How to Apply & FAQs

To declare the Communication major, you need to take one of the prerequisite courses (TCOM 201: Media and Society or TCOM 230: Media and Global Citizenship) and pass with a minimum grade of 2.5. All students, regardless of track, must take one of the Communication Foundation courses – TCOM 444: Gender, Ethnicity, and Class in Media or TCOM 453: Critical Approaches to Mass Communication).  

Students will select either the Professional Track or Research Track. Descriptions of each track can be found on the Communications page. Any of your Communication professors would be happy to answer questions about the major, but for detailed guidance and help planning courses associated with your chosen track you should contact Communication advisor Ricky Chon (rchon11@uw.edu.)

Ricky Chon is the academic advisor for the Communication major, and he can be reached at rchon11@uw.edu. Even if you haven’t declared the major but are considering it, or looking for guidance through the declaration process, Ricky is best positioned to help you. He has more expertise on major-specific requirements than the first year/pre-major advisors at UAA and will be able to set up a meeting with you more quickly.

Before declaring, you must have taken TCOM 201: Media and Society or TCOM 230: Media and Global Citizenship and passed with a minimum grade of 2.5. You can contact the Communications advisor, Ricky Chon (rchon11@uw.edu) for help with the declaration process and choosing a track. Ricky has more specialized expertise with the Communication major than the University Academic Advising team, so we strongly recommend getting in touch with him as early as possible.

The communication major is designed to set you up for success whether you are looking to find a media-related job, continue your education in various fields, or move into areas outside of media and communication. Our communication faculty bring their past professional media backgrounds and scholarly research interests into the classroom to give you all the skills you will need to further your career goals. 

For those interested in a career in communication, our major helps prepare you for a multitude of positions including: 

• Journalist/Reporter 
• Copywriter 
• Editor/Managing Editor 
• News Anchor 
• Producer/Executive Producer 
• Video Production 
• Documentary Film Making 
• Public Relations Specialist 
• Freelance Writing  
• Speech Writer 
• Brand Strategist 
• On-line Communication Manager 
• Public Information Officer 
• Social Media Specialist 
• Social Media Manager 
• Web Producer 
• Technical Writer 
• Web Content Editor/Writer 

For those of you interested in pursuing additional education after your bachelor’s degree, the communication major at UWT offers you a unique education where we value critical perspectives and focus many of our courses on questions of power, equity, and social justice. The faculty members within the major each bring a different scholarly expertise ranging from global media to communication law and policy to television and film studies.

communication/communication-related programs document that Alex made will be linked HERE

For those of you wanting to branch into a totally different career path, the courses within the communication major can enable you to be competitive and successful across a range of careers including: 

• Event Planner 
• Human Resources Manager 
• Fundraiser 
• Lobbyist 
• Public Policy Analyst 
• Brand Strategist 
• Community Management Specialist 
• Internal Communication Manager 
• Corporate Trainer 

Want to know more about what careers might specifically be of interest to you? Just reach out to one or more of your communication faculty members and we will be happy to talk with you about your options and help you determine what paths might be best for you. 

While we don’t require an internship, the communication faculty highly recommend that you do one or more internships during your time with us. Perspective employers privilege graduates who have done internships because it shows that you have taken initiative to do more than just take classes and because internships introduce you to and prepare you for working in a real-world environment.

Even if you understand the importance of doing an internship, starting the process of finding one can feel overwhelming, but the communication faculty are here to help you. Just follow these simple steps:

1. Schedule an appointment with one of the following communication faculty members: David Coon, Sonia De La Cruz, Chris Demaske, Bill Kunz, Randy Nichols or Huatong Sun. Schedule this appointment as soon as possible. Don’t wait until you’re a senior about ready to graduate. Make an appointment during your first or second quarter at UWT so that you can think more strategically about which classes you want to take to prepare you for your career and to give you ample time to research and secure the best internship(s) possible.
2. Research your internship opportunities focusing on what areas in the field of media and communication are of most interest to you and what internship will best fit your specific needs and be a workable balance with your other life obligations. 
3. Check out internships posted through campus by going to the UWT Handshake site: https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/career/handshake  or the UW Seattle Handshake site: https://careers.uw.edu/resources/handshake/. 
4. Apply for the internships. Make sure to follow the directions on how to apply. You will in most circumstances need a resume. You can work with career services to help you develop a solid resume. You can find more information to help with your resume at https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/career/resume-cover-letter 
5. Work with a communication faculty to complete your internship paperwork and get registered for your internship credits.

Over the course of the past 25 years that the communication major has existed at UWT, we have had hundreds of students complete internships with many of them obtaining employment as a direct result of the internship. Some of the specific internships that students have had here include: 

• Metro Parks (social media content creator) 
• South Sound Magazine 
• Tacoma Public Utilities 
• Tacoma School District 
• JayRay Ads and PR 
• King 5 
• Fox Sports News 
• Grit City Magazine 
• National Geographic 
• Tacoma Weekly 
• Red Bull Pacific Northwest Headquarters (marketing) 
• The Broadway Center 
• Mi Centro (communication assistant) 
• UWT Office of Advancement (writer) 

The best news about the two tracks: either one will set you up to be successful in graduate school or in the industry. The course requirements are different, though, so if you want support in determining which track is best for you, reach out to your academic advisor or to any of your communication faculty members.

The research track is intended primarily for those interested in preparing for graduate school, with a focus on classes that teach you how to conduct critical research and improve your writing skills. 

The professional track, which is primarily intended to prepare you for a media-related career, requires a mixture of research-based and skills-based course work. You should choose your track based on your current career or academic goals.  

The main differences between these two tracks are the course requirements for each. 

The process for finding a job in the field of communication will be different for everyone depending on the field you want to enter and your specific needs and interests. For example: Are you place-bound? Do you need a flexible time schedule? Do you want to work remotely? Do you want to work in the private sector or the public sector?  
In all cases, you’ll want to start early, work with your communication faculty members and the UWT career center, and visit hiring sites online.

A few good online sites include:

• Media Job Board: For careers in media and broadcasting, ‎PR and advertising, journalism, and sales 
• JournalismJobs.com: Journalism and media job listings for online media, newspapers, TV, radio, magazines, nonprofits, and academia.
• Indeed.com: A worldwide employment website that includes job listings for positions in every area of communication and media.
• Ziprecruiter.com: an American employment marketplace for job seekers and employers that is used heavily by communication professionals. 

Tips for making you more competitive in the market 

• Whenever possible, choose your classes to optimize your career interests. Talk with your academic advisor and/or communication faculty members for additional guidance. Current research shows that effective written communication skills are one of the top predictors of success and advancement so consider taking one or more of the List B writing-based courses.
• Do one or two internships while you are a student and start the process of looking for them as soon as possible. 
• Take advantage of opportunities on campus to get experience with writing, video production, social media, etc.  
• Make contacts within the professional world where you think you might like to work. Don’t be shy. Reach out to people. Ask about internship opportunities or just ask if they would be willing to meet for coffee or over zoom to give you advice.  
• Write a clear and compelling cover letter and keep your resume updated. The career center at UWT can help you craft both. 
• Be persistent, be patient and, when possible, be flexible. Finding the job of your dreams might take a little time and effort and it could be that the perfect job is one you haven’t even considered yet.