Program Structure

Please follow the program structure outlined in the Academic Calendar from your FIRST academic year as a student at St. Thomas University. Find the Academic Calendars HERE. If you have any questions, please contact your academic advisor. 

Communications and Public Policy Major

Students majoring in Communications and Public Policy (COPP) are required to complete 36 credit hours of COPP courses. Students majoring in COPP will be encouraged to explore specific areas of public policy either through a double major or a minor in another discipline, or by exploring policy areas across disciplines through the breadth and depth of the Liberal Arts experience at St. Thomas. These public policy areas might include politics and governance; law and justice; Indigenous rights and policy issues; journalism; social policy and social justice; science and technology; and environmental policy issues.

In their fourth year, students will complete a mandatory rigorously supervised internship course that will require all students to gain valuable professional experience before graduation.

Communications and Public Policy Minor

Students who would like to have a Minor in Communications and Public Policy must complete 18 credit hours in COPP courses.

Core Courses and Electives

Students must complete 36 credit hours in Communications and Public Policy Courses. A sample of the structure of the program is listed below.

Year 1
COPP 1013 Introduction to Communications
COPP 1023 Introduction to Policy Studies

Year 2
COPP 2013 Fundamentals of Writing
COPP 2023 Policy Making in the Information Age
COPP 2033 Research Methods

Year 3

COPP 3063 Special Topics

Year 4
COPP 4006 Case Studies in Public Policy
COPP 4016 Internship