students in class

Here is a general outline of what types of courses you will be taking your first yearÌýin CMCI. You will take four to five courses per semester, and the total credit hours will range from 12 (minimum for full-time status) to 16.

  • CMCI 1040 (Foundational Concepts and Creativity in Media, Communication and Information). If you do not have this course on your schedule this fall, you will take it in the spring semester.
  • Your major course(s)
  • Core/MAPS
  • Elective/Core

The samples below are only a few of the variety of different ways you can create your schedule! With the exception of CMCI 1040 and your major coursework, the rest of your schedule can be whatever courses you choose. We do, however, recommend taking your lower-division Writing core requirement sometime during your first year at CU. Writing is also an area where we see students bring in credit from AP or high school concurrent coursework. If you think you might have credit for that requirement, please talk to your advisor.

Have fun exploring your different options!

First Semester:

  • CMCI 1040 (Concepts and Creativity)—4 credits, meets Common Experience requirement in core
  • COMM 1210 (Perspectives on Human Communication)—3 credits, required for the COMN major, meets People and Society in Core
  • ARTH 1300 (History of World Art 1)—3 credits, meets Humanities and the Arts in Core
  • WRTG 1160 (CMCI First-Year Writing and Rhetoric)—3 credits, lower-division Written Communication in Core

13 credit hours total

Second Semester:

  • Elective to explore a Secondary Area of Study or CMCI 1040 if not taken in fall semester
  • COMM 1300 (Public Speaking)—3 credits, required for the COMN major
  • COMM 1600 (Group Interaction)—3 credits, required for the COMN major, meets People and Society in Core
  • Quantitative Thinking in Core—3 credits, options include MATH 1012, 1212, 2510 or INFO 1301
  • MDST 2002 (Media and Communication History)—3 credits, meets Historical Views in Core

15-16 credit hours total

First Semester:

  • CMCI 1040 (Concepts and Creativity)—4 credits, meets Common Experience requirement in core
  • INFO 1111 (Introduction to Information Science: Understanding the World Through Data)—4 credits, required for the INFO major
  • INFO 1201 (Computational Reasoning 1: Expression and Media Transformation)—4 credits, required for the INFO major, meets Computing requirement in Core
  • WRTG 1160 (CMCI First-Year Writing and Rhetoric)—3 credits, lower-division Written Communication in Core

15 credit hours total

Second Semester:

  • Elective to explore a Secondary Area of Study or CMCI 1040 if not taken in fall semester
  • INFO 1121 (Introduction to Information Science: Designing Interactions)—3 credits, required for the INFO major
  • INFO 1301 (Statistics for Information Science)—3 credits, recommended Quantitative Thinking course for INFO majors, meets requirement in Core
  • LING 2000 (Introduction to Linguistics)—3 credits, meets People and Society in Core
  • ASTR 2000 (Ancient Astronomies of the World)—3 credits, meets The Natural World AND Diversity and Global Views in Core

15-16 credit hours total

First Semester:

  • CMCI 1040 (Concepts and Creativity)—4 credits, meets Common Experience requirement in core
  • JRNL 1000 (Principles of Journalism and Networked Communication)—3 credits, required for the JRNL major, meets People and Society in Core
  • Quantitative Thinking in Core—3 credits, options include MATH 1212, 1012, or 2510
  • WRTG 1160 (CMCI First-Year Writing and Rhetoric)—3 credits, lower-division Written Communication in core

13 credit hours total

Second Semester:

  • Elective to explore a Secondary Area of Study or CMCI 1040 if not taken in fall semester
  • JRNL 2001 (Fundamentals of Reporting)—3 credits, required for the JRNL major
  • JRNL 2000 (Writing for the Media)—3 credits, required for the JRNL major and must be taken with JRNL 2001
  • SOCY 1016 (Sex, Gender and Society 1)—3 credits, meets People and Society AND Diversity and Global Views in Core
  • MDST 2002 (Media and Communication History)—3 credits, meets Historical Views in CMCI AND Humanities and Arts in Core

15-16 credit hours total

First Semester:

  • CMCI 1040 (Concepts and Creativity)—4 credits, meets Common Experience requirement in core
  • CMDP 1400 (Introduction to Contemporary Media Cultures)—4 credits, required for the MDPD major
  • FILM 1502 (Introduction to Film Studies)—3 credits, meets Humanities and the Arts in Core
  • ANTH 2010 (Introduction to Physical Anthropology 1)—3 credits, meets The Natural World in Core
  • ANTH 2030 (Laboratory in Physical Anthropology 1)—1 credit, meets the lab requirement in The Natural World in Core

15 credit hours total

Second Semester:

  • Elective to explore a Secondary Area of Study or CMCI 1040 if not taken in fall semester
  • CMDP 2100 (Approaches to Historical Media Practices)—3 credits, required for the MDPD major and meets Historical Views in Core
  • CMDP 2500 (Introduction to Media Practices)—3 credits, required for the MDPD major
  • Quantitative Thinking in Core—3 credits, options include MATH 1012, 1212, and 2510
  • WRTG 1160 (CMCI First-Year Writing and Rhetoric)—3 credits, lower-division Written Communication in core

15-16 credit hours total

First Semester:

  • CMCI 1040 (Concepts and Creativity)—4 credits, meets Common Experience requirement in core
  • MDST 1001 (Foundations of Media Studies)—3 credits, required for the MDST major
  • WRTG 1160 (CMCI First-Year Writing and Rhetoric)—3 credits, lower-division Written Communication in Core
  • PSCI 2223 (Introduction to International Relations)—3 credits, meets People and Society in Core

13 credit hours total

Second Semester:

  • Elective to explore a Secondary Area of Study or CMCI 1040 if not taken in fall semester
  • MDST 1002 (Introduction to Social Media)—3 credits, required for the MDST major
  • MDST 2002 (Media and Communication History)—3 credits, required for the MDST major, meets Humanities and the Arts AND Historical Views in Core
  • IPHY 2420 (Nutrition for Health and Performance)—3 credits, meets The Natural World in Core
  • ANTH 1170 (Exploring Culture and Gender through Film)—3 credits, meets Diversity and Global Views in Core

15-16 credit hours total

First Semester:

  • CMCI 1040 (Concepts and Creativity)—4 credits, meets Common Experience requirement in core
  • APRD 1003Ìý(Principles of Strategic Communication)—3 credits, required for the STCM major
  • PHIL 1100 (Ethics) –3 credits, meets Humanities and Arts requirement in core
  • WRTG 1160 (CMCI First-Year Writing and Rhetoric)—3 credits, lower-division Written Communication in Core

13 credit hours total

Second Semester:

  • CMCI 1020 (Concepts and Creativity 2)—4 credits, meets Common Experience requirement in core
  • APRD 2001 (Strategic Thinking in Advertising and Public Relations)—3 credits, required for the STCM major
  • APRD 2004 (Introduction to Research Methods and Insights)—3 credits, required for the STCM major
  • COMM 1300 (Public Speaking)—3 credits, elective
  • Elective to explore a Secondary Area of Study or CMCI 1040 if not taken in fall semester

15-16 credit hours total