Activities and Opportunities

The Ball State Speech and Debate Teams are legendary, and competing on one of our forensics teams is one of the most rewarding experiences on campus. They are two of the most successful competitive intercollegiate teams at BSU. The Debate Team has won 11 national championships in their history, and BSUspeech has held the Indiana State Championship for the last 13 years straight. Both programs are dedicated to your growth as a person, thinker, and agent of social change. Members advance their research skills, build self-confidence, and foster the ability to think/make sound judgments under pressure. Individualized coaching prepares you to compete against other teams in Indiana, the Midwest, and across the nation. Memories are made. The fun is had. And the invaluable skills learned stick with you throughout your personal and professional lives. For more information about competing for the Speech Team, please contact Spencer Coile spencer.coile@bsu.edu. For more information about competing for the Debate Team, please contact William Nunley william.nunley@bsu.edu.

The COMM club brings together students, faculty, alumni, and other professionals for enriching experiences. It is a great way for students to connect more to each other and their department. The COMM club is an informal environment for you to discuss communication issues, address academic and career needs, and find community outreach opportunities that benefit from students’ application of their communication students. The club also sponsors events for the department faculty and students. Past events have included a philanthropic kickball tournament, Fall Fest, a Bi-annual Alumni Conference, Senior Send-Off and several other fundraisers and charities. For more information about getting involved with the COMM club, please contact Spencer Coile spencer.coile@bsu.edu

Lambda Pi Eta is the National Communication Association’s honor society. It is an accredited member of the Association of College Honor Societies and has active chapters at four-year colleges and universities worldwide. Lambda Pi Eta rewards outstanding scholastic achievement and fosters interest in the communication discipline.

The Six Goals of Lambda Pi Eta

1. Recognize, foster, and reward outstanding scholastic achievement in Communication Studies

2. Stimulate interest in the field of Communication

3. Promote and encourage professional development among Communication majors

4. Provide an opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas in the field of Communication

5. Establish and maintain closer relationships between faculty and students

6. Explore options for graduate education in Communication Studies

Communication students with grade point averages of 3.25 or higher are invited to join. For more information, please contact Dr. Laura O'Hara lohara@bsu.edu

Many businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government institutions know that Ball State interns are a dynamic and effective resource. In fact, many employers have found them to be so successful that they have built internships into their long-term operations and staffing plans, using our interns as a

recruiting pipeline for full-time hiring. Ideally, a successful internship program should meet the organization’s needs while providing a student with relevant career experiences. Interns in the Department of Communication Studies apply basic interpersonal, group, organizational, research, and public communication skills and principles to reduce communication error, meet employer goals, and provide creative solutions to the challenges businesses face.

Our students commonly engage in many of the following activities during their internships:

• coordinating and facilitating special events, workshops, and training sessions

• conducting training needs analyses

• revising policy manuals

• gathering and analyzing information

• preparing and delivering research reports and/or multimedia presentations

• researching and designing marketing materials

• facilitating a variety of interviews and meetings, engaging in problem-solving, conflict management, and decision-making strategies

For more information about an internship in Communication Studies, please contact Dr. James Rediger jnrediger@bsu.edu

Professional experiences on campus make for great practicum opportunities. Typically our practica are organized in groups or teams and supervised by a faculty member in Communication Studies. Students in a practicum in Communication Studies may work in a variety of contexts and assignments including event planning, coaching in our Speaking Center, fundraising & donor relations, recruitment, and more. Members of the speech and debate teams also earn practicum credit for their participation in intercollegiate forensics competitions. For more information about practicum offerings, please contact Dr. Carolyn Shue ckshue@bsu.edu

Our Communication + Culture program has been to Guatemala (2018) and Ecuador (2022). Next up—Mexico! Travel with COMM faculty for summer study abroad programs while taking classes you need for your major. These experiences are open to all students but designed especially for Communication Studies majors and minors. We work in a LOT of amazing excursions and cultural experiences and are known to have class –in–our locations abroad— how about Intercultural Communication at the local market, observing nonverbal communication in commerce? For more information about a faculty led study abroad opportunity in Communication Studies, please contact Dr. Scarlett Hester scarlett.hester@bsu.edu

It’s not just our professors who engage in scholarship—it’s our graduate and undergraduate students, too. We value scholarship, and all of our students will take a research methods class. Depending on interests and concentrations, students may try objective/quantitative research, qualitative research, or critical/rhetorical research. We host one of the only annual undergraduate communication research conferences in the country, and our COMM students present their research to real audiences and respondents, with recognitions and awards to participants and top papers and presentations. For more information about the CRC, please contact Dr. Kathy Denker kjdenker@bsu.edu

BSU defines Immersive Learning projects as high-impact learning experiences that involve collaborate student-driven teams guided by faculty mentors. Students earn credit for working with community partners such as businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies to address community challenges

through the creation of a product that has a lasting impact. Our department has a long history of proposing and engaging in exciting and meaningful immersive projects. Some of our favorite topics/projects have included:

• The Freedom Bus, a mobile civil rights museum
• Arts advocacy with the Muncie Arts Council
• Journey to Freedom: The Legacy of the Underground Railroad

For more information about current immersive learning offerings in communication studies, please contact Dr. Carolyn Shue ckshue@bsu.edu