![]() ![]() The McKinley Building, where the School of Communication is housed | |
Type | Private |
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Established | 1893 as Department of Communication. 1984 becomes School of Communication. Independent of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1993 |
Parent institution | American University |
Dean | Marnel Niles Goins |
Academic staff | 54 full-time[1] |
Students | 1441 (Spring 2024) |
Undergraduates | 1110 (Spring 2024) |
Postgraduates | 331 (Spring 2024) |
Location | , , United States |
Campus | Suburban |
Website | https://american.edu/soc |
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The School of Communication (SOC) is American University's school of mass communication, media studies and journalism, founded originally as the Department of Communication in 1893 with the founding of the university. It is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.
The school offers six undergraduate majors: communication studies, journalism, public relations and strategic communication, photography, and communication, language, and culture (the last two jointly administered with the College of Arts and Sciences) along with a minor in communication.[2] In addition, interdisciplinary degrees such as communications, law, economics and government (CLEG, which is housed in the School of Public Affairs), take classes within SOC. SOC offers 12 graduate programs, including one PhD and one graduate certificate.[3] Undergraduates in any major at AU are given the opportunity to complete a combined bachelor's/master's within SOC.[4]