I’ve been a faculty member in departments of communication and communication studies for over a decade, and I cringe a little bit every time a student tells me that they are getting a degree in communications or calls me a communications expert. At first blush, I realize this looks like a grammar lesson. I promise, its not (though I am a bit of a grammar nut). Instead, I think that the extra “s” signals a lack of knowledge about the breadth and depth of the humanistic and social science field known as communication or communication studies.
The short version is that the “s” is generally added when we are talking about technology systems used to transmit information (i.e., telecommunications, information systems) and the s is omitted when we are talking about how humans create messages and interpret meanings. Communication, without the “s”, encompasses a lot more than media or the study of information systems.
As a field, communication studies encompasses a wide variety of contexts including, but not limited to, interpersonal relationships, group and team communication, organizing and organizations, media, new technologies, and healthcare. It is a wide field whose contributions extend well beyond telecommunications.
As a humanistic field, the study of communication, has its roots in the study of rhetoric in ancient Greece and Rome. The social scientific study of human communication dates back to the early 1900s. The Wikipedia article outlining the history of the field provides some details. There are several academic societies dedicated to scholarship surrounding evidence-based, effective communication including the National Communication Association and the International Communication Association.
The MSC degree is informed by a deep knowledge of the scholarship and practice of human communication. Using that knowledge, students are able to analyze the complexity of the modern communication environment, lead other collaboratively, and communicate elegantly. The study of communications is a part of that, but its a small slice of a much larger pie. The MSC degree: the C stands for communication.