COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
History and Objectives
Accreditation
Cultural Diversity
Facilities
High-School and Multicultural Programs
Degrees and Programs Offered
Admission and Retention Requirements
Academic Achievement Awards and Scholarships
Student Organizations
Special Services and Programs
General Degree Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Communication
Further Requirements for Majors and Minors
Department and Program Requirements
Department of Advertising and Public Relations
Department of Communication Studies
Department of Journalism
School of Library and Information Studies
Department of Telecommunication and Film
Administrative Officers and Faculty
HISTORY AND OBJECTIVES
The former School of Communication became the College of Communication on September 9, 1988, by action of the Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama in recognition of the school's expanded role and scope. The College is the only communication unit in the state offering the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.
The School of Communication had been created on July 1, 1973, by combining the existing Department of Journalism and Department of Broadcast and Film Communication with University of Alabama Television Services in a single administrative unit. During its first year, the School of Communication created an additional department, the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, from course sequences that had been part of the program in journalism. University Radio Services was established in 1980, as was the Communication Research and Service Center (now the Institute for Communication Research). On May 16, 1981, the Department of Speech Communication (now Communication Studies) moved from the College of Arts and Sciences to the School of Communication. On July 1, 1997, the College of Communication and the School of Library and Information Studies merged to form the College of Communication and Information Sciences. The School of Library and Information Studies began to offer its first undergraduate courses in information sciences in 1999 and a minor beginning fall 2000.
The purposes of the College of Communication and Information Sciences are as follows:
- To offer courses leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees in those specialized areas necessary to prepare students to pursue careers in communication- and information-related areas
- To provide students with a broad education that will enable them to become productive and creative citizens in society and leaders in their professions, their communities, and the nation
- To encourage students to pursue further formal study and self-education in communication- and information-related areas
- To engage actively in research and service