Is UPenn a good school for Communication Studies?

<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>I am currently attending a community college in California and planning on transferring to UPenn for Fall 2013 semester. I've been very interested in the school. It's been my dream school since a long time ago.</p>

<p>My major is Communication Studies and I am planning on taking a minor degree in Public Relations. Is UPenn a good school for me then? I heard from a lot of people that USC is the best school for me, but I prefer to apply to the east coast schools.</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

<p>The Annenberg School of Communication at UPenn is very good. It’s graduate program is also ranked higher than the Annenberg school at USC, though this may or may not tell you much about the quality of the undergrad program. It might not be the best place, however, for a minor in PR as the program isn’t focused as much as USC’s program on those types of applied subfields. It is very strong, however, in political communication, and marketing and other business-related courses are available at Wharton.</p>

<p>Unless something has changed, it was my impression that UPenn’s comm program at the undergrad level was designed for the student who is research minded in the field of media…we were told that many of the students there have the goal of PHd…</p>

<p>Very different from USC, Northwestern, Newhouse etc…</p>

<p>I know a couple dozen Comm majors, and I can say that it is certainly not geared toward phd minded people - not one of the ones I know are getting a phd.</p>

<p>Most comm majors that I know are either interested in journalism or consulting at marketing/PR firms.</p>

<p>Communications? Isn’t that generally a BS major for slackers and atheletes?</p>

<p>At Penn, athletes go to Wharton… not that they aren’t smart, but it’s just that coaches know people are more likely to commit to Wharton than any of the other schools - the rationale is that Wharton IS your scholarship.</p>

<p>Comm can be taken as a BS major, but so many other majors. It can also be taken very seriously. And regardless of how it’s taken, it gives you the same opportunities as any other major.</p>