All majors begin with four required courses, and a methods course, and then venturing on one of two tracks in Rhetoric+Strategy and Media Studies.
Our faculty have interests across those two tracks and are good at advising you no matter your pathway in life. With some of the most diverse faculty at Furman University, the Communication Studies department is especially well-suited at mentoring and advising students of all backgrounds.
Interested in media, broadcast, or journalism? Dr. Selena Dickey looks at the way media is shaped by its era, culture, and transmission. Mary Sturgill runs our broadcast studio and digital lab equipment with experience as a live news reporter.
Interested in exploring southern, religious, and African-American rhetoric while studying in the U.S. South, and approaching persuasion with a strong sense of justice? Dr. Inabinet, Dr. Lewis, and Dr. King are nationally-known scholars in these areas.
Dr. Kwami is from Ghana. Dr. Xiong-Gum is a Hmong-American. Dr. Farzad-Phillips is Persian-American. Each studies ways that ICTs (like cell phones and other devices) create identity, build borders, and otherwise influence our contemporary world.
Dr. McArthur, Dr. Richards, and Dr. Letteri are innovators in how public persuasion influences culture, and how culture influences persuasion. Whether political propaganda and social cues, the creation of digital spaces and public spheres, or other methods of strategic influence like film and immersive technologies, these professors change the way we look at innovation in communication.
In addition to registration advising, we offer alumni panels, an alumni advisory board, professionals in residence, and connections with vibrant study away and internships to help you figure out the next steps in life.
You are of course encouraged to pursue graduate studies in any of these areas to continue your studies, but we mentor and advise for good practices of citizenship (primarily) and professional life. While our alumni can be broken down in careers along the groups and categories in the graphic below, these practices of good civic media and strategic influence will be helpful no matter what directions in life your pathway points! Come talk with us to find out more.
