Studying communication at Purdue allows you to learn what to do in order to be an effective communicator, but it also allows you learn why those things are effective. So yes, you might learn how to think and write critically, how to speak persuasively, how to work in organizations and with teams, and how to produce media packages and public relations documents. But you'll also learn why ''best practices'' got to be that way. You'll gain not only skills, but also the theories that help explain and grapple with how persuasion works (and doesn't work), the ethics of communication, and the nature of communication processes.<br><br>All students are required to take the same three foundational courses, and all students must take a writing class and a class focused on experiential learning. Students then choose one concentration that allows them to specialize.<br><br>The General Communication concentration provides flexibility for students with interests across the areas of emphasis in the Lamb School.<br><br>Students can build their own major by choosing courses from across the school, ideally combining classes from two or three of the other concentrations that have some overlapping areas of instruction.