What Communications Major Should I Choose

One press picks a communications major to look into, with what it covers.

Recording arts technologyProducing sound recordings: music, dialogue and sound effects, editing, dubbing and mixing.

Next step Not sure about communications? Draw any major

How it works

Communications is a whole school of majors, not one. Press the button for one to look into, from journalism to public relations to recording arts, each with what it covers. The whole list is under the tool, grouped by medium.

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Two halves of the field

The federal list of college programs splits communications in two. Communication, journalism and related programs focus on how messages are produced, used and interpreted. Communications technologies prepare equipment operators, support technicians and operations managers for the film and video, recording and graphic communications industries.

No single medium wins? The general communication program spans mass media, speech and rhetoric.
Sports communication and health communication are majors of their own on the list, apart from journalism and public relations.

Questions and answers

What communications major should I choose?

Start with the medium. Words and reporting point to journalism or technical communication; persuasion to advertising, public relations or political communication; sound and pictures to radio and television or recording arts; people and ideas to speech communication or media studies.

What is the difference between a communication and a communications major?

On the federal program list, communication without the s names the study of messages: speech, media, journalism, advertising. Communications technologies names the equipment side: film and video, broadcasting, recording and printing.

Is journalism a communications major?

Yes. The federal list puts journalism in the same series as communication and media studies, public relations and advertising, and gives it six programs: journalism, broadcast journalism, photojournalism, and business, cultural and science journalism.

Which communications majors are hands-on?

The technician programs: film and video technology, radio and television broadcasting technology, recording arts, graphic communications, platemaking and printing press operation. The list describes each as applying technical knowledge and skills to equipment and production.

All 35 communications majors

Speech, media and culture 6

Communication The broad one: mass media, speech and rhetoric, old and new media, persuasion and writing.
Digital communication and multimedia Developing, using and judging new digital media, with its design, marketing and law.
International and intercultural communication Communicating across countries and cultures, with journalism, public relations and policy.
Mass communication and media studies Analyzing and criticizing media: its history, law, economics and effects on culture.
Organizational communication How communication works within organizations: group relations, decisions and conflict.
Speech communication and rhetoric Human communication face to face and in groups: speaking, listening, argument, persuasion.

News 7

Broadcast journalism Reporting and producing news for radio, television and video, on and off camera.
Business and economic journalism Stories about business and economics, with instruction in accounting, finance and business law.
Cultural journalism Reporting on and criticizing the arts: film, music, dance, theater, design and written text.
Journalism Gathering, processing and delivering news: reporting, news writing, editing and ethics.
Photojournalism Still and motion photography for the news, with camera technique and news editing.
Science, health and environmental journalism Reporting on science, health and environmental policy, and investigating environmental problems.
Sports communication Communicating about sports: sports writing, photography, broadcast journalism and promotion.

Ads, public relations and campaigns 6

Advertising Creating and placing commercial messages that promote and sell products, services and brands.
Communication management and strategic communications Communication strategy for an organization: crisis communication, media relations, social media.
Health communication How health messages are made and received: health promotion, prevention and advocacy.
Political communication Communication in the political process: campaigns, speaking and debating, opinion polling.
Public relations Managing the media image of a business, organization or person, and its talk with the public.
Public relations, advertising and applied communication The general program in persuasion: public relations, advertising, message design, speaking.

Radio, TV, film and sound 7

Animation, interactive technology and special effects Manipulating film, video, photographs and sound by computer: video graphics and effects.
Communications technology Working and managing in communications industries: radio, television and digital production.
Photographic and film and video technology Operating and maintaining camera and lighting equipment for still, video and film products.
Radio and television Planning, producing and distributing audio and video programs: writing, directing, performing.
Radio and television broadcasting technology The technical side of radio and TV programs: sound, lighting, cameras, studio operations.
Recording arts technology Producing sound recordings: music, dialogue and sound effects, editing, dubbing and mixing.
Voice writing technology Speaking a verbal shorthand into software to make transcripts and captions of events.

Books, print and page design 9

Computer typography and composition Designing page formats, layouts and text composition, and choosing type, by computer.
Desktop publishing and digital imaging design Layout, design and typographic arrangement of printed and electronic products.
Graphic and printing equipment operation Operating and maintaining graphic, printing and finishing equipment.
Graphic communications Making printed products: prepress, press and postpress, from lithography to digital imaging.
Platemaking and imaging Preparing film, digital data and surfaces so that printed images can be reproduced.
Printing management Managing printing operations from the first design to the distribution of the finished product.
Printing press operation Setting up, operating and maintaining printing presses.
Publishing Managing how books and other texts are created, published and distributed, in print and electronic form.
Technical and scientific communication Explaining technical and scientific knowledge in print, video and digital media.

Facts on this page were checked against the sources named under the list. If you spot a mistake, tell us through the contact page and we will check it and correct the page.

More notes about this page

Results are random and meant for fun, practice and planning. Do not rely on them for a decision that matters.

How this list was compiled: 35 communications majors: every named program of series 09 (communication, journalism, and related programs; 22) and series 10 (communications technologies/technicians and support services; 13) of the Classification of Instructional Programs, 2020 edition (CIP 2020), of the US National Center for Education Statistics, https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/, a work of the US government. Only the catch-all rows the list calls "Other" are left out. The list was read in its own table, https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/Files/CIPCode2020.csv, on 2026-10-08. The line under each major is the definition the list gives that program, put in our words, and every line was checked against that definition. The five groups are ours. The list defines programs at every award level and does not say which schools offer them. No pay, job-outlook or ranking claims. Licence: Facts: US National Center for Education Statistics, public domain. Names, groups and wording: own work.