Speech
Associate of Arts
Division: Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Division Chair: Martha Rottman, mrottman@sunyrockland.edu
Department Chair Wilma Frank, wfrank@sunyrockland.edu
Department Support Staff: Andrea Narciso, anarciso@sunyrockland.edu
Department Office: Academic II, Room 2150, Phone: 845-574-4345
Why Study Speech?
Employers value strong communication skills. Speech/Communication Studies builds a strong foundation in communication skills – be a better listener, effectively present your views in an interview or small group, and be a confident public speaker. RCC’s Speech/Communication program also provides students with the liberal arts and specialized courses required when transferring to a four-year institution.
Related disciplines include Communication Media Arts, Business Administration, English, and Teacher Education Transfer Programs.
Degrees Offered:
Occupational Objectives:
The degree prepares students to continue their education in a choice of majors including speech pathology, journalism, rhetoric/communication theory, performance and other related areas. Prepare for a career in advertising, business, health, media, education, law or speech therapy. Be sure to work with an advisor to select the best set of courses to transfer to a bachelor’s program for your specific concentration.
5 Top Reasons
To Study Speech at RCC:
- VALUE: Affordable tuition. Scholarships while at RCC and for program graduates who continue for a bachelor’s in Speech/Communications.
- ACADEMICS: A renowned honors program, award-winning student newspaper, professional theaters, RCC-TV and multimedia production, and a study abroad summer program at Cambridge University.
- TRANSFER: Transfer agreements with many four-year colleges. This program meets the requirements to pursue several different four-year degrees.
- CAREER: Gain interviewing skills and work experience. Communications internships have included work in public relations and a speech clinic.
- FLEXIBILITY: Daytime, evening, weekend and online courses. Free tutoring for all academic subjects.
Opportunities at Rockland Community College:
RCC has four Speech/Communications concentrations: Speech Performance, Communication Theory, Speech Pathology, and Journalism. There are many opportunities to practice and develop your communications skills through the Student Government Association, Speech and Debate Team, Reader’s Theatre and Speech Contests. RCC also has a very active chapter of the national speech honor society, Sigma Chi Eta.
Program Goals:
The program will provide students with an effective, rigorous, and dynamic liberal arts and theoretical and practical speech and communication studies based program. Courses in the speech discipline will provide students with an understanding of the complexity and diversity of social values and viewpoints with respect to speech and communication.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:
- Identify the fundamental concepts that characterize speech and communication studies
- Demonstrate a variety of skills to share knowledge and values effectively, including oral and written communication, planning and implementation skills
- Develop a variety of skills related to core concepts in speech and communication including critical thinking, reasoning and problem solving skills
- Evaluate the core concepts in speech and communication within an interdisciplinary liberal arts context