Communication as a field of study is in high demand among college students today, both for its roots in speech and journalism and for its role in the technological revolution. The Communication Studies program at Roanoke College supplies students with a solid liberal arts foundation emphasizing the discipline's ethical and social principles and enabling later pursuit of specialized interests in the field. Both in the classroom and through hands-on work outside the classroom, students study the communication process and how it contributes to the development of information and meaning, human relationships, and culture. In addition to critical thinking courses like research methodology and rhetorical theory, the major encompasses such dynamic areas of study as interpersonal communication and journalism.
A new major at Roanoke College as of fall 2011, Communication Studies can open the door to advanced study in graduate school and to careers in the following areas: