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Can You Communicate?

Many people can talk, write, and read. Only a few learn to communicate effectively and to understand the influence a message may have on those who receive it.  Across history, humans have never had greater opportunities to communicate in person and online – to make a difference in their local communities and to reach global audiences.  Agile, critical thinkers who have knowledge and skills to understand what others are saying and to craft effective messages are always in demand.  Undergraduate courses in the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences help students develop the expertise, skills, and motivation to be difference makers in our world.

Who are we?

In the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences, you will find faculty committed to the art of communication, who improve society’s understanding of communication through humanistic and social scientific research, and who are inspired by their role in helping students to be more effective in the personal, professional, and public roles their future has in store for them.  CAS students are curious, analytical, inquisitive, and engaged. CAS faculty and students are motivated by a shared interest in how communication facilitates human relations and makes a difference in our shared world.


What happens here?

From a department that spans the humanities and social sciences, CAS majors and minors learn to think critically, analyze public discourse, understand empirical studies that test communication theories, argue persuasively, influence people, form and maintain relationships, and participate in civic life.


What do we become?

CAS graduates are change makers: analysts, strategists, persuaders, facilitators, collaborators, connectors, and scholars. The CAS program equips students for success in the work force, graduate school, and civic life. CAS courses provide students the theories, methods, practical tools, and experiences to understand the roots of social conflict and the sources of well-being. CAS majors can make a positive difference in our society.


The CAS major and minors are not designed as training programs in advertising, journalism, public relations, or media production; these courses are available in the College of Communication (COMM).

Briana Adams


CAS major and Schreyer Scholar Briana Adams is lauded in a Penn State News article for her passion and activism. We are proud to call her one of our own!


Click on the names below to read about alumni of the CAS undergraduate program.

Scott Hull

George M. Hayward