Undergraduate Program

The undergraduate communication program is something that almost all Purdue undergraduates get to experience.  Each year, more than 6,000 students across campus take a presentational speaking course from the department.  Students who join the school have a wide variety of majors from which to choose:  general communication, public relations and rhetorical advocacy, mass communication, corporate communication, and human relations. 

In these communication majors, students have an exciting array of opportunities in addition to what they learn from faculty and other students.  Our students produce their own video news magazine called Fast Track, create our school’s alumni newsletter The Communicator, and work in teams with local nonprofits to get real-world experience in public relations.  The school has dedicated full-time advisors who help students with course planning and career development, and student organizations provide opportunities for professional and scholarly growth.  Graduates find careers in fields ranging from public relations to management, from law to ministry, and in areas such as sports and health.

One of the greatest strengths of the communication program is its international opportunities.  Through the university’s study abroad office, students can take advantage of over 100 different programs.  Specific to communication, popular programs include summer and semester-length programs in northern Italy as well as summer study/internship programs in London, Sydney, and Beijing.  Recent Maymester offerings have included intensive study programs in Beijing and in Washington, D.C.

We are looking for outstanding students who want to understand the essential role that communication plays in personal and professional life.  If you are one of those students, we welcome you to join us—not just in a West Lafayette classroom, but in faculty research, in study abroad locations around the world, in community engagement, in student-led organizations, and in learning.

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