The Communication Studies Department encourages in its faculty and its students an education that fosters the development of the whole person, while promoting a commitment to social justice and cultural diversity. Our curriculum and faculty confront the most pressing contemporary political, social, and moral issues of our time.

To this end, our program prepares students to communicate effectively in the service of human dignity, civic engagement, and global equity. It seeks out and cultivates a faculty committed to generating scholarship and creating a curriculum balancing communication theory and practice. We strive to create an environment that facilitates faculty involvement in scholarship, outreach, and leadership in local, national, and international arenas.

Drawing on the unique cultural, commercial, and civic mix in the Los Angeles area, our program takes critical and creative approaches to personal and professional experience. Our faculty prepares students to distinguish themselves in a variety of professions, including education, law, social advocacy, politics, and non-profit and corporate communication. Our overriding goal, however, transcends professional achievement. It is to offer our students and ourselves the tools to make our global community a more equitable and just place to live and work.