Humanities and Communication
Applied Learning Opportunities
Students earning a degree in Humanities and Communication have multiple ways to gain hands-on experience in their fields and develop critical skills in our disciplines. Students can take a variety of courses or participate in internships.
Course-based opportunities
Beginning in fall 2020 students can take courses to help build key skills to be successful as students and professionals. The new courses include:
HCOM 408: Fact or Fiction? A course designed to develop news and media literacy skills.
HCOM 419: Digital Publishing Practicum - This course produces the Writing Waves journal.
Interested in professional editing and publishing? Join the Writing Waves editorial team! This practicum course gives you hands-on experience in everything from soliciting and evaluating submissions to editing and document design. You will be more than just another student in another class, you will be an active member of the editorial board of a journal with a readership of over 500 global downloads per month. Gain valuable industry experience that you can add to your resume!
Check it out at https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/writingwaves/ and contact Dr. Kelly Medina-Lopez (kmedina-lopez@csumb.edu) with any questions. Come write the wave with us!
HCOM 470: Graduate Admissions Workshop - Students will explore what graduate schools are good options for their future plans and workshop their applications.
HCOM 471: Professional Writing Workshop - Students will workshop papers and develop skills in professional writing for the workplace.
HCOM 476: Advanced Public Speaking Workshop - This course allows students to hone their public speaking and presentation skills.
HCOM 477: Communication in Everyday Life - Interpersonal language skills, active listening, nonverbal communication, the role of communication in conflict, and the power of effective communication to strengthen interpersonal relationships and to build cultural competencies are emphasized.
Creative Writing and Social Action
HCOM 430: Literary Journal Publication - Students will gain hands-on experience producing CSUMB's literary magazine, In the Ords.
This is a collaborative elective seminar focused on the craft of editing, producing, and publishing a literary arts journal. We will explore all of the components of this field, including selecting a staff, building a brand, finding funding, seeking submissions, developing design and layout, launching an issue, and dealing with important ethical issues along the way.
HCOM 439: Page to Stage - This course is an interactive introductory course on the art of spoken word and performance poetry. We will study poetry slam, collaboration and writing with an audience in mind. This course will examine the works of accomplished spoken word artists and will call on students to produce, workshop and perform their own poems. Page to Stage will shatter the wall between page and stage by linking the two!
Legal Studies
HCOM 399 Pathways to Legal Professions - This is a course designed specifically for students who are interested in exploring law school after completing their undergraduate degree. Open to all students--at all levels and in all majors--this course explores the roles of attorneys in society, how to prepare for law school success, the law school application process (including preparing for the Law School Admissions Test-LSAT), and various career opportunities for attorneys--from civil to criminal law.
Internship Opportunities
HCOM 486 and 487 HCOM Internship- By enrolling in an internship course students can gain hands-on experience in the industry of choice. These experiences often lead to employment opportunities and make students more competitive in the job market. Students can choose to complete 30 or 60 hours at an approved site. Instructor consent it required.
Legal Studies Internships
HCOM 398: Legal Studies Internship provides students an opportunity to earn academic credit for a hands-on learning experience in the community, in any area related to legal studies. Working with the course instructor, students research and secure their own internship sites, then complete 100 hours on site. Students in past semesters have interned with local non-profit organizations, law firms, the Monterey County District Attorney's office, the Public Defender, local police departments, courts and other agencies.
HCOM 498: Legal Aid Internship is a partnership between HCOM and local civil legal aid organizations. After several weeks of workshops and hand-on training sessions, students complete internships with such organizations as the Watsonville Law Center, Legal Services for Seniors, California Rural Legal Assistance and the United Farm Workers Foundation. They gain valuable experience working with clients and local attorneys while helping to close a significant justice gap in the community--where clients in need far outnumber those providing accessible and affordable legal services.
For more information about Legal Studies and Pre Law opportunities visit the Pre Law Advising page.
Internship Placement
The Office of Internships maintains the current forms required to place you at an internship site. Remember, your instructor must pre-approve any internship site. And, please consult your internship instructor before completing any of these forms.
For sites that ARE currently long term partners of CSUMB and are found in the CSUMB Placement database, you should use this Learning Plan Agreement form.
For sites that ARE NOT currently long term partners of CSUMB and cannot be found in the CSUMB placement database, you should use this Short Term Placement Agreement form.
For ALL PLACEMENTS you must complete the Release of Liability form.
If you have any questions about internships, contact the HCOM Chair Dr. Sam Robinson at sarobinson@csumb.edu.