The Department of Communication begins from the premise that, to understand communication in its many forms and contexts, it should be understood as a fundamentally social phenomenon. Communication is a process engaged in by people, between people, and with the aim of influencing people. It happens inside of real social contexts, whether that be communities, organizations, teams, or cultures. It happens with the aid of technologies that are themselves a product of the social world. For us, this means the study of communication draws its theoretical strength and methodological rigor from the social sciences. We are therefore committed to engaging in grounded, empirical research, drawn from an array of social science traditions and a variety of research methodologies, and both developing and applying novel theoretical perspectives to the most pressing social and policy issues of the day. This includes a focus on the social dynamics and effects of media, the psychological workings and sociological implications of information technologies, the workings of persuasion and social influence, and the particular communication challenges around science, environment, and health. We are also convinced that students should have a fluency in statistics, have a chance to engage in research if they choose, and develop the professional acuity, particularly around writing and presentation, they will need to the conceptual questions they encounter here to the particular professions they will pursue. Communication majors learn how: communication influences attitudes, opinions, and behaviors; mass media work in our society; to design communication technologies and understand their effects; to apply their understanding of communication to solving problems in science, the environment, government, industry, health, and education. The communication major is a program with a strong core of contemporary communication knowledge, theory, and practice.