online communication degree
Bachelor of Science in Communication
Start your online communication degree
With a bachelor’s degree in communication, you’ll develop career-relevant speech and writing skills to prepare for a variety of professional roles across diverse organizations. No matter where you work, being able to get your ideas across and convince people to buy products and services can help make you an asset.
Our online communication degree is two-fold. First, you’ll learn the basics of communication covering topics like logical argumentation, rhetoric and storytelling. Then, you’ll delve into the business side of communication and explore focus areas like investigative journalism, public relations, social media and more. Develop career-relevant skills and prepare to be a copywriter, editor, media relations specialist or other communication professional.
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Courses
Browse courses for your online communication degree
Education should hold practical value. That’s why we built our communication program with input from industry leaders. Our coursework emphasizes theory and application in the areas of corporate, intercultural, interpersonal and organizational communication.
Look for this icon to see which skills you’ll learn in a course.
Bachelor's in communication requirements
You’ll need 120 credits (3 credits per course) to complete this online bachelor’s in communication program. Your course schedule may vary based on transferable credits or credits earned through the University's Prior Learning Assessment.
Our communication courses provide career-relevant skills to teach you how to successfully interact with others in a variety of business-related situations. You’ll practice verbal, nonverbal and written communication skills. Plus, you’ll learn how to use communication software applications, apply active listening and intercultural communication skills, and present information and messages that add value to business decision making.
Here’s where you’ll pick up the bulk of your program-specific knowledge. You’ll develop effective communication skills for a variety of business-related and interpersonal situations, such as collaboration, mediation, negotiation and persuasion.
Here’s where you’ll explore topics of interest that will build your personal brand. You can supplement your communication skills with additional business acumen in topics like brand management, foundations of leadership and performance culture.
Here’s where you’ll study different disciplines to lay the foundation for your online communication degree. You may learn soft skills like decision making, problem solving, strategic thinking and team building that will be useful on the job and in daily life.
Popular course topics
In our online communication degree program, you’ll learn about relevant topics in society, including the power of storytelling, the importance of interpersonal strategies and the increasing prominence of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Here’s a few ways these topics can help benefit students like you:
- Regardless of industry, employers are looking for professionals who can communicate clearly and effectively, with skills in interpersonal communication, cultural awareness, collaboration, problem solving and negotiation/diplomacy.
- Global businesses utilize a variety of social media, marketing, customer service, intercultural communication and public relations strategies. Our communication courses help you develop career-relevant skills in persuasive communication, storytelling, interpersonal relations, change/conflict management and strategic communication to prepare for jobs in these areas.
- Empathic leadership, organizational communication and corporate communication are key to effective business management and decision making. Contemporary businesses are judged not just on the quality of their products and services, but also by their ethical and social values. Providing opportunities for mentorship, personal connections, team bonding, social responsibility, and personal and professional wellness will be key to keeping new generations of workers actively engaged and productive.
Plan your schedule for an online communication degree
Your academic counselor will help schedule your courses for an online communication degree.
If you’re in Phoenix, the Bachelor of Science in Communication program may be offered as a blended program. This means you’ll start at the Phoenix campus to complete your general education courses, and then transition to online learning for your core program courses.
Our flexible, blended learning format can be beneficial to students who are uncertain about the online learning environment or who want to further develop their technical/computer skills prior to taking courses fully online.
Earn career-relevant skills in weeks – not years.
Learning shouldn’t take years to put into practice. That’s why we’re empowering you to build career-relevant skills with every five- to six-week course.
We’ve worked with the labor market researcher Lightcast to identify in-demand skills for occupations and mapped those to our related associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.
Tuition
Paying for school
Tuition is based on number of credit hours per course. Courses are typically 3 credits, but can range from 1-6 credits. Costs do not include savings opportunities like transfer credits and scholarships.
Undergrad cost per course
$1,364 / course
What affects the overall cost of my program?
Your full program cost can vary by:
- Savings opportunities. Your cost could be reduced with eligible transfer credits, scholarships, employer discounts and more. Students with eligible credits and relevant experience on average saved $11K and 1 year off their undergraduate degree at University of Phoenix.
With our Tuition Guarantee, you pay one flat, affordable rate from the moment you enroll to the day you graduate from your program.
Discover ways to save time and money on your degree with our Savings Explorer® tool:
Transfer credits
Your prior eligible college credits can save you time and money, helping you graduate faster. That’s why we’ve accepted transcripts from 5,000+ institutions. Check to see if you can apply eligible transfer credits from an institutionally accredited university or college toward a bachelor’s degree in communication.
Up to 75%
of your bachelor’s in communication could be covered with eligible transfer credits.
Save time and money when you transfer in eligible credits toward your degree.
University of Phoenix communication degree vs other universities
| Phoenix | |
|---|---|
|
Tuition rate
|
$398
|
|
Typical credits per course
|
3
|
|
Resource fee
|
$170
|
|
Estimated cost per course
|
$1,364
|
|
Total program length
|
120 cr.
|
|
Length of course
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5 wks
|
|
Tuition guarantee promise
|
Yes
|
Data pulled on September 27, 2024
[1] $365 per 1000-2000 level credit; $415 per 3000-4000 level credit
Source of data: For each institution, the data are publicly available in multiple locations, including Academic Catalogs, Program pages, Tuition and fees pages, and syllabi. All data are publicly available on the websites.
Certain licensure programs and coursework in other degree programs may have additional fees. Please check with your advisor or course catalog for additional info.
Tuition is based on number of credit hours per course. Courses are typically 3 credits, but can range from 1-6 credits.
Try our Savings Explorer® tool
Eligible students saved:
$11,000 & 1 year
Students with eligible credits and relevant experience on average saved $11k and 1 year off their undergraduate degree with University of Phoenix.
Try our Savings Explorer™ tool
Eligible students saved:
$11,000 & 1 year
Students with eligible credits and relevant experience on average saved $11k and 1 year off their undergraduate degree with University of Phoenix.
Financial aid
You may have options when it comes to paying for an online communication degree, such as federal grants and loans. Our finance advisors can answer your questions about financial aid and can help guide you through the process.
Federal Student Loan Basics
Careers & Outcomes
What can you do with a bachelor's in communication degree?
The Bachelor of Science in Communication prepares you for entry-level employment opportunities that require effective communication skills. You’ll learn how to write press releases, develop sales and marketing communication, review journalism ethics, create an organizational structure plan and more.
When you earn your on-campus* or online communication degree, you’ll be equipped with a concrete set of skills you can apply on the job. You’ll learn how to:
- Integrate theories and best practices to determine communication strategies.
- Develop communication plans for diverse purposes.
- Evaluate strategies for implementing communication plans in a variety of environments.
- Evaluate communication effectiveness for a variety of contexts.
Top skills learned in this program:
Communications
Writing
Editing
Leadership
An online communication degree can prepare you to be a:
- Editor
- Copywriter
- Communication specialist
- Media relations specialist
7% growth
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth for media and communication careers is projected to be as fast as average between 2023 and 2033.
The BLS Projected Growth for 2023-2033 is published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This data reflects the BLS’ projections of national (not local) conditions. These data points are not specific to University of Phoenix students or graduates.
Communication industry spotlight
Effective communication is a key component of business in every industry, including manufacturing, finance, healthcare, marketing, government and education. As a student in the bachelor’s in communication program, you’ll learn key aspects of business and interpersonal communication that will prepare you for work in a variety of industries.
68,000+
The number of new media and communication jobs the market is projected to add over the decade.
$47,020—$105,870[1]
The 25th to 75th percentile wage range estimate for media and communication careers in May 2022.
[1] The salary ranges are not specific to students or graduates of University of Phoenix. Actual outcomes vary based on multiple factors, including prior work experience, geographic location, and other factors specific to the individual. University of Phoenix does not guarantee employment, salary level or career advancement. BLS data is not geographically based.
Admissions
Apply for free – no application fee, no obligation.
Starting your online communication degree is a big decision — and we want you to feel great about it. That’s why we remove obstacles from your application.
- No SAT/ACT required
- No essay required
- We’ll request transcripts at no cost to you, when possible, and we accept eligible credits from over 5,000 accredited institutions.
How to enroll at University of Phoenix
Gabriel G., Enrollment Rep
Receive 1-on-1 support
You have a support team of real people you can lean on. And our academic counselors, who are with you every step of the way, have earned a 5-star rating from 85% of our surveyed students.[1]
[1] Transactional Survey, September 2022-August 2023 (23,739 respondents)
Start a conversation with an enrollment representative today.
Call us at 844-937-8679 or chat with us 7 days a week.
Receive 1-on-1 support
You have a support team of real people you can lean on. And our academic counselors, who are with you every step of the way, have earned a 5-star rating from 90% of our surveyed students.[1] Start a conversation with an enrollment representative today.
[1] Transactional Survey, August 2021-22 (18,645 respondents)
Call or chat with us 7 days a week.
Communication Student Experience
Online learning
Our communication courses are offered in a five-week, asynchronous online format to give you the flexibility and time needed to work and raise a family while also going to school.
Mimic real-world, on-the-job tasks
You’ll learn, practice and apply your effective communication skills to real-world scenarios like writing a press release, developing a public relations crisis plan and drafting social media posts.
Around-the-clock support and resourcess
You have a support team available up to 14 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Faculty Spotlight
Communication professionals dedicated to you
Your success is a top priority for our faculty members, who bring an average of 28+ years of professional experience to the classroom. Our faculty lead in the fields they teach and leverage their real-world experience as editors, technical writers and more. This helps bridge the gap between academics and industry knowledge.
Your communication faculty undergo a rigorous mentoring and training program to ensure a quality education. We also keep our student-faculty ratios low, so our communication faculty can engage in class discussions, provide productive feedback, respond quickly and provide personal attention when needed.
Accreditation
Accredited for 45+ years
Since 1978, University of Phoenix has maintained institutional accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), hlcommission.org. Learn more about the value of University of Phoenix accreditation and how it benefits our students.
Communication degree articles
Frequently asked questions about our online communication degree
When you pursue your bachelor’s degree in communication, you’ll work on developing verbal, written and multimedia skills. These skills can help you improve how you get your point across, whether that’s while talking with coworkers (interpersonal communication) or as a communication specialist for your company (organizational communication). You’ll also learn about theories of effective communication and have opportunities to demonstrate your skills through hands-on projects, papers and assignments.
Other notable topics covered in our communication degree program include:
- Communication technology
- Content development
- Corporate communication
- Impactful and influential writing
- Investigative journalism
- Marketing communication
- Persuasive communication
- Presentations and public speaking
- Storytelling
- Written communication
As a student in our on-campus* or online communication degree program, you’ll prepare for entry-level employment opportunities as an editor, copywriter, media relations specialist or other communication specialist. Additionally, you might have the opportunity to work in consulting, negotiation, change management, technical communication, social media management, public relations or corporate communication.
The skills you develop in our bachelor’s in communication degree are highly transferrable and can be applied across a variety of industries. Consequently, having a solid understanding of key business practices and principles opens the door to more variety and versatility in your future career aspirations.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, communication occupations are projected to grow 6% between 2021 to 2031.
The BLS Projected Growth for 2021-2031 is published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This data reflects the BLS’ projections of national (not local) conditions. These data points are not specific to University of Phoenix students or graduates.
University of Phoenix has been continually accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), hlcommission.org, since 1978.
Yes, you can choose to earn your Bachelor of Science in Communication degree in a completely online program that’s always on — 24/7/365. As a student in our online communication degree program, you’ll have all the support that comes with an on-campus course and greater flexibility in your schedule.
Our bachelor’s in communication is a two-part program that gives you a well-rounded education on multiple facets of effective communication.
The first half of your core courses focus on introducing you to the field of communication. You’ll dive into the history of studying communication and learn how to construct a valid argument through logic and rhetoric. You’ll also learn about storytelling and strategies for effective interpersonal, small group and team communication.
The second half of your core courses focus more heavily on the business side of communication. Here’s where you’ll learn about the critical role of human resources in achieving business results, key project management principles and guidelines for strategic development, creative business thinking and more.
Communications (plural) and communication (singular) degrees are very similar and cover much of the same content. However, communications degrees generally cover the more “technical” aspects of communication. These may include digital communications, telecommunications, electronics/engineering, broadcasting, technical and scientific communication, and visual communications/graphic design. On the other hand, communication degrees cover the more “applied” aspects of communication, which may include interpersonal communication, public relations, mass media, social media, journalism, writing and editing.
The Bachelor of Science in Communication program at University of Phoenix is an applied curriculum that provides a broad overview of communication with a more specific focus on business communication, organizational development and verbal/written communication. Our online communication degree covers a variety of communication skills to prepare students like you for work in media relations, copywriting, editing and corporate communication.
Whether you’re interested in a communication or communications degree, it’s important to look at the program descriptions and course offerings to determine what’s best suited to your needs and interests.
Communication and communication studies degrees are very similar, covering much of the same content and leading to many of the same outcomes. However, communication degrees generally cover the more “applied” and “practical” aspects of communication. These may include interpersonal communication, public relations, mass media, social media, journalism, writing and editing.
On the other hand, communication studies degrees typically cover the more “theoretical” and “cultural” aspects of communication, which include cultural awareness, interpersonal relations, linguistics, speech/debate, legal and political communication, and personal expression.
Whether you’re interested in a communication or communication studies program, it’s important to look at the program descriptions and course offerings to determine what’s best suited to your needs and interests.
*While widely available, not all programs are available to residents of all states. Please check with a University Enrollment Representative.