Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts and Sciences

This major helps students better understand and analyze how people communicate in order to influence others and impact the world around them. The ability to communicate effectively in personal, social, professional, and multicultural situations is an essential skill in modern society. Discovering how to improve practices of communication in any of those situations--whether from a humanistic or scientific perspective--is equally vital. Students of Communication Arts and Sciences will therefore learn to argue persuasively, think critically, solve problems collaboratively, understand and manage conflict, influence people ethically, form and keep relationships, and participate constructively in civic life. The flexibility of this program offers preparation for a variety of careers, which include administration, business, health, higher education, human resources, law, public service, social or political advocacy, and more. Such flexibility is illustrated in the fact that this degree offers two different options for completion based on varying instructional and student needs (the Communication Studies option and the Foundations, Scholarship, and Practice option). For these reasons, majoring in Communication Arts and Sciences also offers an excellent concurrent degree program: a substantive understanding of human communication--which is valuable in numerous forms of personal, social, or professional life--can significantly enhance students' preparation in many fields of study.

Current high school student in his or her senior year
Student who has earned a high school diploma or a GED and has no post-secondary coursework
Student who has earned a high school diploma or GED and attempted 17 or fewer credits (semester hours) of college coursework at a regionally accredited college/university before attending Penn State
Official transcripts, which include all subjects studied each year and the grade/mark earned in each subject. TOEFL: A minimum TOEFL score of 80 on the Internet-based, TOEFL ITP Plus for China: A minimum TOEFL score of 550 , IELTS: A minimum IELTS score of 6.5 on the academic test.
International Baccalaureate (IB): Score of 5 or higher on the English Language & Literature (English A) exam