Undergraduate Bulletin - Loyola Marymount University

306 / COMMUNICATION STUDIES
CMST 140
Business and Professional Communication
3 Semester Hours
A study of the principles and methods involved in improving
oral communication in business and the professions.
Emphasis on interviewing, conference speaking, selling and
persuading, problem-solving discussions, and interpersonal
relations.
CMST 160
Small Group Processes
3 Semester Hours
Introduction to small group processes and theory; practice
in small group discussion. Special emphasis on problem
solving processes.
CMST 170
Interpersonal and Small Group Communication
3 Semester Hours
This course is designed to introduce the students to
interpersonal and small group communication theories,
processes, and skills. The course challenges students to
examine their own communication behaviors and focus on
their strengths and weaknesses as a way to develop and
apply new communication skills and proficiencies. The
course includes a variety of oral and written presentations
at both the individual and group levels.
CMST 201
Rhetorical Theory
3 Semester Hours
This course provides a chronological survey of major
rhetorical themes and theories drawn from Plato, Aristotle,
Cicero, Quintilian, St. Augustine, Kenneth Burke, Stephen
Toulmin, critical theorists, feminist rhetoric, and non-
Western approaches to rhetoric.
Prerequisite: CMST 101 with a grade of C (2.0) or better.
CMST 202
Organizational Communication
3 Semester Hours
A study of the role of the individual communicator in an
organization and the pattern of communication observed in
different organizational structures.
Prerequisite: CMST 101 with a grade of C (2.0) or better.
CMST 203
Foundations of Communication Theory
3 Semester Hours
This course introduces students to the field of
communication studies and its major areas of inquiry. It
begins with an overview of the history of the discipline,
tracing its humanistic roots, social scientific orientations,
and approaches which combine these two traditions. The
course then examines communication studies from the
standpoint of four perspectives that can be used to organize
major movements in the field: mechanistic, psychosymbolic,
pragmatic, and critical. These perspectives are
used to organize the variety of communication theories
examined in the course.
CMST 204
Introduction to Research in Communication Studies
3 Semester Hours
This course introduces students to scholarship conducted in
communication studies. It overviews the research process,
including generating research questions, constructing
bibliographies, gathering and assessing information,
and developing scholarly arguments. Students will learn
research techniques, including location and retrieval of
information sources (i.e., newspapers, journals, books,
electronic databases, and Internet sources). They will
apply critical thinking skills to the evaluation of information
sources and data/arguments in qualitative and quantitative
research. Students will also be introduced to basic aspects
of writing for the discipline, as well as expectations for
scholarly ethics and proper citation of courses.
Prerequisite: CMST 203 with a grade of C (2.0) or better, or
permission of instructor.
CMST 206
Critical Thinking and Communication
3 Semester Hours
A study of the techniques of critical thinking as applied to
communication and rhetoric.
CMST 298
Special Studies
1-3 Semester Hours
CMST 299
Independent Studies
1-3 Semester Hours