Online Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication

Undergraduate Major

Develop and sharpen your communication skills while earning your B.A. in Communication. Explore digital media, public relations, intercultural and organizational communications, and prepare for a career in a multitude of industries.

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Earn Your Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Online at UTSA

Coursework is offered fully online! You will work at your own pace to keep your work, life, and education in balance to graduate from a top-university.

Open the Door to Multiple Career Paths

A B.A. in Communication from UTSA Online opens the door to careers in a variety of industries. Through this comprehensive program, you’ll apply your writing, editing, research, and presentation talents to convey information to diverse audiences effectively and efficiently. These marketable skills will ensure that you remain highly valued by employers in many industries.

Customize Your Degree with a Concentration

tuition for the online communication program is $500 per credit hour

Careers in Communication
Industries and Median Salary for Communication Graduates

Careers in Communication

Through this program, you’ll develop a highly marketable skill-set, which will allow you to seek a career in just about any industry.

UTSA-Online-Student Mocking up a workflow strategy

Industries for Communication Graduates

Develop and sharpen your verbal, nonverbal, and written communication skill-set to prepare you for an exciting career in a multitude of sectors. Effective communication skills are prized by employers across a wide range of industries including, but not limited to:

Advertising/Marketing/Public Relations
General Hospitals
Higher Education
Insurance Carriers
Management and Technical Consulting
Media/Video Production Agencies

Median Salary for Communication Graduates

The median salary for open communication-related positions in the United States as of May 2021 was $62,340.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

Meet Sallye Barnes - Communication '23

Sallye knew she needed to find a flexible program who would allow her to obtain her bachelor’s degree while managing her full-time job and her personal life. After researching different universities, she decided UTSA Online was the right choice for her. Watch her story to see how UTSA Online has made a huge impact in her life, and helped her continue building her BOLD Future.

Communication Degree Classes

To earn the Communication degree, you’ll complete 120 credit hours, including 42 core hours, 42 major hours, 6 language hours, 30 elective hours. See courses below:

Explore the full course catalog for Communication.

Note: If you’re a transfer student, your starting point may differ. Not all courses are offered every semester, so you’ll plan your schedule with your advisor.

Concentration Classes

You can add a Digital Communication or Public Relations concentration to your Communication degree. See the course description for each concentration below:

The courses in this concentration include:

COM 2433. Editing: Principles and applications of production editing and technical editing, including evaluation and revision of style, tone, and organization of documents. Practice in use of editing symbols and copy marking.
COM 2733. Introduction to Digital Communication: Overview of media and networks used for entertainment and information distribution, storage, and retrieval. Emphasis on the interrelationships among technology, economics, policy, society, and culture.
COM 3623. Commercial Publications: Theory and practice of commercial writing and desktop publishing. Includes discussion of document design, principles of layout, and typography.
COM 3723. Digital Media Production I: Introduction to issues and practices in the design of online information. Emphasis on writing and design practices in the context of various online information genres, including writing for the World Wide Web. Other topics may include hypertext theory and interactive design.
COM 4723. Digital Media Production II: Theory and application of digital production formats, such as Web animation, digital photo production or digital film. This course fulfills the College of Liberal and Fine Arts Signature Experience.

The courses in this concentration include:

COM 3523. Public Relations: Introduction to principles and practices of public relations. Some attention to public relations within multicultural communities.
COM 3533. Writing for Public Relations: Exposure to techniques and skills associated with writing for public relations to create internal and external documents, such as news releases, reports, newsletters, feature stories, and brochures. Designed to enable students to become competent and versatile writers for a variety of publics.
COM 3623. Commercial Publications: Theory and practice of commercial writing and desktop publishing. Includes discussion of document design, principles of layout, and typography.
COM 4523. Case Studies in Public Relations: Advanced study of public relations functions, principles, and practices using local, regional, and national organizations as examples.
COM 4533. Public Relations Planning and Campaigns: Application of public relations principles to the planning and production of messages and campaigns. Students will be expected to produce and carry out a public relations campaign within the community.

Earn Highly Marketable Skills

These marketable skills will ensure that you remain highly valued by employers in many industries.

Critical Thinking/Problem Solving:
Exercise sound reasoning to analyze issues, make decisions, and overcome problems. Students will be able to obtain, interpret, and use knowledge, facts, and data in this process, and may demonstrate originality and inventiveness.

Oral/Written Communications:
Articulate thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively in written and oral forms to persons inside and outside of the organization. The individual has public speaking skills; is able to express ideas to others; and can write/edit memos, letters, and complex technical reports clearly and effectively.

Global/Intercultural Fluency:
Value, respect, and learn from diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, sexual orientations, and religions. The individual demonstrates openness, inclusiveness, sensitivity, and the ability to interact respectfully with all people and understand individuals’ differences.

Teamwork/Collaboration:
Build strong, positive, and collaborative relationships with colleagues and customers across cultures, races, ages, genders, religions, lifestyles, and viewpoints to achieve common goals. Exercise the ability to compromise and be agile while employing your personal strengths, knowledge, and talents to complement those of others.

Technology:
Navigate change and quickly adapt to new and unfamiliar technologies. Learn to identify appropriate technology for completing specific tasks, and manage technology to integrate information to support relevant, effective, and timely decision-making.

Bachelor of Arts in Digital Media Influence

If you’re passionate about digital content creation and influencing audiences, check out our Digital Media Influence degree. This program equips you with skills in multimedia production and persuasive messaging.

Explore Digital Media Influence

Frequently Asked Questions

Tuition for the Online B.A. in Communication program is $500 per credit hour.

You may qualify for financial aid, including grants, loans, and scholarships. For eligibility, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the applicable aid year. UTSA’s federal school code is 010115. You must complete a new application each year you are attending.

As a Military Friendly school, we offer many programs to support our students in the military, our veterans, and their families, while working closely with the UTSA Veterans Certification Office. Veterans and military families, please note that UTSA’s 100% online programs are not eligible for the Hazelwood Act benefit.

Because communication skills are so versatile, you’ll be able to seek a career in just about any industry. Top job titles for UTSA Communication graduates include:

Marketing Specialist/Manager
Public Relations Manager
Communication Specialist
Sales Representative
Social Media Strategist
Technical Writer
Editor/Copywriter

Time-to-completion will vary based upon the number of previously earned credits that are eligible for transfer. If taking the full 120 credit hours required, it can take four to five years, depending on course load. With transfer credit, the time to graduation may be significantly less—possibly one to two years. The good news is that your Academic Advisor will help you customize your graduation plan.

Students who add a concentration in Digital Communication must complete the additional 5 courses for Digital Communication:

COM 2433 – Editing
COM 2733 – Introduction to Digital Communication
COM 3623 – Commercial Publications
COM 3723 – Digital Media Production
COM 4723 – Digital Media Production II

A maximum of 66 credit hours of lower division (freshman and sophomore) transfer work from a community college can be applied to a bachelor’s degree at UTSA. If you have exceeded the 66 hours of lower division work, the most applicable 66 credit hours will be applied to the degree you would like to earn. In order to earn a degree from UTSA Online, all students must successfully complete a minimum of 30 applicable credits at UTSA.

There is no maximum number of transferable hours from a four-year accredited institution. Applicable transfer coursework is determined by the Registrar’s Office once students have submitted their official transcripts with their application. Any coursework that does not correspond to courses offered by the university may transfer as elective credit.