About the Department

The Department of Communication at the University of Haifa was established in 1994.  Today, approximately 500 students are enrolled in the undergraduate program and 30 in our masters program.  Jonathan Cohen is the Department Chair.

It is hard to imagine human activity that does not involve communication. We engage in communication when we choose what to wear, when we read the morning paper or watch TV, when we signal the bus to stop or when we sing a lullaby at the day's end.  All such activities involve the creation of meaning, and as such, they are of interest to us in the Department of Communication.

Language and interpersonal communication are the basis for human communication and are the point from which the study of communication departs: An intimate dialogue or a town meeting, poetry, gossip, diplomacy or bi-lingualism, all raise questions about power relationships in conversation, speech and silence, rhetoric and slang, discursive practices and intercultural communication breaks--questions that relate to our understanding of communication in ancient, modern and post-modern societies.

Understanding human communication has become more complex with the emergence of mass communication.  A significant portion of our leisure is now spent consuming television, radio, newspapers, film and the Internet.  The segmentation of channels, the introduction of cable and satellite television, the rise of local press and local radio stations, commercial television, and computer mediated communication, have all deepened mass media's grip on our leisure time.

Mass media are not only a private affair--they operate in the public and social spheres as well:  They are involved in political processes, the shaping of public opinion, influencing voters and candidates' images, setting the public agenda, in the rise and fall of fashions, in promoting products, increasing sales and more.  Media are also blamed for more controversial effects such as increasing violence, cultivating stereotypes of and prejudices against minorities, dumbing down of culture, propagating global culture, promoting conspicuous consumption, etc.  Additional concerns have been raised about the functioning of mass media In the Israeli context such as censorship and national security, the role and functioning of mass media in times of war and crisis, and the use of communication in solving conflicts and increasing cooperation among nations.

The central role of media in society and culture, as well as the increasing demand for communication–related expertise by public and commercial media systems, has brought many academic institutions around the world to develop communication programs.  The Department of Communication at the University of Haifa is distinguished by the inter-disciplinary approach it offers to the study of communication, both by the scope of courses within the department and through its extensive contacts with other departments specializing in related areas of inquiry.

The goals of the program:

The undergraduate curriculum is designed, first and foremost, to introduce students to the field of communication by familiarizing them with fundamental concepts, central theories, primary research methods and primary cognate areas.

Studies in the program are generally part of a dual major program whereby students combine their studies toward a degree in communication with a program of studies in another department, thus coordinating their studies in two disciplines to create a program that fits their individual interests.  For example, students interested in marketing and advertising can combine a major in communication with a major in Economics or Sociology; students interested in questions of public opinion and politics can choose to study Political Science together with their studies in Communication; and those wishing to specialize in communication as a cultural phenomenon may wish to join together the study of communication with a major in History, Literature, Language and more. 

More recently, a single major track has been added for those wishing a broader and more specialized training in communication.  This program combines a larger proportion of credits within the department, a selection of basic courses in related fields that were chosen to provide a stronger basis in Communication, and a minor in a field of study of the student's choice.

In both tracks courses are intended to enrich and deepen students' knowledge of the field, and to provide them with skills to critically understand and analyze communicative events and processes.  A variety of workshops aim to introduce students to professional aspects of communication professions.  The curriculum is not meant as a professional school but rather aims to equip its graduates with the theoretical and analytical abilities necessary for achieving success in the various fields of communication activity.

Students can also choose a course of study toward a teaching certificate within the Teaching Department.  This program qualifies students with a degree in communication to teach at the high school level.  Communication is a subject which is both of great importance and high demand within the Israeli school system, at a time when communication has become an integral part of the high-school curriculum, as well as a subject in which students are tested for Bagrut.  This training also qualifies graduates to work as instructors in informal settings such as community centers and alternative education programs.