Elliott School of Communication history
The Elliott School of Communication was established in 1989, bringing together the former departments of journalism and speech communication. The merge made the ESC among the first in the nation to offer a comprehensive integrated communication program.
The school was named in honor of WSU alumni Oliver and Betty Elliott, who had committed a significant gift to WSU primarily to endow this new school. Today, the ESC is one of the largest units in the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, serving more than 400 undergraduates in the major, 50 graduate students in the Master's of Arts in Communication (MAC) program, and approximately 900 students each semester in the basic public speaking course required of all university students.
The school offers B.A. and M.A. degrees, a field major, Bachelor of General Studies, Certificate in Applied Communication, Teaching Certificates in speech communication and journalism and a communication minor. A 40-credit undergraduate degree program, the school offers emphases in Journalism, Electronic Media, Integrated Marketing Communications and Strategic Communication. All students must complete a 22-hour set of core competency courses.
The ESC's ability to offer a convergent curriculum is supported by distinguished faculty, professional partnerships with the communication industries of Kansas, and its 35,000-square-foot facilities.
The ESC houses:
- The Sunflower, the WSU student newspaper
- Studio B, the student-produced live newscast
- WSU Speech and Debate team
- Shocker Ad Lab
The Elliott School is proud to be a vital part of Wichita State University, which is the only metropolitan university in the Kansas Regents system with a current enrollment of 15,000 students. Wichita is the largest city in Kansas with an MSA of nearly 600,000. Its vibrant local economy supports eight TV stations, 17 radio stations, nine area dailies, 32 weekly newspapers and 19 advertising and public relations agencies.