Nov 24, 2024  
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Integrated Strategic Communication, B.A.


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The Integrated Strategic Communication (ISC) major offers students professional preparation for careers in the allied areas of promotional communication, including advertising, public relations, direct response communication, sales promotion, social media promotion and the like. Through course work, students develop conceptual command of these allied areas. The Integrated Strategic Communication program has full national accreditation by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC).

The major stresses a strategic approach to communication initiatives and is designed to build analytical and critical thinking skills as well as writing and presentation skills. ISC graduates enjoy highly diverse career destinations. Agencies specializing in advertising, public relations, and direct response along with the media and communication technology industries, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and regulatory/consumer protection agencies need employees who have the skills developed by the ISC graduate.

ISC students are encouraged to expand their course work with activities unique to the major. The American Advertising Federation and Public Relations Student Society of America chapters offer both leadership and networking opportunities, as does Grehan Associates, a student-run strategic communication agency. A dynamic, professionally-oriented internship program insures that students gain hands-on experience with communications, government, or nonprofit agencies or with corporations or the media. Students are also encouraged to work with the Kentucky Kernel, KRNL magazine, WRFL and WUKY.

Degree Requirements


Each student completes the following:

College B.A. Requirements


Language:


Complete one of the following sequences:

Option A:


Successful completion of the fourth college semester of one foreign language. (Note: This may be accomplished by scoring at this level on a placement test for previous work in the foreign language.)

Option B:


Complete a set of two courses dealing with the nature and structure of language, language behavior, or comparativelanguages. This set shall be comprised of one course from Group I below, and one course from Group II. (Courses counted as meeting this option may not be counted in the major or field of concentration.)

Major Requirements


Students must complete the departmental requirements for one of the five majors (Communication, Information Communication Technology, Integrated Strategic Communication, Journalism, or Media Arts and Studies).

Subtotal: College B.A. Hours: 9-17


UK Core Requirements


See the UK Core section of this Catalog for the complete UK Core requirements . The courses listed below are (a) recommended by the college, or (b) required courses that also fulfill UK Core areas. Students should work closely with their advisor to complete the UK Core requirements.

I. Intellectual Inquiry in Arts and Creativity


II. Intellectual Inquiry in the Humanities


III. Intellectual Inquiry in the Social Sciences


IV. Intellectual Inquiry in the Natural, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences


V. Composition and Communication I


VI. Composition and Communication II


VII. Quantitative Foundations


VIII. Statistical Inferential Reasoning


IX. Community, Culture and Citizenship in the USA


X. Global Dynamics


UK Core hours: 31


Graduation Composition and Communication Requirement (GCCR)


Graduation Composition and Communication Requirement hours (GCCR): 3


Subtotal: Premajor hours: 16


Subtotal: Major hours: 21


Portfolio


Portfolio required for graduation. Portfolio requirements at http://ci.uky.edu/isc/portfolio

Major Electives


12 credits total of 300+ level undergraduate courses. At least 9 credits must be from Integrated Strategic Communication; the remaining 3 credits may be from courses in Integrated Strategic Communication, Information Communication Technology, Journalism, or Media Arts and Studies.

International Component Requirement


ISC majors must take one 3 credit course dealing with non-U.S. issues in a media-related context to fulfill this requirement. This can be either course work on campus or short-term (Winter/Summer) CI study abroad programs. The course taken to satisfy the Global Dynamics requirement for UK Core does not fulfill this requirement. Credit(s): 3

Upper-Division Electives


Students should select their 12 credits of major electives in consultation with their advisor. Students are encouraged to select electives to expand their breadth of knowledge in the field. Students should choose three ISC courses at the 300 level or above in addition to an additional course in ISC, Journalism, Media Arts and Studies or ICT at the 300 level or above for a total of 12 credits of major electives.

Management Aspect


ISC majors with a particular interest in the management aspect of the industry are recommended to select electives from the following group of courses:

TOTAL HOURS: minimum of 120


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