Undergraduate Program

Some students enter CSUN, either as first-time freshmen or transfer students, with Communication Studies as their declared major. The majority of our students, however, change their major to Communication Studies after entering CSUN, and therefore have to complete the following administrative process.

Change of major requests are submitted through your Portal. For an overview of this process, see the tutorial at: Change Major/Minor Tutorial

Developing a semester class schedule can be a challenge in our department. Right now there is extensive demand for Communication Studies courses and this often results in classes filling up quickly. Still, with a little perseverance and careful planning, almost all of our majors make good progress toward their degree each semester. Here are some general guidelines that will help you build a better semester class schedule.

Take required courses as soon as they are available to you. The B.A. program in Communication Studies consists of three different sets of requirements: core requirements, divisional requirements, and electives. These different requirements reflect different ranges of choices available to students. Students must take all core courses; students are given limited choices among a small set of divisional courses; and students are given greater choices among a relatively large set of elective classes. As you are building your class schedule, you’ll want to take required courses as soon as you can get them. If you begin your major by completing all your electives courses, you will find it much more difficult to build a class schedule in later semesters, as you will have far fewer courses to choose from.

Another good reason to take required courses as soon as they are available to you concerns the way in which the department schedules classes. In an effort to accommodate as many different student schedules as possible, the department rotates all course offerings. One semester a course may be on a MWF schedule; the next time it is offered, the course will be on a T TH schedule; and the time after that, the course will be scheduled in the evening. Thus, if you can only take courses in the evening or on MWF, for example, it may be several semesters before a course is available to you again.

Consider off-hour sections. Like any other service offering, demand for courses varies depending on when the courses are scheduled. The peak demand hours for courses in our major are: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on MWF; 9:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on T TH; and 7:00 p.m. to 9:45 in the evening. If you can take classes at other times—earlier in the morning or in mid-to-late afternoon—you will find these classes easier to get, either through TTR or through “crashing” the course. Other ways to avoid peak-hour demands include taking classes on Saturdays, on-line, or during winter and summer sessions.

Remember that all upper-division Communication Studies courses count as electives. As you look over the advisement sheet, you will note that many Communication Studies courses are listed but that some others are not. Some students assume that only courses listed on the option sheet will count toward their major, but this assumption is incorrect. Any upper-division Communication Studies course will count in the electives section. This includes not only traditional lecture-discussion courses, but also internships, service learning courses, and directed activities. Considering these courses will give you more choices in building your class schedule.

Investigate ways of improving your TTR date. Students in many university service programs receive priority registration in recognition of their contributions to the campus community. These include: University Ambassadors, members of the U.S.U. Board, Health Center student volunteers, registration workers, and members of the CSUN forensics team, among others. Such programs not only serve the campus and provide valuable leadership opportunities, they may also improve your ability to get classes through TTR.

Apply for graduation on time. Another way to improve your TTR date, at least in your last semester, is to make sure that you file your Undergraduate Graduation Application on time. The deadline for filing this form is roughly thirteen months prior to your anticipated graduation date. The specific deadline is listed each semester in the schedule of classes. If you file your Undergraduate Graduation Application before the deadline, you are assured that TTR will recognize your status as a graduating senior and will give you priority over students of other class standings.

Students with fewer than 60 units, student-athletes, disqualified students, and students receiving certain scholarships are required to seek advising. All other students are strongly encouraged to meet with an advisor every semester to ensure they are making good progress toward the degree. 

To make an advising appointment with the Department’s Undergraduate Advising Coordinator check out the Advisement Schedule, or email an Advisor please contact them at Comms Studies Advisement. Additionally, all full-time faculty members can review Degree Progress Reports and advise students on an ad hoc or continuing basis. Check out the Faculty here. Students should consult these faculty members during their posted office hours.

To learn how to access the DPR, check this DPR tutorial.

Students who have 90 units completed or in-progress should apply to graduate. For details about how to submit your application, see Graduating Bachelor's Degree.