HELP 2013-2014 Undergraduate Catalog [Not Current Academic Year. Consult with Your Academic Advisor for Your Catalog Year] Jack J. Valenti School of Communication Print this Page Facebook this Page (opens a new window) Tweet this Page (opens a new window)

Who’s Who in the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication

Director:
Beth M. Olson

Professors:
William Douglas, William Hawes, Garth S. Jowett, David McHam (Instructional)

Associate Professors:
Martha J. Haun, Jaesub Lee, Lan Ni, Beth M. Olson, Frederick A. Schiff

Assistant Professors:
Laura Ashley (Instructional), Deborah Bridges (Instructional), Suzanne Buck (Instructional), Lindita Camaj, Hoojoon Choi, Craig Crowe (Instructional), Darryl Ewing (Instructional), Julie Fix (Instructional), Catherine Burch Graham (Instructional), Keith Houk (Instructional), Larry Kelley (Instructional), Temple Northup, Randy Polk (Instructional), Arthur Santana, Jennifer Vardeman-Winter, Zhiwen Xiao, Jill Yamasaki

Degrees and Majors

The Jack J. Valenti School of Communication strives to produce graduates who are broadly educated, ethical, technologically proficient, literate in the media of communication and able to assume leadership roles in the information age.

By stressing the study and the practice of communication in an urban environment, the school prepares students for lifetime careers in which they will shape, analyze, respond to, and work in the fields of communication. Students will acquire verbal, literate, numerate, visual, and social communication competencies through a combination of academic and professional experiences in an area of concentration selected by each student.

Professional internships are a key element in the broad education students may receive through the school. Students may qualify in their junior and senior years by meeting grade point requirements and completing relevant course work.

The Jack J. Valenti School of Communication offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication with concentrations in advertising, corporate communication, health communication, integrated communication, interpersonal communication, journalism, media production, media studies, and public relations.

The Jack J. Valenti School of Communication also offers the Master of Arts degree in communication with emphases in public relations, health communication, mass communication studies and speech communication.

For more information about admission to the graduate programs, requirements for the degrees and course listings, consult the school’s Director of Graduate Studies and refer to the Graduate and Professional Studies catalog.

General Requirements for the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication

Students in good academic standing may declare communication as their major and select a concentration at any time. Students interested in the school but uncertain about a concentration may declare themselves Communication Unspecified (COMM-UN) up to completion of 30 hours. Then they must choose a concentration.

To declare a major in the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication a student must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.25 or higher on minimum of 12 semester hours at UH.

• A transfer student or UH non-communication student with 15-60 semester hours of college credit who wants to declare communication as their major must have a 2.25 or higher cumulative grade point average, including any attempted transfer courses.
• Applicants who have completed more than 60 semester hours of college credit need a 2.25 or higher cumulative grade point average on the last 60 hours.
• Transfer students who have earned fewer than 15 semester hours of college credit must meet freshman admission requirements.

All undergraduate majors in the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication must complete, with a GPA of at least 2.00, 12 semester hours as follows:

1. COMM 1301 , COMM 1302 , COMM 2300 , and 4303 .
2. To take Jack J. Valenti School of Communication courses at the 3000- and 4000-level, students must complete the three lower level courses required of all Communication majors, COMM 1301 , COMM 1302 , COMM 2300 . Majors should complete them in their first 60 hours; transfer students should do so in their first two semesters at the university.

Students who enroll (register) for advanced courses without completing the nonadvanced requirements may be dropped by the instructor or the school. Neither the school nor the instructor will be responsible for tuition refunds.

3. To graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in communication, students must achieve:
   1. A 2.00 cumulative GPA in all courses that count toward the major with at least a C in each.
   2. No COMM course for major (or minor) may be retaken more than twice.

Minor in Jack J. Valenti School of Communication Concentrations

Students may minor in any of the school’s concentrations. For each concentration minor, students must complete COMM 1301  and COMM 1302 , plus 12 COMM hours in the concentration, of which nine must be advanced and nine must be in residence. Students must have a 2.00 GPA for all courses attempted in the minor at the University of Houston, with at least a C in each course.

List of Concentrations for the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication

• Advertising 
• Corporate Communication 
• Health Communication 
• Integrated Communication 
• Interpersonal Communication 
• Journalism 
• Media Production 
• Media Studies 
• Public Relations 

Programs

• Communication, B.A.

• Advertising Minor
• Communication Minor
• Film Studies Minor
• Health Communication Minor
• Public Relations Minor

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