2020-2021 Pierce College Catalog 
    
    Nov 25, 2024  
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2020-2021 Pierce College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Communication Studies (AA-DTA) Course Map

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Created by Pierce faculty, this map outlines the initial coursework for this career field and for transfer to a four-year institution. It provides you a clear path to complete your degree by listing a specific set of courses relevant to your program and career. The map is designed with the appropriate number of credits and meets degree requirements. Courses are organized in a recommended sequence; please schedule accordingly. If a course is unavailable, select the next appropriate course within the sequence. If you want to change a course on this map you must speak with an advisor to assure you meet all degree requirements. For each course, a purpose statement explains how the content relates to your career field. On this map, there may be instances when you will be required to select a course from several options. Use these purpose statements and notes to choose the course that best aligns with your interests and needs. You will also find action items to complete to assure you progress and graduate on time. While this map is a great guide to courses required to complete an Associate in Arts - Direct Transfer Agreement (AA-DTA)  Degree, you are responsible for fulfilling all degree requirements. Questions? Your Success Network is ready to help you!

Important note about transfer: colleges and universities may change their requirements at any time, so this map is not a guarantee of transfer. You will need to check transfer requirements with your intended four-year school. 

1. College Success

  • Course purpose: A foundational course to explore and affirm a career choice and build upon the skills, knowledge, and resources that will support you at Pierce College and beyond.

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  • Note: The College Success course you select will depend on the Career Pathway Map you are following. Your advisor will assist you in selecting either the 3- or 5- credit version of the course. Should you choose to repeat a College Success course you must enroll in a College Success course with the same credit amount as the original course; a COLLG 110 course grade can only be replaced with a grade from another COLLG 110 course and a COLLG 115 course grade can only be replaced with a grade from another COLLG 115 course.

2. Introduction to Communication

3. Research Essentials

  • Course purpose: This course will help you apply research skills and strategies needed to better access information, evaluate it for credibility, and apply it for a variety of purposes in your life.

Action Item: Meet with Advisor

Use your Success Network! In your first quarter, meet with your advisor to revisit your career and transfer path, make adjustments to your goals as needed, and plan for your next steps.

4. English Composition I

  • Course purpose: Clear and strategic written communication with others is a central feature of all communications careers. The skills you will learn in ENGL& 101, such as exposition and persuasion, which will dovetail with material covered in CMST& 220.

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  • Note: Your advisor will assist you in reviewing your Guided Self Placement and selecting either the 5-credit or the 7-credit co-requisite ENGL& 101 + ENGLC 101 course. 

5. Math Course Recommendation

The math course you select will depend on the transfer institution you plan to attend and your math placement.  Your advisor will assist you in selecting the appropriate course(s).

Mathematics Course Distribution List   

6. Introduction to Sociology

7. Public Speaking

  • Course purpose: Public speaking is a highly valued skill for most employers and is a requirement for graduation at most 4-year institutions. Being able to express oneself orally is critical for communication scholars.

8. Natural Science Course Recommendation

  • Course purpose: Students in communication need to develop skills in observation, testing, and analysis. BIOL& 100 explores the living world including the study of cells, genetics, ecology, diversity of life and physiology in order to establish a foundation of understanding and respect of life. 

  • Course purpose: Students in communication need to develop skills in observation, testing, and analysis. PHYS& 110 explores the physical world by relating everyday experiences to the principles and laws of physics.

9. Humanities Course Recommendation

Choose one

  • Course purpose: This course provides tools/filters for you to make better choices in communication. Critical thinking is especially important in a field like communication where there aren’t easy answers for interacting with others. 

  • Course purpose: Making and understanding ethical communication choices is important to those studying communication. Ethics in communication is commonly studied and the field of rhetoric is tied to early philosophers such as Socrates, Aristotle, Isocrates, Cicero and Quintillian.

· World Language (1)

10. General Psychology

  • Course purpose: Psychology is the scientific study of how people behave, think and feel. It is important to account for these factors in the sending and receiving of messages/communication. This course presents concepts from communications courses in an alternative scientific lens, thus enhancing experience with the complexity of rhetoric and communication.

Action Item: Apply for Graduation

Way to go! It is time to apply for graduation. Visit the Pierce College Graduation website for details. https://www.pierce.ctc.edu/graduation

11. Humanities Course Recommendation

Sequence 11 - There are 3 specialization areas in this map: Interpersonal, Intercultural, and Public Address. If following the Intercultural and Public address paths select one course from this grouping.  If following the interpersonal path it is recommended to select a course from sequence #16 group A (interpersonal).  Second World Language option is offered here for meeting transfer requirements.

Choose One

  • Course purpose: Many topics and theories covered in this course are also applicable in communication courses. This course offers a chance for students explore how culture and race are communicated through the channels of literature and rhetoric.

  • Course purpose: Many topics and theories covered in this course are also applicable in communication courses. This course offers a chance for students explore how culture and race are communicated through the channels of literature and rhetoric.  

  • Course purpose: Many topics and theories covered in this course are also applicable in communication courses. This course offers a chance for students explore how culture and race are communicated through the channels of literature and rhetoric.

  • Course purpose: This course would be recommended for the intercultural scholar and/or the rhetorical scholar. This course showcases not only cultural transmission of ideas,  insight into the historical rhetorical patterns of Native Americans, as well as the impact of colonial powers on communication.

  • Course purpose: This course offers students an opportunity to expand their understanding of intercultural communication by analyzing and writing about the literature of regions around the world.

· World Language (2)

12. English Composition II

13. Social Science Course Recommendation

14. Intercultural Communication

  • Course purpose: This course discusses the impact of culture on communication behaviors by exploring material such as the preferences of high and low context communicators and the cultural values embedded in world views which impact perceptions of communication.

15. Nutrition

  • Course purpose: This course promotes self-awareness through a natural science lens. All students should be aware of nutrition as a component of self-care.

16. Social Science Course Recommendation

Choose one course from one specialization area.

Group A - Interpersonal Specialization

  • Course purpose: This course dovetails with the pursuit of interpersonal communication but with a scientific bent that would appeal specifically to nursing majors and health care professionals. 

  • Course purpose: Social psychology surveys how people are affected by the world around them. Social influence includes obediency, conformity, and sales and negotiation strategies. Social relations includes stereotyping, love and liking. Social thinking includes identity, how we think about ourselves and how we explain the world. 

  • Course purpose: Communication scholars recognize that the personality of an individual has a significant impact on the ways in which a person communicates in a dyad. Because many theories in Communication are also found in Psychology this course adds to a students’ understanding of interpersonal theory. 

  • Course purpose: Students in interpersonal communication must also have an understanding of family dynamics and intimate relationships as these are important contexts for the communication scholar, especially a student pursuing interpersonal communication as a specialty.

  • Course purpose: Interpersonal interaction requires understanding of how aspects of gender and social interaction affect human communication. This course provides an understanding of how humans behave in this context. 

Group B - Intercultural Specialization

  • Course purpose: This course fits well with intercultural communication and explores specific culture groups that model intercultural communication trends. Major topics include the concept of culture, ethnographic research, divergent social roles and identity, family systems, and the impacts of colonialism, modernization and globalization.  

  • Course purpose: Interpersonal interaction requires understanding of how aspects of race and ethnicity affect human communication. This course provides an understanding of how humans behave in this context and rationales for those behaviors. 

Group C - Public Address Specialization

  • Course purpose: Background in history offers students a look into how cultural values, perceptions and experience manifest into law, as well as into organizational ruling structures. US History I covers everything prior to 1840.

  • Course purpose: Background in history offers students a look into how cultural values, perceptions and experience manifest into law, as well as into organizational ruling structures. US History II covers 1840-1900.

  • Course purpose: Background in history offers students a look into how cultural values, perceptions and experience manifest into law, as well as into organizational ruling structures. US History III covers 1900 - present.

  • Course purpose: Background in history offers students a look into how cultural values, perceptions and experience manifest into law, as well as into organizational ruling structures. US History IV covers 1939 - present.

17. Small Group Communication

  • Course purpose: All communication majors at 4-year institutions will be required to take this course. The course explores small group dynamics ranging from conflict management, to leadership styles and problem solving strategies. 

18. Survey Environmental Science

19. Social Science Course Recommendation

Choose one

  • Course purpose: This course offers students an opportunity to expand their understanding of intercultural communication by understanding the historical context of regions around the world. This also allows students to specialize and synthesize that information.

· Course Option

Choose one course from sequence #16 options, that you have not completed.

Total Credits: 90

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