Why are we Communication Studies instead of Communications Studies (and why shouldn’t you shorten it to Communications)?

We often hear, “I’m a Communications” major or other departments on campus refer to us as “Communications Faculty,” but that isn’t accurate, so we want to get the word out! 

So, why is there no S on our Communication? And why is it a big deal?

In short, they mean very different things and we want to be recognized for what we (and our students) study, teach, and research. Communication is about humans, symbols, exchanges, and meanings. That’s what we do! Communications has more to do with technologies and channels used for transmitting those messages produced (we’re not studying cables and wires). 

So, we hope you’ll help shout out that we’re Communication Studies!

P.S. The S on COMS is for Studies. We are COM(munication) S(tudies). So be a COMS major, but a Communications major isn’t offered.