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Undergraduate Communication Experience + Theory

Welcome to the communication program at Purdue University! We equip students with the ideas and experiences they need for success.

For more than 60 years, students have majored in communication at Purdue, and today we have about 400 students in our undergraduate program. Our 28 professors are committed to helping students learn and then to excel in their lives beyond Purdue.

All students at the Lamb School begin with the same four classes. This gives students a shared experience with their peers in the program, and it means everyone has the same foundation on which to build a customized plan of study. After completing these first four classes, students choose one of the eight concentrations listed below. Each concentration allows students to choose five classes from among all the classes offered in that concentration.

  • Public Relations and Strategic Communication (our most popular concentration)
  • Media and Mass Communication
  • Business Communication
  • Communication Science and Technology
  • Health Communication
  • Interpersonal Communication
  • Political and Civic Communication
  • General Communication

And if you just can’t decide, it’s possible to complete two concentrations! The normal major, including the foundational classes, classes from other required categories, and classes from the concentration, totals 43 credit hours. If you add a second concentration, the total is 55 credit hours.

From beginning to end, students have the opportunity to learn by doing in addition to gaining a greater understanding of communication theories and practices. First-semester freshmen can participate in the Welcome to Communication Learning Community. Boiler Communication is a student-run PR agency in which students at all levels can participate for multiple semesters. Several classes at the 300 and 400 level involve projects with actual clients.

A Lamb School degree offers lots of options as well:

Degree in Three: it’s possible to save money by completing the same degree as your peers in just 3 years! And the Lamb School will help you even further with $2,000 summer scholarships for Degree in 3 students.

Study Abroad: summer study abroad options have included London, England (with an internship included); Sydney, Australia (with an internship included); Siena, Italy; Heidelberg, Germany; and Barcelona, Spain. And there are semester exchange programs with other communication programs in Denmark, Singapore, and Australia. These programs allow you to continue making progress toward your major through excellent English-speaking communication programs around the world.

Alumni network: some of the thousands of Lamb School alumni regularly mentor current students, speak in classes, and help students after graduation.

Scholarships for continuing students: each spring, the Lamb School awards more than $20,000 to current Lamb School students.

Accelerated programs for graduate degrees: combined bachelor’s/master’s programs completed in 5 years or less (total!) are available in Public Health and Human Resources Management.

In addition to exploring our website or following us on social media to learn more, we have a podcast that allows you to explore these in more depth:

Podcast logo for onward. upward. podcast.

Check out the podcast hosted by communication advisor Josh Dexter-Wiens.

Spotify // iTunes // Web listening // Other podcasting tools: Keyword search of “Onward Purdue”

We want you to find the best program that fits your hopes and interests! And we believe that place might be the Lamb School at Purdue. Arrange a campus visit or contact me with questions.

Josh Boyd

All the best,

Josh Boyd, Ph.D.

Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies

765.494.3333/email (boyd@purdue.edu)