Mission Statement

Communication is central to, and increasingly important in, the world. The Department of Communication Studies at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is defined by its commitment to providing
outstanding educational opportunities for students at this University and
to being a leading force in shaping the direction of communication studies,
education, and practice in the state, nation, and international community,
following these principles:

1. We want to foster critical awareness of communication choices, behavior,
   and technologies.
2. We expect that in doing so, we will enhance the democratic potential
   of students, indeed of all citizens, to participate in a humane and just
   society.
3. This approach implies a significant integration of:
   • the relationship among conceiving, producing, and understanding
     communication messages;
   • ethical, creative, and aesthetic perspectives in both teaching and
     research;
   • different approaches to communication across the sub-areas of the
     field; and
   • the practical experiences of students as members of the diverse
     communities to which they belong.
4. Finally, communication as it is expressed, taught, and studied at the
   University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill must be responsive to significant
   needs, changes, and demands of the various constituencies served by the
   University.

Communication Studies is a field of inquiry that produces a working understanding
of the presuppositions, production, performance, and interpretation of communication
in its diverse forms ranging from speech to electronic media. As a department,
our guiding assumption is that Communication Studies is a form of critical
activity. In it, the “everyday” objectivity of human meaning production
is called into question, scrutinized, and transformed. This work is done
for a practical aim. Through our teaching, research, and service, we seek
to develop and enhance the ability of students, fellow citizens, and communities
to express their interests, understand others, and contribute to the aesthetic,
political, social, and cultural environments in which they live.

OUR GOAL, THEREFORE, is to build on our vigorous traditions of excellence
in teaching, research, and service by embodying commitments to

• foster critical perspectives,
• contribute to an informed and participatory democratic citizenry,
• integrate theory and practice, and
• respond to local and global demands for communication knowledge

in a graduate and undergraduate program that is, and will be, one of the leading
programs of its kind nationally.