Unlike many majors at UCSB, applicants to UCSB’s Communication major are not automatically accepted as “full” Communication majors. Rather, prospective Communication students must complete a series of four lower-division “pre-Communication” courses and achieve at least a 3.0 GPA in these courses in order to be granted full Communication major status, take upper-division Communication courses, and graduate with a Communication degree.
I remember the sinking feeling in my stomach when I learned this information. After working tirelessly in high school to get accepted into my dream school, I wasn’t even guaranteed admission into my desired major. As frustrating and stressful as it sounds, however, succeeding in your pre-major Communication courses is perfectly doable. Once you’re armed with some basic knowledge about what the courses entail and how to fully embrace your potential in each one, you’re set to pass the 3.0 GPA hurdle and coast into your upper-division Communication classes.
Here is a guide to all four pre-major Communication courses at UCSB and how to thrive in each one.
COMM 1: Introduction to Communication
The title of the class pretty much sums up what the course material covers — the basics of communication theory, ranging from nonverbal communication to group dynamics to advertising strategies. Many Pre-Communication students choose to take this course before any other prerequisite Communication classes to see if they enjoy the subject matter and wish to pursue admission into the major.
Since the course material is so broad, it can be easy to fall into the trap of believing that lecture content and assigned readings are all common sense. While many Communication concepts are indeed intuitive, students can’t rely on “winging it” when it comes to taking exams and writing papers. In fact, students are expected to dive into details and grapple with course concepts beyond the surface-level. To do this, I would often ground more abstract concepts in concrete examples and would relate everyday situations to things my professor had discussed during lecture.
In addition, it is a good idea to stay in close contact with your TA. Communication courses involve a lot of writing, and your TA is a great resource for helping you understand what kind of things the Comm department likes to see in your papers. They can offer valuable information such as how to concisely write theses, integrate relevant concepts, and more. If you maintain a good relationship with your TA, you can even reach out to them in later quarters to ask for assistance in other classes.
Comm 87: statistical analysis for Communication
This was undoubtedly the class I feared the most as a freshman. As a more language-oriented student, I was anxious at the thought of having to complete a mathematics-based course. I had never studied statistics in high school and didn’t exactly intend to use statistics in my daily life after finishing the class.
Luckily, Comm 87 gears its course concepts towards more linguistically-oriented Communication students. While students are required to learn and understand some simple statistical terminology, the actual mathematical calculations don’t matter nearly as much as your understanding of statistical concepts. Don’t focus on what the numbers are more than what they represent in the context of a given scenario.
That being said, be sure that you are able to fully understand and articulate these concepts. If you’re having trouble with a particular chapter, don’t “brush it under the rug” in hopes that it won’t appear on exams or won’t be relevant later in the course. This course builds on knowledge and concepts previously discussed in the quarter, so create a good foundation early on and ask questions when you find something difficult.
Comm 88: communication research methods
As a research institution, UCSB requires that almost all majors take a course about proper research methods and analysis. Personally, I wasn’t particularly eager to take what I considered such a dry and scientific class. Many others share my sentiment; Comm 88 is widely considered the most boring and difficult Pre-Communication course here at UCSB.
However, there are always ways to make the course material more relevant and interesting. In my Comm 88 class, students gained some hands-on experience by working in groups to design their own simple experiments and write analyses on what they found. In fact, this experiment and paper were central components to the class. My best advice is to be enthusiastic about the opportunity to learn more about theory and interact with your peers. It’s important to remain engaged in your group project, not only to be a good group member but also to develop a solid understanding of your group’s experiment and results. Embrace the social element of this class and keep good contact with your group members so you’ll have a support system for projects, papers, and exams.
Similar to Comm 1, the concepts covered in Comm 88 can seem broad and abstract. Don’t assume that you can easily pass exams by relying on common sense and intuition; rather, wrestle with course concepts and make heavy use of examples to ensure you develop a deep understanding of the material. Doing so will also provide you with a greater appreciation for what you learn.
comm 89: theories of communication
The title of this course is self-explanatory — it discusses the history, meaning, and relevance of the most salient theories in the communication discipline. Students in my Comm 89 course were required to write a final paper in which we applied a communication theory to a social problem we had identified.
I found that in this course, students got out of it what they put into it. If you connect your personal experiences to the theories and choose to write about a problem about which you truly care, you will take away a lot from this class. Similar to Comm 1, it’s also important to maintain close contact with your TA as you write your paper and progress through the course content. Your TA can impart some useful writing knowledge and be a great conversational partner for discussing interesting communication-related topics.
final thoughts
As daunting and competitive as the Communication major requirements may seem, keep a positive attitude and know that success is far from impossible to achieve. The Communication department also offers advising appointments and their own tips for ensuring admission into the full Communication major. For FAQs and general advice about fulfilling your Communication pre-major requirements, check here. Happy studying!