Looking for a gentler semester? Start with courses where students have earned higher grades.
Highest historical GPA first. At least 100 letter grades over the five years through the selected term. Grades reflect past outcomes, not workload or a guaranteed result.
Historical grades cover up to five years through the selected term. Only courses with at least 100 letter grades are ranked.
Introduces the creative aspects of message development for advertising, public relations, and other strategic communications.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Dominique Brossard: The course difficulty was rated as moderate, though specific workload details are not provided in the single available review.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025Introduction to strategic communication principles and practices for advertising, public relations, health, and political campaigns.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course features a large group project that reviewers describe as consuming and difficult, though it provides significant professional experience and learning opportunities.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026JOURN/LIS 677 introduces concepts and tools for data analysis and visualization through instruction and a final project.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026JOURN 475 explores advanced journalism concepts and skills in depth, with topics varying by term.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Debra Pierce: One reviewer reported that Debra Pierce assigned a ridiculous amount of homework for the course.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026JOURN 676 is a special topics course focusing on the in-depth analysis of a conceptual mass communication issue.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Stephen Vaughn: One reviewer reported a huge research paper assigned at the start, with daily changes to requirements and an expectation of website coding skills.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025JOURN 450 teaches core skills in sports reporting and writing for a mass audience in a changing media landscape.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Fall 2025JOURN 669 explores the literary aspects of journalism through critical reading of exemplary reporting and writing.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Examines the role of communication in health, the impact of information technology on health communication, and the assumptions driving technological efforts in this field.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Fall 2025Introduction to sports communication professions including journalism, broadcasting, marketing, and public relations.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Justin Doherty: Papers were described as simple and applicable to real life, with a low difficulty rating of 1.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026JOURN 658 is a survey of methods for investigating mass communication processes and their effects.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
One historical reviewer reported high difficulty and a heavy workload characterized by frequent quizzes.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026JOURN 350 explores sports marketing communications, covering research, branding, promotion, sponsorships, and PR.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026MEDIA AND THE CONSUMER examines mass media content from the consumer's perspective, focusing on information needs, media evaluation, and effective use guidelines.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Students report multiple readings weekly, five exams, a final paper, and a semester-long group project, requiring consistent preparation and time management.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Fall 2025JOURN 335 teaches basic reporting for print and electronic media by creating news stories on public issues.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Jack Mitchell, Stephen Vaughn: Reviewers characterize the class as easy to moderate, noting that weekly beat reporting can be a hassle but grading is lenient if students avoid carelessness.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026JOURN 176 is a special topics course focusing on specific conceptual issues or topics within mass communication.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Assignments are reported as not hard, and the instructor is not a tough grader, resulting in low difficulty ratings.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Explores the evolution of US mass media within political, social, and economic contexts.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course includes three tests and a large final research paper, with textbooks and novels as required reading materials.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025JOURN 162 introduces the roles and functions of various media forms in multicultural America through international comparisons.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course includes weekly quizzes, five multimodal assignments, and peer tasks, but reviewers describe the workload as easy and manageable despite the four-credit load.
JOURN 203 teaches information skills for journalism and strategic communication using the CVAP approach.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Introduction to mass communication covering the organization, function, technology, economics, politics, and social implications of mass media in modern society.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course is rated as low difficulty, with a fun and engaging atmosphere that makes the time pass quickly.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026JOURN 202 teaches sophisticated communication skills including writing, editing, data gathering, and presenting stories across media forms.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Lucas Graves: Reviewers report a high volume of deadlines and assignments to track, though Canvas is maintained well.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Introduction to the theory and practice of survey research.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Eleanor Powell, Ethan vanderWilden: Workload centers on a large final project and problem sets rather than exams. Coding in R is a significant component, which some students find difficult or unnecessary for their major.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Fall 2025