Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Idaho teach students the fundamentals of communicating with others orally and via the written word.
Despite its small size, Idaho offers a number of opportunities for students who majored in this field. You can use your degree to work in public relations and help clients advertise their products and services, but you may want to work in the business field. Some graduates earn a higher degree later and work as professors or start their own companies. A bachelor’s degree and strong communications skills will help you reach any of the career goals that you have.
Boise State University
College of Arts and Sciences
Boise State University ranks as one of the top public colleges in the state in terms of both size and academics. It is also one of the state’s oldest colleges and has a high acceptance rate. As long as you have a high school diploma and took classes designed to prepare you for college while in high school, you have a good chance at becoming a future Boise State student. BSU has its own Communication Career Center that provides communications students with help finding a job. Counselors working in the center can help you write your resume and prepare for job interviews.
Bachelor of Arts in Communications
One of the top Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Idaho is the BSU program because it’s one of the only ones in the state that lets students pick an emphasis area. You can choose an emphasis in relational and organizational communication that focuses more on interacting with small groups of people rather than individuals. A second emphasis is available in communication, culture and advocacy, which teaches how to help others and push for their needs. Students will need to take and pass at least 120 credits of classes that include nonverbal communication, history of persuasion and communication in the small group.
Accreditation
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
Contact
1910 University Dr.
Boise, ID 83725
(208) 426-1000
Brigham Young University-Idaho
Department of Communication
Brigham Young University has a strong reputation as being one of the top religious institutions of higher learning in the world today. The majority of students attending the main campus in Utah are Mormon. Though students of other denominations can attend its campus in Idaho, all students must sign a contract before enrolling that states they will follow the rules of the school, which the university bases on the Mormon faith. Students cannot smoke tobacco or any other substance, use drugs, drink alcohol and other types of drinks or engage in sexual relations with others. This helps students focus more on their courses.
BS in Communication
BYU Idaho offers a standard communications program that includes a number of unique learning opportunities for its students. This is one of the only Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Idaho that includes so many additional learning options. Students can work for the campus newspaper and enhance their writing skills with articles they write for the paper, sign up to work for the campus radio station that broadcasts to nearby cities or work for the campus’s inspirational radio station. BYU Idaho also offers an Integrated Communication Experience (ICE) that requires students take part in a retreat off campus.
Accreditation
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
Contact
525 S Center St.
Rexburg, ID 83460
(208) 496-1411
ask@byui.edu
Idaho State University
College of Arts and Letters
Idaho State University is a public college of higher education that also goes by ISU and Idaho State. As one of the oldest universities in Idaho, it has a strong reputation for providing students with all the skills that employers look for in college graduates and with helping students find their first jobs out of school. Students enrolled in one of its two Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Idaho can join the communications club and get advice and help from other students. They can also work for local companies and do communications internships for credits that count towards graduation.
Communication, Media and Persuasion
One of the programs that Idaho State offers is in Communication, Media and Persuasion. Designed for those who want to work in one of the new and emerging media forms, the program includes courses on photo, graphic and video editing, introduction to graphic design, history and appreciation of photography and image management. One of the more unique courses that the university offers is a course on intercollegiate debate. Students in this course will work together to prepare for debates at the regional and state levels. Those students can make it all the way to the national debate tournament too.
Communication Sciences and Disorders
ISU now offers degrees in Communication Sciences and Disorders that focuses on the specific disorders and conditions that change the way people communicate with each other. The department offers five different degrees that include some at the associate’s level. You can get a degree in sign language interpreting at the bachelor’s or associate’s level. The university also offers a Communication Sciences and Disorders BS degree with an emphasis in audiology and speech and language pathology. This program looks at how the experiences that a person has can impact the way he or she speaks and some of the treatments designed to help patients with communications disorders.
Accreditation
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
Contact
921 South 8th Ave.
Pocatello, ID 83209
(208) 282-0211
Communication, Media and Persuasion
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Lewis-Clark State College
Humanities Division
Lewis-Clark State College opened in the 1890s as a state normal school that offered programs to teach students how to work as educators. Idaho as well as other states and territories in the west had a high need for trained teachers at the time. It became a College of Education and then a normal school again before becoming LCSC in 1971. It is now a state regional college that offers some full programs as well as programs designed for students who want to transfer to or from another college and earn a college degree.
Communication Arts BA/BS
The LCSC has one of the only Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Idaho that requires students complete three additional things before graduating. In addition to taking major courses and electives, students must also pass an exit exam, submit a final portfolio of the work they did in the program and present a senior research project to a panel of professors. Required courses include persuasion, professional communication, ethical issues in communication and communication theory. You can take a course on media relations or television production. LCSC also requires that communications students take 12 credits in a public advocacy, digital visual arts or professional communication emphasis area.
Accreditation
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
Contact
500 8th Ave.
Lewiston, ID 83501
(208) 792-5272
Northwest Nazarene University
Northwest Nazarene University, also known as NNU, is one of the only universities in Idaho that offers degrees to students of all types. NNU has a program that allows high school students to take college classes for a reduced price, but it also has both bachelor’s and master’s programs for high school graduates. Established in 1913, NNU has an enrollment that includes more than 6,000 continuing education students, which refers to nontraditional students going back to school. Though the university does have a Christian background, it does not have as many rules for its students as other similar institutions do.
Communications Degree
NNU offers one of the best Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Idaho, which includes two emphasis areas. You can choose between an emphasis in public relations or communication sciences. The communication sciences emphasis focuses more on the science and reasons why people communicate in the ways they do. You’ll take more classes on science, research methods and communications theories. The NNU emphasis in public relations can prepare you for working in marketing and advertising fields. Depending on the emphasis that you choose, you may take courses like communication research and theory, media systems and literacy, cinema production and small group communication.
Accreditation
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
Contact
623 S University Blvd.
Nampa, ID 83686
(208) 467-8011
Communications degree programs go over all the ways that people communicate with each other, including the way they talk when in the same room and when a large distance apart. You’ll gain valuable and necessary skills that will help you with your career in one of the Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Idaho.
See also: Top 20 Best Online Communications Degree Programs