FAQ

Table of Contents

Advising

Undergraduate Program

First Year and Transfer Students

Advising

• What is an advisor and how do I find one?

  • Most students have three advisors: a major advisor, a minor advisor (if you're completing a minor), and a General Education advisor.  The list of major advisors is available outside HGH 108 and on the undergraduate advising page.  You can select any advisor within the advisor directory. If possible, meet with the same advisor each time.

• What should I bring with me to the meeting with my major advisor?

  • Bring your laptop, smartphone, or other device that allows you to access your transcripts and degree progress report on MySJSU. In addition, bring your list of questions.

• How does advising work?

  • Go to the undergraduate advising page for information on drop-in advising and advising appointments. Bring a device for accessing your MyRoadMap and MySJSU (laptop, phone, tablet) and  list of questions to your advising sessions with your major advisor. Your transcripts, Degree Progress Report and other useful information are available by logging on to mySJSU. For questions about GE requirements, make an appointment with a GE advisor at ACCESS, the College of Social Sciences Advising Center. For questions about your minor, meet with an advisor in that department. For additional advising questions outside the major, go to SJSU's Advising Hub.

• Can I count my community college communication courses toward the electives for the major?

  • Yes, if it is a college-level course in communication studies, speech communication, or communication.  Consult with your advisor to determine if you can count a community college course toward your COMM major at SJSU.  You may count up to 8 units of lower division courses as additional courses toward your program of study.  You may not double count lower-division communication courses used to satisfy your Core GE requirements toward the major. 

• Can I count a course taken at another university or college as a core course for the major?

  • Bring a course description (copied from the catalog of the school you previously attended) and/or syllabus and documentation showing the course was transferred.  Your advisor will determine whether it is the equivalent of one of our courses.  Note that core courses in the major are upper-division; upper-division courses must transfer in from a four-year school and be considered upper-division or junior/senior level at that school.)

• Is there a required minimum grade for a course to count toward the major?

  •  "D-" is the lowest passing grade.  Sometimes, as with GE Basic Skills and SJSU Studies courses, you must earn a "C-" or better to meet the GE requirement, even though you pass the class with a lower grade.  You must have an overall 2.0 GPA and a 2.0 in the major to be eligible to graduate.

• How many CR/NC classes can I count toward the major?

  • A maximum of 6 units can be counted towards the major.

• What is double counting and can I do it?

  • Double counting is when you use one course to count for both SJSU Studies and the major. You may double count SJSU Studies courses (currently COMM 100W, 157/157SL, 168A/B, 174, 179) and Core GE (COMM 10, 20, 40, 41, 74) courses toward the major.

• What is a flag or hold and how do I get it removed?

  • A flag is a registration hold put on your records.  The flag is placed on your records at the time of transfer.  You must meet with a major advisor before your second semester at the University.  At this meeting, your advisor will give you a form to turn in to the department office (HGH 108) to have your flag removed. Failure to meet with an advisor and remove the flag will prevent you from being able to register for classes in the next semester.

• Do I have to complete a minor?

  • No, you do not need to complete a minor. For the minor, you work with an advisor in in a department outside of Communication Studies to determine the courses you need to take. If you complete a minor, you will have your advising and your forms approved in that department (not in Communication Studies). If a minor in another department requires fewer than 18 units (e.g., Business requires 15 units), make sure you meet the 120 units total for the University baccalaureate requirements.  

• How do I find out what I need to do for my GE requirements?

  • There are two kinds of General Education requirements: Basic Skills (lower division, often taken at a community college, also called Core GE) and SJSU Studies (also called Advanced GE or upper-division GE). Please meet with a GE advisor in the ACCESS Center to review your GE requirements.

• Where do I find basic information about SJSU courses, policies, and procedures?

  • Go to the SJSU Student Information site for the online SJSU Catalog, class schedules, transfer course agreements, admission information, and much more.

• How do I apply for graduation?

  • Confirm with MyProgress Report to see if you are eligible to graduate within the next two semesters. Address anything on MyProgress that has a red square.

    Visit the Graduating Seniors page for how to apply for graduation online via MySJSU. Contact a COMM advisor if you have any questions.

Undergraduate Program

• What courses do I need to take for the communication studies major?

  • Core Courses

    - COMM 101C - Junior Seminar

    - COMM 198 - Applied Activity OR COMM 157SL - Community Action / Community Service

    - COMM 199C - Senior Seminar: Synthesis and Application

    Foundations, Inquiry, Practice Courses

    - Two courses from each area (F, I, and P)

    Additional Courses

    - 8 units of electives in Communication Studies (may be upper- or lower-division)

• What is COMM 198, Applied Activity?

  • COMM 198, taken when you are a second-semester junior or during your senior year, requires that you apply in a practical setting what you've learned in your major courses. The options are offered in 1-unit modules; you are required to take 2 units. Alternately, you may substitute the course for COMM 157SL, Community Action/Community Service, which also fulfills the SJSU Studies Area S requirement. Please view our Applied Activity page for an exhaustive list of all the options for Applied Activity.

• What additional courses should I take in the major?

  • The department offers a wide variety of courses.  Identify your own interests, needs, and learning objectives as a basis for choosing your 8 units of additional courses. Meet with your advisor to help you select courses that best fit your educational and professional goals. These courses may be lower- or upper-division. 

• What is a lower-division course? What is an upper-division course?
  • Any course you've taken at a community college is a lower-division course. At SJSU, any course numbered below 100 is lower-division and any course numbered 100 and above is upper-division. Community colleges never offer upper-division courses.
• What is an e-portfolio?
  • Throughout your time in the Communication Studies Department, you will build an electronic portfolio of your assignments. This e-portfolio will represent your work as a Communication Studies major.  The Department will use the e-portfolio to assess your overall learning in the program; and you will have a showcase of your work at the end of your college career. As you progress in the major, you will be instructed to save your assignments (papers, speeches, performances, etc.) because you will need to rework and evaluate some of them again in COMM 199C Senior Seminar.
• What is the WST? What is COMM 100W?

  • You must complete and pass the Writing Skills Test (WST) before enrolling in any upper division GE courses (called SJSU Studies). More information is available on the SJSU Testing Office website. Also, you can also obtain the WST Bulletin, test dates, passing scores, sample test questions, and registration materials from the Information Center in the Student Union, or from either Testing and Evaluation or Student Resources in the Student Services Center.

    To meet the SJSU Studies Area Z requirement, Communication Studies majors take COMM 100W. We recommend that you take 100W before or in same semester as any of the other SJSU Studies courses in Areas R, S, and V.

    Note: Due to COVID-19 Outbreak, Summer 2020 and Fall 2020 students were not required to complete the WST. Learn more about the Temporary WST Policy.
• What if I'm interested in teaching?

  • Please contact Dr. Deanna Fassett, teacher education advisor (Deanna.Fassett@sjsu.edu) to discuss opportunities to teach at K-6, 7-12, or at the community college level.  The Department of Communication Studies shares a secondary credential with the Department of English and Comparative Literature.

First Year & Transfer Students

Congrats on your admission to SJSU and/or your decision to join the Comm Studies program! We're honored you chose communication studies as your major and look forward to working with you as you progress through your program of study.

• I'm a First Year Student. What's next?

  • As a first-year student you'll want to:

    - participate in SJSU's Summer Orientation
    - participate in SJSU's Week of Welcome events
    - attend the COMM Welcome Faire at the start of the semester
    - meet with a communication studies advisor during your first semester

    Your first two years at SJSU you'll primarily focus on the requirements for your 39 units of Core GE (Basic Skills and Basic Knowledge of and Educated Person).

    We have a few recommendations to get you started on your GE requirements:

    Course Code	Title of Course	GE Area Requirement
    COMM 20	Public Speaking	A1
    COMM 40	Argumentation and Advocacy	A1
    COMM 41	Critical Decision Making	A3
    COMM 10	Comm & Human Relationships	D1
    COMM 21	Performing Culture & Society	D1
    COMM 74	Fundamentals of Intercultural Comm	E

    NOTE: If these GE courses fulfill your Core GE requirements, they will not count toward the major requirements. However, they will help you out when you take the upper-division courses required in the major.
• I'm Undeclared and/or want to change to the Comm Studies major.

  • If you're a student who wants to change your major to Communication Studies, we invite you to do the following:

    - achieve/maintain an overall and SJSU 2.0 GPA

    - lower-division students (<60 UE) should complete 6 units of lower-division COMM courses with a 2.0 GPA

    - upper-division students (≥60 UE) should complete 6 units of upper-division COMM courses with a 2.0 GPA

    Once you've fulfilled those requirements please meet with an advisor in Communication Studies. The advisor will review your transcripts, verify you've met the requirements, and complete your change of major.

• I'm a Transfer Student. What's next?

  • To get started at SJSU and in the major:

    - Find out from your previous school if you're GE certified for SJSU. GE certified means that you've completed all the Core GE requirements for SJSU.
    - If you haven't taken the WST (Writing Skills Test), sign up on the Testing Services website right away (you must have taken and passed English 1B or its equivalent before you take the WST).
    - Sign up for and attend a Transfer Orientation session. (Due to COVID-19 outbreak, Transfer Orientation has temporarily been converted to an online format. See below.)
    - Meet with a major advisor.

    Transfer Orientation

    Welcome to Communication Studies! Transfer students will learn all about our department and which courses to take when you meet with a department advisor during your Transfer Day Orientation. You may also view our orientation video and presentational slides to help you prepare for your first semester as a Communication Studies major at SJSU. Please use your SJSU email to access our presentational slides.

    For the first semester, you'll want to register for:

    - COMM 101C - Introduction to Communication Studies (an introduction to the discipline and a prerequisite for COMM 198 and COMM 199C)
    - one Foundations or Practice course (most students complete COMM 101C before taking an Inquiry course)
    - COMM 100W - Writing Workshop (SJSU Studies Area Z)
    - one course in your minor (optional)
    - an SJSU Studies (upper-division GE) course

More questions? We're here to help! Email or make an appointment with an advisor today!