Our department loves transfer students! To help in your consideration of transferring to the Communication Department at MSU, we put together a list of recommended courses for students who take classes at another college/community college before transferring to MSU. This list of courses will help guide you in what will transfer into our program and meet our general education requirements for both the Communication Department and the MSU College of Arts & Sciences.
Recommended Courses for Transfer Students:
English Composition:
- English Composition I (3 hours): Must receive a “C” or better
- English Composition II (3 hours): Must receive a “C” or better
Foreign Language:
- Foreign Language I (3 hours): General Elective
- Foreign Language II (3 hours): General Elective
- Foreign Language III (3 hours): All Communication majors must take the third level of a Foreign Language.
*Students majoring in Communication must complete the third level of a foreign language. Most of our students cannot complete the third level course without first taking the first two levels. So, most students take three Foreign Language courses with the first two counting as general electives and the third course counting as the Foreign Language requirement that fulfills the general education requirement. Students may choose from the following languages: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian, or Spanish.
Math:
- College Algebra (3 hours): Must receive a “C” or better to take a higher math at MSU; letter grade of "D" will count if student takes second math at an institution other than MSU.
- Second Level Math (3 hours): Trigonometry or Statistics
*Students who have taken the equivalent to MSU's Calculus I or Calculus for Business & Life Sciences have fully met the math requirement and do not need to take College Algebra or the second level math.
Science:
- Biological Science with a lab (3-4 hours): Lab required
- Common choices: Anatomy & Physiology, Plants and Humans, Animal Biology, Biology I, Biology II
- Physical Science with a lab (3-4 hours): Lab required
- Common choices: Survey of Chemistry I, Chemistry I, Chemistry II, Earth Science I, Physical Geography, Weather and Climate, General Physics, Physics I, Descriptive Astronomy
- Natural Science (3-4 hours): No lab required
- Common Choices: Any of the options listed above for Biological Science and Physical Science can also be taken as a Natural Science. Lab does not have to be taken.
Humanities:
- History (3 hours)
- Common choices: Early U.S. History, Modern U.S. History, World History Before 1500, World History Since 1500, Early Western World, Modern Western World
- Literature (3 hours)
- Common choices: Introduction to Literature, English Literature Before 1800, English Literature After 1800, American Literature Before 1865, American Literature After 1865, World Literature Before 1600, World Literature After 1600
- Philosophy (3 hours)
- Common Choices: Introduction to Philosophy, Introduction to Ethics, Introduction to Logic
- Humanity Electives (9 hours)
- Choose any History, Literature, or Philosophy, or Religion course that you did not take to fulfill the requirements above. The 9 hours of Humanities electives must come from two different subject areas.
Social Sciences:
- Introduction to Sociology (3 hours)
- General Psychology (3 hours)
- Introduction to World Geography (3 hours)
- Social Science Elective (6 hours)
- Choose any Anthropology, Criminology, Economics (can only take macroeconomics OR microeconomics--not both), Geography, Gender Studies, Political Science, Psychology, or Sociology course.
*Social Sciences must not exceed more than 6 hours in one subject area.
Communication Courses:
- Fundamentals of Public Speaking: Must receive a “C” or better
- Introduction to Theatre or Fine Art: Must receive a “C” or better