communication 4
Organizational Communication
Major code BC5342
This major track provides a challenging program of study for students aiming for professional careers and administrative positions in business, educational, governmental, industrial, labor, or other organizational units. The goal of this track is to provide a blend of theory- and experience-based instructional opportunities. The acquisition of communication skills and research techniques vital to the contemporary organization is emphasized within the track. These include public speaking, interviewing, small-group problem solving, campaign direction, and conference leadership, as well as historical, descriptive, and experimental methods in both field and laboratory settings. Recent graduates have secured public and private sector employment in such areas as training, personnel, organizational development, public affairs, fund raising, and information management.
1 Required Courses
INCO 245 Introduction to Organizational
Communication 4
INCO 301 Empirical Research
Applications in Comm. 4
INCO 445 Practicum in
Organizational Comm. 4
2 Three courses selected from the following:
INCO 300 Field Research Methods
in Communication 4
INCO 304 Principles and Techniques
of Interviewing 4
INCO 405 Principles of Conference
Leadership 4
INCO 421 Instructional Training and
Development in Comm. 4
INCO 430 Communication and the
Campaign 4
Political Communication
Major code BC5343
If you have interests or career goals in some aspects of politics,you will find the political communication track appealing. Coursework incorporates skills in both the theories of political communication and its practice by noteworthy figures of various historical periods. Such areas as argumentation and debate; argumentation in the legal setting; persuasive strategies characteristic of current political communication; and the practices of such individuals as Hitler, Mussolini, Lenin, Wilson, Churchill, Roosevelt, Kennedy, and King receive attention. Theory-based topics include symbolic politics,the place of myth in politics,and the political elements of film, literature, and television.
1 Required Courses
INCO 215 Argumentative Analysis
and Advocacy 4
INCO 352 Political Rhetoric 4
INCO 353 Contemporary Culture
and Rhetoric 4
2 Three courses selected from the following:
INCO 250 Introduction to Rhetorical
Theory 4
INCO 300 Field Research Methods
in Communication 4
INCO 301 Empirical Research
Applications in Comm 4
INCO 315 Legal Argumentation 4
INCO 430 Communication and
the Campaign 4
INCO 442 Respon. and Freedom
of Speech in Comm. 4
Related Area Requirements
In addition to core courses and major-track requirements, all interpersonal communication majors must complete a 28 hour sequence in a related area. It is the function of this related area to complement or supplement the work of the major track. Related areas should be selected early, but not until the major track is identified. The coursework composing the related area can come from one academic department or several, but it must be from outside the school. Collectively, the related area coursework should constitute a unified body of knowledge having a definite relationship with the major tract you have chosen. At least 16 of the 28 hours should be courses above the 200 level. All related areas must be approved by your faculty advisor.
Minor in Interpersonal Communication
Minor code ORINCO
The minor in interpersonal communication is available to students in all disciplines.
Required Core Courses (20 hrs)
INCO 101,103,205,206,342
Elective Courses (12 hrs)
Select any three:
INCO 215,220, 250, 300,304,306,351,352,353,405,406,410,420,422,430
Total Hours: 32
University Advancement and Computer Services revised this file (https://www.ohio.edu/catalog/02-03/colleges/ic.htm) on December 16, 2002.
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