Augustana College offers a major and minor in communication studies, a major for teaching speech communication language arts and a major and minor in multimedia journalism and mass communication. The nine full-time and three part-time faculty specialize in a range of areas, including media studies, rhetoric, interpersonal communication, public speaking, education and organizational communication -- providing students many opportunities for networking and making connections. WAUG radio Alicia Matuszewski, general manager of WAUG student radio, and Jeff Chin, WAUG program director. Recognized early for the excellence of its programming, Augustana's communication studies department was the very first recipient of the National Communication Association's prestigious Rex Mix: Program of Excellence award. The faculty are committed to a curriculum focused on thinking, writing and speaking with both reason and passion. Almost all courses use discussion as a teaching tool, and students are encouraged to express their views in terms of the text or topic as well as personal values and priorities. Each student learns to rise to the challenge (and recognize the fun) of active dialogue, and to develop and communicate his or her ideas in a group setting. Communication classes range from 10 to 35 students. Students tailor their studies to their goals, choosing from diverse academic areas ranging from rhetorical criticism to interpersonal communication to intercultural communication. All communication students integrate study of innovative converged media with traditional reporting, writing and ethics; multimedia journalism students are prepared for the rapidly changing field of mass communication. All Augustana students complete Senior Inquiry, a capstone project that draws from their comprehensive learning experience and demonstrates specific knowledge in their field as well as benefit to a community. Working closely with a faculty member, communication students may complete a research study, complete a professional media internship, develop a project for the community or create a converged media portfolio. At the end of their Senior Inquiry, students have a dynamic portfolio of work to help open doors to graduate school or employment. Outside the classroom Because it is an extensive media market with a variety of opportunities, the Quad-Cities community is an ideal setting for communication interests. Students take internships at several television and radio stations, two full-time publishing newspapers and online news sources. Sports teams, public relations and human resource departments, and not-for-profit organizations throughout the area seek out Augustana students as interns. Augustana's more than 150 campus organizations provide dynamic preparation for communication students. Besides our student-run on-campus radio station WAUG 97.9 FM and student newspaper, The Observer, the college has an NPR-affiliate radio station WVIK 90.3 FM, which broadcasts in western Illinois and eastern Iowa. Clubs such as Web Guild and ADs (Advertising Developers) are popular with our majors. Augustana's debate program is one of the most respected in the country, ranking in the top 10 colleges and universities that have qualified for the National Debate Tournament. Augustana's chapter of Lambda Pi Eta (LPH), the national honors association, has been busy giving back to both the Augustana and Quad City area communities. Their service projects have included activities in the QCA such as Operation Read where they read to kids at Rock Island Math and Science Academy's after school program, Adopt a Classroom where they provided Christmas gifts for a class at Longfellow Elementary, and volunteering at Friendly House, a local settlement house providing numerous services to Quad City residents. Within the Augustana community, LPH has offered speech workshops to help students prepare and practice speeches and presentations, along with continuously promoting the department in order to help the program to grow and succeed as a whole.

To get a better idea of what you might do with a Communication Studies major, consider what some of your predecessors have done after leaving Augustana. Education I PR & Advertising I Business Media & Broadcasting I Public Service Secondary and Post-Secondary Education Our graduates serve on the faculty at the Universities of Georgia, Minnesota and Denver, as well as Black Hawk and Hillsborough Colleges. They help administer programs at Syracuse University, Augustana College, Concordia University, North Central College, Cardinal Stritch University, Iowa Wesleyan College, and Roosevelt University. They're in graduate or professional schools at the Universities of Iowa, Wisconsin, Texas, Georgia, at Southern Methodist University, Northern Illinois, Illinois State University and the Thomas Cosley and DePaul Colleges of Law. They teach speech, journalism, English and theatre for Lugoff-Elgin Middle School; Moline High School; North Scott HS; Atwood Hammond Schools; Ottawa HS; Warrenville South HS; Horizon Charter School; Alleman HS; Avon (IL) School District, Muscatine HS, Kildeer (IL) District 96. Extraordinary choices including being an assistant language teacher for the Japanese Board of Education, Director of Alumni Relations for the Sterling Schools Foundation, and a language teacher for the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program.