Understanding how to speak with others and communicate in other ways is key to professional success, and you can learn all the communication skills that you need for future success in one of the Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Iowa. Though many people think of Iowa as a small state, it’s home to a number of different programs from some top colleges that will help you prepare for the job interviews that you go through later and for all the communicating that you’ll do with supervisors and coworkers. These programs may also let you learn more about journalism, performing arts and other subjects.
Saint Ambrose University
Programs
St. Ambrose University, also called SAU and St. Ambrose, is an Iowa university with its headquarters in Davenport. In addition to a strategic communication degree program, it also offers related degrees in radio and television and multimedia journalism. The multimedia journalism program is great for those with an interest in the constantly evolving world of journalism and those who want to learn how to write for the web. Its radio and television program is best for those who want to work in studios and production houses. Students enrolled in the communications program will have the chance to take those courses too.
Strategic Communication
Like most Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Iowa, the St. Ambrose program requires that students take some general education courses like English, math and science. You will also need to take 42 credits after declaring a major in strategic communication. Those classes include introduction to visual communication, principles of public relations, group dynamics and the methods of decision making, strategic communication campaigns and cases and research in strategic communication. Designed for those who want to work in public relations, this program features classes on advertising and promotions too. The university offers a minor in public relations also.
Accreditation
- Higher Learning Commission
Contact
St. Ambrose University
Davenport, Iowa
(563) 333-6000
Simpson College
Department of Multimedia Communication
Simpson College has its own Department of Multimedia Communication that offers three programs suitable for those looking for Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Iowa. One of those is a degree in multimedia journalism that focuses on how people write for blogs and social media sites. This program also delves into the ways in which journalism changed in the modern era. Simpson College also offers a degree in public relations that goes over advertising campaigns and similar promotions that professionals in this field use when introducing new products to the general public. It also looks at television, radio and other types of campaigns.
Sports Communication
One of the more unique programs that Simpson offers is a sports communication program, which is actually one of the only ones of its type in the state. This program focuses on how reporters report the action on the field and share information with others. In addition to all the required classes that you must take, you will also need to take 13 courses that make up the sports communication core. These classes come combine both communications and sports. You’ll take courses that include principles of public relations, video production, sports and fitness marketing and beginning news and reporting.
Accreditation
Higher Learning Commission
Contact
701 North C St.
Indianola, IA 50125
(515) 961-625
University of Dubuque
Communication
The University of Dubuque is a public university in the Iowa city of the same name. Though this university offers a communications degree program that looks traditional at first glance, this program actually has an emphasis in organizational and public relations. It teaches you how to communicate with others in a professional manner when working for different organizations and how you can use the thoughts and feelings that you have as part of an advertising campaign. Though some UD graduates go right to work in marketing or for the government, alumni also went on to study psychology and communications in grad school.
BA: Communication
Most of the Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Iowa require that you take general education courses to get a solid background before continuing your studies, and the UD communications program is no exception. This program features a core of six classes that include communication studies and careers, speech communication, managing digital identities, introduction to mass media and intercultural communication. You will also need to take an advanced course or do an internship, and all students must take a senior seminar too. Electives within this program include global social protest, language and social identity, advanced public relations and contemporary public address.
Accreditation
Higher Learning Commission
Contact
2000 University Avenue
Dubuque, IA 52001
(800) 722-5583
University of Iowa
Academics
One of the oldest colleges in Iowa is the University of Iowa, which operates out of Iowa City, which is one of the state’s largest cities. It spent a number of years working on its reputation, which helped it become one of the top schools in Iowa as well as one of the top colleges in the Midwest. The communication program it offers has some honors courses available to students who demonstrate a strong understanding of course materials and those who earn higher grades in their classes. Students in this program must maintain a 2.5 GPA to graduate from the university.
Communication Studies
Though the University of Iowa requires that communications students take 40 credits from within this field, it divides those courses into categories like intermediate classes and foundation courses. Foundation courses are worth 16 credits and include courses on art and society. You have the freedom to pick from a group of courses like television criticism, global media studies, digital media and religion and nonverbal communication when picking your intermediate courses. This is one of the Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Iowa with an internship option too. You’ll also need to take a capstone course based around a specific communications subject.
Accreditation
Higher Learning Commission
Contact
108 Calvin Hall
Iowa City, IA 52242
(319) 335-3847
admissions@uiowa.edu
University of Northern Iowa
College of Humanities, Arts and Sciences
University of Northern Iowa, also called UNI, is a public university in Cedar Falls. Princeton Review included the university on its list of the best colleges in the United States and named it one of the best options in the Midwest. Despite being a large school with more than 10,000 enrolled students, it makes attempts to keep class sizes down. The majority of its classes have 50 or fewer students in them, and professors working in each department teach their own classes instead of letting assistants do it. UNI is also home to three of the top Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Iowa.
Communication, B.A.
One of the programs that UNI offers is a standard communication program that allows students to earn a Bachelor of Arts. Students take between 14 and 16 credit hours of work each semester and graduate within four years, which is eight semesters of full-time work. Your courses will include communication theories, communication research methods and mass communication and society. The university offers digital media classes like video editing, digital journalism and editing and design too. You’ll also need to take a seminar in a subject like communication, organizational communication, public relations, performance studies or communication education.
Communication-Theatre-Teaching, B.A.
This is one of the more unique programs available through UNI. Though it includes a number of communication courses, it also prepares for teaching your future students the fundamentals of the performing arts and how to perform in front of others. As a major in this program, you’ll also have the chance to perform on stage yourself because you’ll work with the theater department. It includes some teaching and education courses as well. Once you graduate, you will have the option of getting your teaching license in Iowa. You’ll need to pass a background check based off your fingerprints to get your license.
Communication: Public Relations, B.A.
The University of Northern Iowa also offers BA program for those with an interest in public relations and advertising. This program looks specifically at how certain types of communications can help customers buy certain products or hire certain companies. You’ll learn about traditional advertising methods used on the radio and television as well as modern campaigns that use social media. The courses that you take include some marketing courses. You will take classes that include news writing for media, public relations writing, business and professional oral communication, public relations campaign methods and a course on studies and cases in public relations.
Accreditation
- Higher Learning Commission
Contact
1227 W 27th St.
Cedar Falls, IA 50614
(319) 273-2311
Upper Iowa University
Undergraduate
Upper Iowa University is one of the smallest schools in the entire state and has an enrollment of less than 1,000 traditional students. Those are the students who actually take classes on its campus, which is in a rural and isolated area. More than 5,000 students enroll in the distance learning and nontraditional programs that it offers though. These classes started as programs that allowed students to complete work through the mail and later evolved to include online classes. Also called UIU, the university now has three study centers overseas and offers an independent study program for all of its students.
Communication Studies Major
Though you might not consider UIU when looking at Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Iowa, you should because this program is available in different formats. You can enroll in the online program, take classes on one of its international study campuses or enroll in a traditional program, which requires that you take classes on its Fayette campus. You can major in the general communication studies program, but you can also pick an emphasis in mass media or sports communication. This program includes classes like rhetoric and public culture, business and professional communication, writing for media and digital photography and editing.
Accreditation
- Higher Learning Commission
Contact
605 Washington St.
P.O. Box 1857
Fayette, IA 52142
(800) 553-4150
Waldorf University
Degree Programs
Waldorf University understands that students have different interests and goals, which is why the university offers three different Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Iowa. These programs feature different designs suitable for those who want to work in the media or entertainment industry as well as those who want to work in business. You’ll also develop skills that will help you if you decide to go on to graduate school. Many of the students in this program choose to work for the campus radio station, television station or one of its publications, which let them put their communication skills to work.
Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts
One option for Waldorf students is this communication arts program, which focuses more on producing and writing. The university actually requires that students gain some experience working for one of the campus stations. Students in this program are the ones who actually write, film and produce the shows that others watch. You’ll need to pick a track and take 10 or more credits from that track. Those tracks include digital media, journalism, graphic design and public relation. You also need to take some required classes like web design, mass media law and visual theory in addition to a senior capstone and practicum.
Bachelor of Arts in Communications
The university offers a more traditional communications program that requires students take 120 credits to graduate, which will include some mandatory communications classes as well as electives. You’ll take classes like graphic core, digital core, mass communication and society, visual theory and media literacy. The university requires that students in this program do a capstone too. You’ll also take professional courses that include public relation skills, web design and television and film production. Though Waldorf also offers this program as a Bachelor of Science program, that option requires that students do some fieldwork like a practicum or internship.
Bachelor of Applied Science in Communications
This BAS program requires that you take 30 credits of core courses and 30 credits of communications classes in addition to all other required courses. You’ll have the option of taking professional electives that apply to your future career such as organizational theory and leadership, crisis management, human resource management, creative thinking and problem solving and principles of marketing. Communications courses like attitudes and persuasion are other electives that you can take. Required courses in the communications core include introduction to public relations, mass media law, mass communication and society, news gathering and reporting and a senior capstone class.
Accreditation
- Higher Learning Commission
Contact
106 South 6th St.
Forest City, IA 50436
(800) 292-1903
Wartburg College
Programs
Wartburg College is one of the only religiously affiliated colleges in Iowa and has its affiliation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Founded in 1852, it is a private college that encourages students from different denominations and those with other religious beliefs to apply. Though the campus went through a number of changes over the years and even changed locations, it now has a large campus in Waverly. The college has its own radio station that uses the call sign KWAR. Many of its communications majors actually work for the radio station as on-air entertainment or as a production assistant.
Communication Studies, B.A.
Getting your communication studies degree from Wartburg College, which is a Bachelor of Arts, will require that you take general education classes and complete a communications core. This core consists of five classes that include interpersonal communications, introduction to communications, introduction to theatre and oral interpretation of literature. You’ll also need to do an internship, which is part of this core, and take a capstone course on journalism and communications. A speech communication concentration is available and will require that you do an independent study project and take six classes like persuasion, group and organizational behavior and communication perspectives on gender and sexuality.
Journalism and Communication, B.A.
One of the top Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Iowa for students with an interest in journalism is this Wartburg College program. Though you only need to take seven core classes in addition to your general ed courses, the college requires that you also pick a concentration in organizational and public relations, multimedia journalism or digital cinema and production. You will need to take seven classes from within that concentration. The required classes in this program cover a range of topics, including graphic and web design, writing for new forms and types of media, producing and editing video content and communicating with professionals.
Accreditation
- Higher Learning Commission
Contact
100 Wartburg Blvd.
Waverly, IA 50677
(800) 772-2085
William Penn University
Humanities
William Penn University is a small college with a population of around 1,500 students. Founded by the Religious Society of Friends in 1873, it still has an affiliation with the Quakers. Though many of its students come from the same religion, students from other denominations can enroll. It served as Penn College and William Penn College before becoming William Penn University, but some call it WPU or William Penn. A small section of the campus, which consists of around 10 buildings and sites, is on the National Register of Historic Places and called a significantly historic and important district.
Bachelor of Arts in Communications with Digital Communication
William Penn offers three of the top Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Iowa, and each of these programs awards you a BA in Communications but lets you pick an emphasis or a concentration. This digital communication program focuses on the production of content for the web and other sources. You can narrow down your study focus on public relations, television or journalism. The program features seven courses that make up the communications core and 13 courses that make up the digital communication study program. In addition to an internship and capstone, you can take classes on media law and TV news.
Bachelor of Arts in Communications with Fine Arts
The fine arts emphasis area is best for those who like painting and other artistic endeavors like the performing arts. Students have the chance to actually act and sing on stage in the university’s Edwin McGrew Fine Arts Center. You’ll need to take classes in the fine arts core that include theatre production, 3D design and business and technical writing. The university will ask that you take 24 credits of electives that might include elementary fine arts methods, basic production, music in the electronic medium and pastel drawing. You can also sign up for private music or art lessons.
Bachelor of Arts in Communications with English
Penn & Ink is the university’s own literary journal that students put out, and as a student in this English and communications program, you’ll spend some time working on that journal. This program requires that students take the same 10 English courses and the same six communications classes, which include design and composition, fundamentals of music, introduction to literature and computer applications for communications. English classes include both American literature and British literature before and after 1784 and 1865. You can also take a class on Shakespeare, advanced writing, theory of language, creative writing and modern world literature too.
Accreditation
- Higher Learning Commission
Contact
201 Trueblood Avenue
Oskaloosa, IA 52577
(800) 779-7366
Communicating with others is important when you take on supervisory or leadership positions at work because you need to know how to send emails, talk and use nonverbal cues with others. An easy way to develop those skills is through the classes available in the top Bachelor’s in Communications programs in Iowa.