Communication College of Letters & Science

Bo Feng, Chairperson of the Department; term ends June 30, 2026.

Department Office

469 Kerr Hall; 530-752-0966; Communication; Faculty

Communication (CMN)

CMN 001 — Introduction to Public Speaking (4 units)

This version has ended; see updated course, below.
Course Description: Practice in the preparation and delivery of speeches based on principles and strategies of informing and persuading audiences drawn from the social sciences and humanities.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s), Discussion 2 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH) or Social Sciences (SS); Oral Skills (OL); Writing Experience (WE).
  • CMN 001 — Introduction to Public Speaking (4 units)
  • Course Description: Practice in the preparation and delivery of speeches based on principles and strategies of informing and persuading audiences drawn from the social sciences and humanities.
  • Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s), Discussion 2 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH) or Social Sciences (SS); Oral Skills (OL).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Summer Session 1 2025.

CMN 003 — Interpersonal Communication Competence (4 units)

Course Description: Communication competence in professional settings. Managing face-to-face and virtual teams. Leadership, conflict management and negotiation skills. Communication in diverse organizations. Leveraging communication networks. Effective interviewing.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s), Discussion 2 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 003V — Interpersonal Communication Competence (4 units)

Course Description: Communication competence in professional settings. Managing face-to-face and virtual teams. Leadership, conflict management and negotiation skills. Communication in diverse organizations. Leveraging communication networks. Effective interviewing.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 2 hour(s), Web Electronic Discussion 2 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 003Y — Interpersonal Communication Competence (4 units)

Course Description: Communication competence in professional settings. Managing face-to-face and virtual teams. Leadership, conflict management and negotiation skills. Communication in diverse organizations. Leveraging communication networks. Effective interviewing.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 2 hour(s), Discussion 2 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 005 — Global English & Communication (4 units)

Course Description: English as a global language and its uses in intercultural communication. Cultural, historical, and political dimensions of varieties of English spoken around the world. Experiential grounding in strategies for increasing interpretive and verbal communicative competence for a globalized world.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s), Discussion 2 hour(s).
  • Cross Listing: LIN 005.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH) or Social Sciences (SS); Oral Skills (OL); World Cultures (WC).

CMN 010V — Introduction to Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Basic principles of communication and communication processes; models of communication; foundations of empirical research in communication; contexts of communication and communication research, including interpersonal, intercultural, news, entertainment, mediated, and others.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 3 hour(s), Web Electronic Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken CMN 010Y.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 010Y — Introduction to Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Basic principles of communication and communication processes; models of communication; foundations of empirical research in communication; contexts of communication and communication research including interpersonal, intercultural, news, entertainment, mediated, and others.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken CMN 010V.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 012Y — Data Visualization in the Social Sciences (4 units)

Course Description: Introduction to quantitative data across the social sciences (Communications, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and other disciplines). Transforming data, describing data, producing graphs, visual reasoning, and interpretations.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 2 hour(s), Laboratory 1.50 hour(s), Web Virtual Lecture 1.50 hour(s).
  • Cross Listing: SOC 012Y, POL 012Y, PSC 012Y.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Quantitative Literacy (QL); Visual Literacy (VL).

CMN 076 — Video Games & Virtual Environments (4 units)

Starting Winter Quarter 2025, this course is no longer offered.

Course Description: Impact of video games on players and society. Topics include motivations for playing games; cognitive, emotional, and behavioral effects, including violence and addiction; interpersonal and group processes in online games; virtual communities; and video games for education.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Visual Literacy (VL).

CMN 099 — Special Study for Undergraduates (1-5 units)

Course Description: Special study for undergraduates.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Variable.
  • Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.

CMN 101 — Communication Theories (4 units)

Course Description: Forms, functions, development, and testing of communication theory, with emphasis on social scientific approaches. Survey and comparison of significant micro and macro theories and models of face-to-face and mediated communication. Application of theories to real-world problems.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken CMN 101Y.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 101Y — Communication Theories (4 units)

Course Description: Forms, functions, development, and testing of communication theory, with emphasis on social scientific approaches. Survey and comparison of significant micro and macro theories and models of face-to-face and mediated communication. Application of theories to real-world problems.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken CMN 101.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 102 — Empirical Methods in Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Social scientific research methods employed in Communication. Topics include research design, measurement, sampling, questionnaire construction, survey research, experimental design, content analysis and qualitative field methods.

Prerequisite(s): STA 013 or STA 013Y; or equivalent of STA 013.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 102V — Empirical Methods in Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Social scientific research methods employed in Communication. Topics include research design, measurement, sampling, questionnaire construction, survey research, experimental design, content analysis and qualitative field methods.

Prerequisite(s): STA 013 or STA 013Y; or equivalent of STA 013.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 3 hour(s), Web Electronic Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 110 — Communication Networks (4 units)

Course Description: Theoretical approaches to communication networks, practical applications of network studies, and network analysis tools. Friendship, political discussion, social support, organizational, social media, and disease transmission networks are examined. Impact of emerging technologies on network creation, maintenance, and expansion.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Discussion/Laboratory 1 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 111 — Gender Differences in Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Examination of communication differences between men and women as sources of male/female stereotypes, misunderstandings, dilemmas, and difficulties (real and imagined). Treatment of genders as cultures. Topics include male/female differences in discursive practices and patterns, language attitudes, and relationship dynamics.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 4 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken CMN 103.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Domestic Diversity (DD).

CMN 112 — Theories of Persuasion (4 units)

Course Description: Theories and models of persuasion that account for the effects of source, channel and audience factors on message recipients. Examination of message strategies for altering attitudes and gaining compliance. Contexts of application include interpersonal relationships, advertising, politics, and health.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken CMN 152.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 114 — Communication & Cognition (4 units)

Course Description: Relationship between communication and cognition in interpersonal and mediated contexts. Discourse comprehension and production, impact of language attitudes on social judgments, the effects of information processing on decision making.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have completed CMN 138.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 120 — Interpersonal Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Theories and principles of interpersonal communication related to perception, verbal and nonverbal channels, mutual understanding, and relationship development. Communication processes in face-to-face and technologically-mediated encounters. Consideration of different relationship contexts, including friendships, dating and family relationships, and the workplace.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken CMN 134.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 120V — Interpersonal Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Theories and principles of interpersonal communication related to perception, verbal and nonverbal channels, mutual understanding, and relationship development. Communication processes in face-to-face and technologically-mediated encounters. Consideration of different relationship contexts, including friendships, dating and family relationships, and the workplace.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 3 hour(s), Web Electronic Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Repeat Credit: Not open for credit to students who have taken CMN 134.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 121 — Language Use in Conversation (4 units)

Course Description: Examination of how people use language in social interaction, how they exchange meaning during conversation, and how their use of language plays a central role in turn-taking, speech acts, attitude formation, figurative speech, politeness, and other aspects of conversation.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken CMN 105.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 122 — Nonverbal Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Examination of the interaction between nonverbal communication and verbal communication channels in influencing outcomes in interpersonal relationships. Underlying functions served by nonverbal communication are considered.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 4 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have completed CMN 135.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 123 — Intercultural Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Major concepts and theories of intercultural communication. Topics include cultural similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication; dimensions of cultural variations, barriers to intercultural communication, and intercultural communication competence.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have taken CMN 137.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Domestic Diversity (DD).

CMN 124 — Family Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Theories and research on family communication. Communication in courtship, marriage, and relational dissolution. Processes and outcomes of parent-child, sibling, family roles, and inter-generational communication. Interaction patterns associated with marital/family satisfaction, maintenance, divorce, and dysfunction. Cultural influences on family communication.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 130 — Group Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Communication processes in the development and maintenance of effective groups and teams in organizations. Examination of both face-to-face and computer-mediated group interaction. Topics include group development, power, norms, cohesion, decision making, problem solving, creativity, conflict management, working remotely, and leadership.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 131 — Strategic Communication in Public Relations (4 units)

Course Description: Principles, evolution, and professional practice of public relations. Planning and execution of effective, ethical communication strategies and campaigns. Distribution of messages through traditional and new media, including social media. Cultivation of relationships between organizations and their publics. Crisis communication management.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 132 — Social Media for Public Relations (4 units)

Course Description: Uses of social media technologies in contemporary public relations practice. Social and behavioral theories of social media processes and effects. Strategies and tools for authoring content that builds relationships and creates conversations with key publics.

Prerequisite(s): CMN 131.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 136 — Organizational Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Organizational communication theory and practice is examined with an emphasis on the use of effective communication strategies for achieving organizational goals.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 4 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 136V — Organizational Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Organizational communication theory and practice is examined with an emphasis on the use of effective communication strategies for achieving organizational goals.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 3 hour(s), Web Electronic Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2024.

CMN 139 — Advanced Organizational Communication (4 units)

Starting Winter Quarter 2025, this course is no longer offered.

This version has ended; see updated course, below.
Course Description: Communication processes within and among social organizations. Examines formal organizations as information processing systems. Topics include general systems theory, input-output analysis, structural-functionalism, cybernetics, organizational network analysis, organization environments, organizations as cultures, organizational learning, information technologies, and communication diagnostic/auditing strategies.

Prerequisite(s): CMN 136.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 140 — Introduction to Mass Communication (4 units)

Course Description: History of mass media and media research traditions. Organization and economics of the media industry. Media policy, law, regulation and ethics. Impact of the media on individuals and society. Traditional, new and emerging communication technologies.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 141 — Media Effects: Theory & Research (4 units)

Course Description: Social scientific studies of the effects of mass media messages on audience members' actions, attitudes, beliefs, and emotions. Topics include the cognitive processing of media messages, television violence, political socialization, cultivation of beliefs, agenda-setting, and the impact of new technologies.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 142 — Newsmaking (4 units)

Course Description: The making of news. How journalists construct news and how consumers and newsmakers use it. Effects of news, technology’s challenges to journalism, and the relationship of news to other institutions.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); American Cultures, Governance, & History (ACGH).

CMN 143 — Analysis of Media Messages (4 units)

Course Description: Examination of alternative approaches to the analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of media messages, including those disseminated through broadcasting, print, and new technologies.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); American Cultures, Governance, & History (ACGH); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 144 — Media Entertainment (4 units)

Course Description: Effects and appeal of media entertainment, emphasizing emotional reactions. Topics include key concepts of entertainment research such as mood management, and the respective features and emotional/social-psychological effects of genres such as comedy, mystery, thriller, sports, music, horror, and erotica.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 145 — Political Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Relationships among the mass media, citizens, and politics, production of political news, campaign strategies, and citizens’ attitudes and behaviors. Frameworks for mediated politics, the news, and elite discourse and campaign messages.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); American Cultures, Governance, & History (ACGH); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 146 — Communication Campaigns (4 units)

Course Description: Strategic uses of media and interpersonal communication channels in health, environmental advocacy, and political campaigns. Emphasis on general principles relevant to most campaign types, including public information, social marketing, and media advocacy campaigns.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 147 — Children, Adolescents, & the Media (4 units)

Course Description: Research on the adaptive and maladaptive effects of media (e.g., television, movies, video games, social media) on the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development of youth, considering the protective role of parents, teachers, ethics, and policy.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Open to Communication majors only on Pass 1.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 147V — Children, Adolescents, and the Media (4 units)

Course Description: Research on the adaptive and maladaptive effects of media (e.g., television, movies, video games, social media) on the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development of youth, considering the protective role of parents, teachers, ethics, and policy.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 3 hour(s), Web Electronic Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 148 — Contemporary Trends In Media (4 units)

Course Description: Global trends in media, including media and globalization, impacts of the new media economy, media and security, and effects of ownership on media content and culture.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Oral Skills (OL); World Cultures (WC).

CMN 149 — Race & Media (4 units)

Course Description: Examines how race and ethnicity as social categories are shaped by mass media. Focuses on the impact of race and ethnicity role portrayals in content and style of news, television and cinema.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Domestic Diversity (DD).

CMN 150V — Computational Social Science (4 units)

Course Description: Nontechnical survey of modern computational research methods. Web scraping, artificial intelligence, visualizing social networks, and computer simulations. Hands-on use of diverse software applications. Professors from all ten UC campuses contribute.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 2 hour(s), Web Electronic Discussion 2 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Quantitative Literacy (QL).

CMN 151 — Simulating Communication Processes (4 units)

Course Description: Simulations of communication and sociality using agent-based models. Focus on strategic behavior, cooperation, coordination, self-organization, information diffusion, and other communication phenomena. No programming skills assumed.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Quantitative Literacy (QL); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 152V — Social Science with Online Data (4 units)

Course Description: Survey of web-driven social science and its methods. Focus on web scraping and social media API’s. Covers wrangling and analysis of data from social networks, online experiments, and other digital traces. Python programming skills helpful, but not assumed.

Prerequisite(s): Programming experience helpful, but not required.

  • Learning Activities: Extensive Problem Solving, Web Virtual Lecture 1 hour(s), Web Electronic Discussion 1.50 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Quantitative Literacy (QL); Scientific Literacy (SL).

CMN 161 — Health Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Health communication theories and research. Health literacy, social support and coping, doctor-patient interaction, health communication campaigns, media influences on health, and applications of new technologies in health promotion.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Extensive Writing.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 165 — Media & Health (4 units)

Course Description: Content and effects of health messages in the media. Topics include health news reporting; portrayals of disease, disability, death and health-related behaviors; promotion of drugs and other health products; and tobacco and alcohol advertising.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 170 — Digital Technology & Social Change (4 units)

Course Description: Conceptual understanding of how digital communication technologies transform our lives through social media, mobile connectivity, globalization, and big data. Contexts include education, health, entrepreneurship, democracy, and poverty.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have completed CMN 170V.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 170V — Digital Technology & Social Change (4 units)

Course Description: Conceptual understanding of how digital technologies transform our lives, through social media, mobile connectivity, globalization, big data, and artificial intelligence. Context includes education, health, entrepreneurship, democracy, among others.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 3 hour(s), Web Electronic Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open for credit to students who have completed CMN 170.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 172 — Interpersonal Technologies (4 units)

Course Description: Theories and research findings on how people use technologies for interpersonal and relational purposes, including impression formation, self-presentation, deception, anonymity, friendship maintenance, online dating, and emotional expression.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s), Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 174 — Social Media (4 units)

Course Description: Application of communication theories to the study and design of social media. Examination of social media in contexts such as political activism and collaboration. Topics include online credibility, participatory culture, viral media and privacy.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); American Cultures, Governance, & History (ACGH); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 176 — Video Games Theory & Research (4 units)

Course Description: Communication theory and research on the uses and effects of video games. Research methods available for investigating game use and the impact of games on behavior. Application of those methods in a research project.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 2 hour(s), Discussion/Laboratory 2 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 176V — Video Games Theory & Research (4 units)

Course Description: Communication theory and research on the uses and effects of video games. Research methods available for investigating game use and the impact of games on behavior. Application of those methods in a research project.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 3 hour(s), Web Electronic Discussion 1 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 178 — Persuasive Technologies (4 units)

Course Description: Designing and testing ethical, technology-based communication interventions in the domains of health, marketing, education, and environment. Social media, mobile apps, wearable devices, recommendation systems, serious games, and augmented reality.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 180 — Current Topics in Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Group study of a special topic in communication.

Prerequisite(s): (CMN 101 or CMN 101Y); CMN 102; or a research methods course equivalent to CMN 102.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Pass One open to Communication majors only.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated 1 time(s) when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 189A — Proseminar in Social Interaction (4 units)

This version has ended; see updated course, below.
Course Description: Reading, discussion, research, and writing on a selected topic in the specialty of social interaction. Potential topics include relationship initiation, maintenance, and deterioration; communication failure; nonverbal communication; conversational management; semantics and pragmatics of languages; and family/marital communication.

Prerequisite(s): (CMN 101 or CMN 101Y); CMN 102; CMN 136; and consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Open to Communication majors only.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).
  • CMN 189A — Proseminar in Social Interaction (4 units)
  • Course Description: Reading, discussion, research, and writing on a selected topic in the specialty of social interaction. Potential topics include relationship initiation, maintenance, and deterioration; communication failure; nonverbal communication; conversational management; semantics and pragmatics of languages; and family/marital communication.
  • Prerequisite(s): (CMN 101 or CMN 101Y); CMN 102; (CMN 136 or CMN 136V); and consent of instructor.
  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Open to Communication majors only.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2024.

CMN 189B — Proseminar in Mass Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Reading, discussion, research, and writing on a selected topic in the specialty of mass communication. Potential topics include, agenda-setting, the cultivation of beliefs, television violence, media portrayals of underprivileged groups, mediated political discourse, interactive technologies, and international/global communications.

Prerequisite(s): (CMN 101 or CMN 101Y); CMN 102; CMN 140; and consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Open to Communication majors only.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 189C — Proseminar in Health Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Reading, discussion, research, and writing on a selected topic in health communication. Potential topics include health communication design and evaluation, media advocacy, physician-patient interaction, uses of communication technologies in health settings, and health-related advertising.

Prerequisite(s): (CMN 101 or CMN 101Y); CMN 102; (CMN 161 or CMN 165); and consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Open to Communication majors only.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 189D — Proseminar in Organizational Communication (4 units)

This version has ended; see updated course, below.
Course Description: Reading, discussion, research, and writing on a selected topic in the specialty of organizational communication. Potential topics include organizational networks, organizational conflict and its resolution, mediation, bargaining and negotiation, superior-subordinate interaction, leadership styles, and inter-organizational communication.

Prerequisite(s): (CMN 101 or CMN 101Y); CMN 102; CMN 136; and consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Open to Communication majors only.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).
  • CMN 189D — Proseminar in Organizational Communication (4 units)
  • Course Description: Reading, discussion, research, and writing on a selected topic in the specialty of organizational communication. Potential topics include organizational networks, organizational conflict and its resolution, mediation, bargaining and negotiation, superior-subordinate interaction, leadership styles, and inter-organizational communication.
  • Prerequisite(s): (CMN 101 or CMN 101Y); CMN 102; (CMN 136 or CMN 136V); and consent of instructor.
  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Open to Communication majors only.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).
  • This course version is effective from, and including: Fall Quarter 2024.

CMN 189E — Proseminar in Information & Communication Technologies (4 units)

Course Description: Reading, discussion, research and writing on a selected topic in information and communication technologies. Potential topics include the role played by digital technologies in social change, serious games for change, and virtual and offline worlds.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated 2 time(s) when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS).

CMN 192 — Internship in Communication (1-12 units)

Course Description: Supervised work experience requiring the application of communication principles and strategies or the evaluation of communication practices in a professional setting. Relevant experiences include public relations, advertising, sales, human resources, health promotion, political campaigns, journalism, and broadcasting.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Communication majors who have completed 20 units of upper division communication courses.

  • Learning Activities: Internship 3-36 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Open to Communication majors only.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated 12 unit(s).
  • Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.

CMN 194H — Senior Honors Thesis (4 units)

Course Description: Directed reading, research, and writing culminating in the preparation of honors thesis under direction of faculty advisor.

Prerequisite(s): Senior standing and approval by Honors Committee.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 1 hour(s), Project 3 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.
  • General Education: Social Sciences (SS); Writing Experience (WE).

CMN 197T — Tutoring in Communication (2-4 units)

Course Description: Tutoring in undergraduate Communication courses, including leadership of discussion groups affiliated with departmental courses.

Prerequisite(s): Upper division standing with major in Communication and consent of Department Chairperson.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 1-2 hour(s), Laboratory 1-2 hour(s).
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated 6 unit(s).
  • Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.

CMN 198 — Directed Group Study (1-5 units)

Course Description: Directed group study.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Variable.
  • Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.

CMN 199 — Special Study for Advanced Undergraduates (1-5 units)

Course Description: Special study for advanced undergraduates.

  • Learning Activities: Variable.
  • Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.

CMN 201 — Theoretical Perspectives on Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Social scientific study of Communication. Research on interpersonal, organizational, mass, political, and health communication; communication technologies (e.g., video games, social media, persuasive technologies); and communication network analysis.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing in Communication.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Open to Communication graduate students only.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 202 — Communication Theory Construction (4 units)

Course Description: Alternative meta-theoretical perspectives for theory generation in communication inquiry. Processes of construct explication, operationalization and theory construction. Emphasis on the critique of extant communication theories and the development of theory construction skills.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 203 — Scientific Methods for Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Social scientific research methods commonly employed in Communication. Topics include research design measurement sampling questionnaire construction survey research experimental design evaluation research content analysis and qualitative field methods.

Prerequisite(s): CMN 201; CMN 202; PSC 204A; PSC 204B; or equivalents.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 204 — Biological Foundations of Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Communibiological, evolutionary, neuroscience, and neurophysiological perspectives on communication. Methodologies for examining human physiological responses to messages, such as heart rate, skin conductance, electromyography, and cortical activity.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 210 — Experimental Methods & Analysis in Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Experimental designs in communication. Topics include: causation; threats to validity; conceptualization, operationalization, and measurement; hypothesis testing; ethics; data analysis software focusing on the analysis of variance and planned contrasts; and the practical and effective implementation and writing of experiments.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing; one course in inferential statistics.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 211 — Survey Research Methods in Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Methods for designing personal interview, phone, mail, and web-based surveys in communication. Topics include: sampling strategies, sources of error and bias in survey designs, questionnaire construction, cognitive interviewing, interviewer behavior, and analysis of complex survey data using standard software packages.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing; one course in inferential statistics.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 212 — Web Science Research Methods (4 units)

Course Description: Applications of data science to web-based communication research. Design, implementation, analysis, and reporting of studies using online data. Use of Python to scrape, organize, analyze, and visualize web data.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 213 — Simulation Methods in Communication Research (4 units)

Course Description: Simulation methods for modeling human communication. Single and multiple agent approaches to developing process theories of cooperation, coordination, strategic behavior, information and innovation diffusion, and other aspects of sociality.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 214 — Analysis of Communication Networks (4 units)

Course Description: Theoretical and analytic issues pertaining to network perspectives on communicating and organizing. Consideration of structural and dynamic features of communication networks. Introduction to network analysis software and various analysis techniques.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 220 — Persuasion Theories & Message Design (4 units)

Course Description: Major social scientific theories and perspectives on attitude change and persuasion. Application of persuasion theories and principles to persuasive message design in applied contexts.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 221 — Communication & Cognition (4 units)

Course Description: Explores the cognitive structures and processes that enable the production, comprehension and interpretation of messages in face-to-face and mediated communication contexts. Explores the communication outcomes associated with these processes.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 222 — Risk Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Theories and models of individual risk information processing. Media depictions of threats and risk-related information and their potential effects on audiences. Implications for the design and implementation of messages concerning threat and risk.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 230 — Social Interaction Theory & Research (4 units)

Course Description: Survey of theories and research on social interaction and interpersonal communication. Covers communication codes, individual differences in communication, communication and relationship development, family communication, conflict, cognitive and emotional processes underlying social interaction, social influence, intercultural communication, and nonverbal behavior.

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 231 — Tactics of Interpersonal Influence (4 units)

Course Description: Achievement of interpersonal goals in social interaction. Topics include message production; tactics, strategies and planning; anticipating potential obstacles; resisting and thwarting goals; plan recognition; and goal detection. Examined goals include compliance gaining, attitude change, ingratiation, information seeking, comforting, and deception.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 232 — Health Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Health communication theories and research traditions. Topics include consumer health information seeking; physician-patient interaction; information, social marketing, “edutainment,” and media advocacy campaigns; social networks and coping; media influences on health; and new communication technologies in health promotion and healthcare delivery.

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Cross Listing: SPH 232.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 233 — Persuasive Technologies for Health (4 units)

Course Description: Theorizing, designing and evaluating ethical technology-based health communication interventions. Uses of social media, mobile communication apps, wearable devices, computer-generated tailored messages, educational games, and computational approaches in health promotion and healthcare delivery.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Cross Listing: SPH 233.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 234 — Intercultural Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Theories and research on intercultural communication. Topics include national, racial, and ethnic similarities and differences in communication practices; cultural beliefs and values; identity and conflict; and technological influences on intercultural communication. Methodological issues in intercultural communication research are also examined.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Restricted to graduate standing.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 235 — Health Communication Campaigns (4 units)

Course Description: Principles of health communication campaign planning, implementation and evaluation. Strategies for changing health behaviors, shaping policy, and improving healthcare organizations’ relations with stakeholders.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Restricted to graduate students.
  • Cross Listing: SPH 235.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 243 — Media & Health (4 units)

Course Description: Survey of research on media and health. Topics include health news coverage; depictions of health, illness and disability in entertainment; health campaigns; advertising of health products and services; and the influence of gaming and other new media on health behaviors.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Restricted to graduate standing.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 244 — Organizational Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Theory and research on communication processes in organizations.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 250 — Mediated Communication Theory & Research (4 units)

Course Description: Survey of major theories on the intended and unintended effects of mediated communication. Topics include media's effects on learning, political behavior, interpersonal violence, sexual socialization, consumer behavior, race relations, gender socialization, and cultural processes.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 251 — Digital Technology & Social Change (4 units)

Course Description: Conceptual, theoretical, and international consideration of how digital communication technologies transform social organization and development. Topics include social media, big data, political revolutions, e-democracy, digital divide, e-education, e-health, entrepreneurship, public policies, poverty reduction, technological innovations, microfinance, and entertainment.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open to students who have taken CMN 251Y.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 251Y — Digital Technology & Social Change (4 units)

Course Description: Discussion and research on how digital technologies transform our lives through social media, mobility, big data, global connectivity, and artificial intelligence; changing business, health, democracy, globalization, families, dating, and education.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 2 hour(s), Discussion 2 hour(s).
  • Credit Limitation(s): Not open to students who have taken CMN 251.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 252 — Computer-Mediated Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Effects of computer-mediated communication on the ways in which people express themselves, form impressions about strangers, develop and maintain relationships, collaborate on group work, and expand social network, especially in comparison to face-to-face communication.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 253 — Children, Adolescents, & the Media (4 units)

Course Description: Theory and research on the uses and effects of traditional and new media on children and adolescents, emphasizing social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Methodological approaches and ethical issues in studies of underage populations. Parent and family mediation of effects.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 254 — Communication Campaigns (4 units)

Course Description: Strategic uses of media and interpersonal channels to promote social change through social marketing, information, and media advocacy campaigns. Focus on theory-based interventions in a variety of applied contexts.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 255 — Social Media (4 units)

Course Description: Theoretical, conceptual and analytic issues pertaining to social media research. Topics include motivation, participation, virality, and social-technical capital. Examination of social media in various contexts. Introduction to online behavioral data collection and analysis methods.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 256 — Communication Perspective on Video Games (4 units)

Course Description: Review of theory and research on the uses and effects of video games and virtual environments developed for entertainment and education. Study of the research methods available for documenting and measuring game use and effects on behavior.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 259 — Cognitive Approaches to Media (4 units)

Course Description: Interdisciplinary examination of cognitive approaches to mediated communication. Application of studies on mediated message processing, cognitive and emotional information processing, psychophysiology, and neuroscience to mass communication. Review of media research and methods on attention, memory, motivation, and limited capacity.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Enrollment Restriction(s): Restricted to graduate standing.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 260 — Political Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Theories and research on the connections between media, politics, and citizens in the digital age. Critical framework for understanding the nature of mediated politics by assessing inter-relationships between production of news, political elites’ campaign strategies, and behaviors of citizens.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 270 — Diffusion of Innovations (4 units)

Course Description: Communication processes by which information and innovations spread through social systems. Models of diffusion, including spatial, network, time dependent, semantic and cognitive frameworks. Impact of communication technologies on diffusion. Practical application of diffusion models in a variety of contexts.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 275Y — Computational Social Science (4 units)

Course Description: Survey of modern computational research methods. Big data, social network analysis, machine learning, Agent-based computer simulations. Online lectures are taught by faculty from all 10 UC campuses. Local face-to-face discussion section.

  • Learning Activities: Web Virtual Lecture 1.50 hour(s), Discussion 2 hour(s), Term Paper.
  • Credit Limitation(s): Only 2 units of credit to students who have taken CMN 150V.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 280 — Special Topics in Social Interaction (4 units)

Course Description: Reading, discussion, research, and writing on a selected topic in the specialty of social interaction.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 281 — Special Topics in Mediated Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Reading, discussion, research, and writing on a selected topic in the speciality of mediated communication.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 282 — Special Topics in Health Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Reading, discussion, research and writing on a focused topic in health communication.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 283 — Special Topics in Organizational Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Reading, discussion, research, and writing on a selected topic in the specialty of organizational communication.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing.

  • Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated when topics differ.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 284 — Special Topics in Political Communication (4 units)

Course Description: Reading, discussion, research, and writing on a selected topic in the specialty of political communication.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 4 hour(s).
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated 4 time(s) when topic differs.
  • Grade Mode: Letter.

CMN 298 — Group Study (1-5 units)

Course Description: Group study.

  • Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s).
  • Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only.

CMN 299 — Individual Study (1-12 units)

Course Description: Individual study.

  • Learning Activities: Variable.
  • Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only.

CMN 299R — Thesis/Dissertation Research & Writing (1-12 units)

Course Description: Students in the Department of Communication graduate programs conduct dissertation research and writing under the supervision of a faculty member.

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor. Graduate standing in Communication.

  • Learning Activities: Independent Study 3-36 hour(s).
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated 21 time(s) as across campus, students use 299 courses to reach the 12-unit requirement for full time student status; in saying students may repeat 21 times, we assume students complete their doctoral programs within seven years (five is the norm); the value 21 is based on the calculation 3 quarters x 7 years.
  • Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only.

CMN 396 — Teaching Assistant Training Practicum (1-4 units)

Course Description: Teaching assistant training practicum.

Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.

  • Learning Activities: Variable.
  • Repeat Credit: May be repeated.
  • Grade Mode: Pass/No Pass only.