Apr 27, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog 
    
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2020-2021 Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Course Descriptions

How to Read Catalog Course Descriptions

Texas Tech offers nearly 5,000 courses as part of its curriculum. These courses are listed alphabetically by subject prefix within each college and departmental section of this catalog. The courses appear in numerical order, moving from beginning freshman or developmental level courses to graduate, research, and professional courses.

Not all courses listed in this catalog are offered every year. An online class schedule published before each registration period indicates courses that will be available during the upcoming term or semester and when each class will meet. The class schedule can be found at (www.depts.ttu.edu/officialpublications/class_schedule/index.php). The university reserves the right to cancel any scheduled course or withdraw any program from the list of offerings when the best interests of the institution require such action.

Courses are designated by a subject prefix and number along with a descriptive title. Learn more  about interpreting the course descriptions found throughout the catalog.
 

COIN - Cooperative Internship (Undergraduate Courses)
  

  • COIN 3000 - Cooperative Internship

    V1-6 Semester Credit Hours
    Supervised internship in an approved industrial or professional establishment. Approval of enrollment by Co-op program required.

COMS - Communication Studies (Undergraduate Courses)
  

  • COMS 1300 - Introduction to Communication Studies

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    TCCNS: [TCCNS: SPCH1311] A broad-based introduction to the field of communication studies, covering the major content areas in the discipline.
  

  • COMS 1301 - Interpersonal Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    TCCNS: [TCCNS: SPCH1318] A study of the human communication process in one-to-one encounters. Fulfills core Social and Behavioral Sciences requirement.
  

  • COMS 1310 - Fundamentals of Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Introductory survey of the field of communication studies, including communication models, the rhetorical tradition, interpersonal and relational communication, and organizational and small group communication. Required for all communication studies majors and minors. Fulfills core Social and Behavioral Sciences requirement. (CL)
  

  • COMS 2300 - Public Speaking

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    TCCNS: [TCCNS: SPCH1315] Students learn to prepare and deliver effective presentations, adapt to various audiences, and adjust to different speaking contexts. Required for all communication studies majors and minors. Fulfills core Communication (Oral) requirement. (CL)
  

  • COMS 2310 - Communication and Popular Culture

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Historically examines the social influence of U.S. popular culture from the 1960s to today, paying particular attention to the meanings communicated and the ideologies conveyed. Fulfills core Language, Philosophy, and Culture requirement.
  

  • COMS 2320 - Communication in Nursing

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Survey of nursing communication issues preparing nurses to become competent communicators with patients and physicians, and to navigate healthcare teams, patient education, and workplace conflict.
  

  • COMS 2350 - Introduction to Communication Disorders

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Explores the range and types of communication disorders and examines their impact on an individual’s psychological, social, emotional, cultural, and educational status. Does not count toward COMS major credit.
  

  • COMS 2358 - Speaking for Business

    3 Semester Credit Hours

    Preparation for communicating in businesses and organizations. Focuses on internal communication practices, including speeches, seminars, presentations, interviews, and consulting.

      Fulfills core Communication (Oral) requirement.

  

  • COMS 3102 - Forensic Activities

    1 Semester Credit Hours
    Offers students the opportunity to receive credit for extensive participation in forensic activities. May be repeated up to 4 semester hours; 2 semester hours may be applied toward communication studies major.
  

  • COMS 3301 - Communication Theory

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Analysis and critique of communication theories in social-scientific, empiricist, interpretive, and humanistic research traditions. Required for all communication studies majors and minors. (CL)
  

  • COMS 3302 - Communication Research

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Critique and application of research methods in communication studies research projects. Required for all communication studies majors. (CL)
  

  • COMS 3310 - Rhetoric in Western Thought

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Explores theories of rhetoric ranging from ancient Greece to present day. Students examine different conceptions of how rhetoric negotiates public character, social truths, and power. (CL)
  

  • COMS 3313 - Persuasion

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Analyzes representative theories and models of persuasive processes and their implications for communication behavior. Includes theories of public, interpersonal, and mass communication.
  

  • COMS 3314 - Argumentation and Debate

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Surveys the evolution of argumentation with emphasis on modern viewpoints and application of theory to selected controversies.
  

  • COMS 3315 - Political Campaign Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Studies the strategies of communication and persuasion in American political campaigns, focusing on campaigns currently in progress.
  

  • COMS 3319 - Persuasion and Social Movements

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Studies the role of persuasion in social movements, both historical and contemporary. Analyzes the various persuasive strategies employed as social movements evolve.
  

  • COMS 3320 - Media, Technology, and Society

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Investigates the historical development of communication technologies and examines the complex ways they have shaped and transformed society.
  

  • COMS 3321 - The Rhetoric of Film

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Treating film as a rhetorical art, this course focuses on the social, cultural, and political consequences of contemporary U.S. cinema.
  

  • COMS 3332 - Intercultural Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Explores communication and culture within global, national, and local contexts. Examines cultural group values, practices, and communicative behaviors from diverse perspectives. Applies topics such as cultural barriers, cultural similarities/differences, prejudice, and privilege to everyday communicative encounters. (CL)
  

  • COMS 3333 - Communication in Relationships

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Surveys research concerning the role of communication in the development, maintenance, and decay of interpersonal relationships.
  

  • COMS 3334 - Gender and Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Examines gender in contemporary society, giving attention to gender roles, masculine and feminine communication styles, social institutions that shape gender, and everyday applications of gender in the lives of people. [WGS 3312 ]
  

  • COMS 3335 - Nonverbal Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Studies the origin, function, and control of nonverbal, symbolic elements inherent in communication.
  

  • COMS 3351 - Communication in Instruction and Training

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Applies instructional communication theory to the processes of instruction, training, and performance in varied learning contexts. Students gain experience in assessing needs; developing objectives, a training plan, and presentational materials; delivering a training presentation; and reporting training outcomes.
  

  • COMS 3353 - Small Group Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Addresses group process and interaction; specifically, how to make group functional while focusing on factors such as leadership, diversity, conflicts, and other appropriate contemporary topics.
  

  • COMS 3355 - Communication in Organizations

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    An introduction to group process and interaction, the concepts of leadership, and effective participation.
  

  • COMS 3356 - Leadership and Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    A broad-based theoretical approach to the study of leadership and communication. Application to a variety of settings will also be discussed.
  

  • COMS 3359 - Interviewing: Process and Procedures

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Principles drawn from contemporary interpersonal communication theory are specifically applied to informational, employment, and persuasive interview situations. Practical application of theoretical concepts is encouraged through in-class role-playing interviews and through analysis of actual interviewing techniques.
  

  • COMS 3365 - Communication in Healthcare

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Introductory survey of the influence of communication in health and healthcare delivery within interpersonal, organizational, and mass-mediated contexts.
  

  • COMS 4000 - Independent Research in Communication Studies

    V1-3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisites: 18 hours of COMS courses and consent of instructor. Individual research in COMS area of student’s choice under faculty member guidance. May be repeated once for credit up to 6 hours.
  

  • COMS 4304 - Internship in Communication Studies

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor. tudent internship, under supervision of Media and Communication coordinator, in a selected area of applied communication.
  

  • COMS 4310 - Special Topics in Rhetoric

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. Consideration of selected topics in rhetoric. May be repeated for credit.
  

  • COMS 4314 - Directing Speech and Debate Activities

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Methods and principles involved in directing extracurricular speech activities such as debate, oral, interpretation, and public speaking.
  

  • COMS 4330 - Special Topics in Interpersonal Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. In-depth analysis of selected areas and topics in interpersonal communication such as intimate relationships and family as well as the intersections of interpersonal and intercultural communication. May be repeated for credit.
  

  • COMS 4350 - Special Topics in Corporate-Organizational Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. Consideration of selected topics in corporate-organizational communication. May be repeated for credit.

COMS - Communication Studies (Graduate Courses)
  

  • COMS 5111 - Communication Instruction in Higher Education I

    1 Semester Credit Hours
    First of two courses required of all communication studies teaching assistants. Provides individual development in philosophies and practices unique to teaching basic oral communication courses.
  

  • COMS 5112 - Communication Instruction in Higher Education II

    1 Semester Credit Hours
    Second of two courses required of all communication studies teaching assistants. Provides individual development in philosophies and practices unique to teaching basic oral communication courses.
  

  • COMS 5300 - Communication Theory

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Provides a comprehensive overview and history of contemporary communication theories and research. Students will read, comprehend, and critique original scholarly research beginning with general semantics theory and culminating with the most recently published reviews of theoretical work in communication studies.
  

  • COMS 5301 - Qualitative Research Methods

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Introduces students to ethical and practical applications of qualitative research methodologies. Through hands-on experience, students will conduct a research project related to their area of interest, analyze data, and write a final essay.
  

  • COMS 5302 - Intercultural Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Examines scholarly studies of the relationship between culture and communication in global, national, and local contexts. Explores cultural group values, practices, and communicative behaviors from diverse theoretical and philosophical perspectives.
  

  • COMS 5303 - Communication in Small Groups

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Studies factors affecting interpersonal communication in small group settings. Course content includes consideration of both theoretical and applied orientations to the study of small group communication.
  

  • COMS 5304 - Communication in Organizations

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Examines theoretical perspectives, contemporary, and traditional research and practical models and related issues affecting human communication in workplace settings and other organized structures (e.g., nonprofit, government).
  

  • COMS 5305 - Quantitative Research Methods

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    The study of quantitative research methods in communication research, emphasizing research designs, quantitative treatments, and analysis. Course requirements will include data entry, statistical analysis, and a research prospectus.
  

  • COMS 5306 - Theories of Rhetoric

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    An in-depth study of rhetorical theories which have had significant impact on the research, teaching, and practice of communication behavior. Students must write a lengthy research paper in order to successfully complete this course.
  

  • COMS 5307 - Historical Critical Research Methods

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Survey of contemporary methods of rhetorical criticism and their application in analyzing a wide variety of message types. Students must write multiple essays exemplifying rhetorical criticism in order to successfully complete this course.
  

  • COMS 5309 - Conflict Management and Problem Solving

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Study and research of conflict management with emphasis on functional approach to conflicts through mediation, negotiation, and other conflict management approach.
  

  • COMS 5310 - Graduate Studies in COMS

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Introduces graduate students to communication studies, equips them with the skills to be successful in graduate school, and facilitates their professional development.
  

  • COMS 5313 - Theories of Persuasion

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Analysis of representative theories and models of persuasive processes and their implications for communication behavior. Theories of public, interpersonal, and mass communication are included.
  

  • COMS 5314 - Professional Communication in Health, Science, and Technology

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Exploration of the nature and roles of discourse processes in scientific, technological, and healthcare interactions, including interpersonal, organizational, public, new media, and intercultural communication contexts.
  

  • COMS 5315 - Nonverbal Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Examines communicative functions of nonverbal message behavior. Considers a variety of behavioral domains and interaction contexts from both theoretical and practical perspectives.
  

  • COMS 5318 - Interpersonal Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Communication theory and research on historical and contemporary topics in interpersonal communication contexts.
  

  • COMS 6000 - Master’s Thesis

    V1-6 Semester Credit Hours
  

  • COMS 6302 - Seminar in Interpersonal Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    A research course focusing on specific topics in interpersonal communication. Topics vary with students’ needs. May be repeated for credit.
  

  • COMS 6303 - Seminar in Organizational Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Focuses on research in specific topics in corporate-organizational communication. Topics vary with students’ needs and/or the research interests of the instructor.
  

  • COMS 6304 - Seminar in Rhetorical Theory

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Research seminar focusing on specific topics in rhetoric. Topics will vary. Course may be repeated for credit.
  

  • COMS 6305 - Seminar in Communication for Center Directors

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Explores center directorship communication and services provided by these independent academic units within a variety of higher education contexts as educational change agents.
  

  • COMS 6307 - Seminar in Instructional Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    A research course focusing on specific topics in instructional communication. Topics vary with students’ needs. May be repeated for credit.
  

  • COMS 6308 - Seminar in Cultural and Intercultural Communication

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    In-depth analysis of selected areas and topics in intercultural and/or critical cultural human communication. Course topics may explore international and U.S. co-cultural communication research.
  

  • COMS 6350 - Master’s Report or Exam

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisites: Student must have completed at least 18 graduate level hours before taking this course. Facilitates study, preparation, and defense for a student to complete the final Master’s level project or exam (non-thesis project). Departmental permission must be secured before registering. Should be taken in student’s final semester.
  

  • COMS 7000 - Research

    V1-12 Semester Credit Hours

CONE - Construction Engineering (Undergraduate Courses)
  

  • CONE 1100 - Introduction to Construction

    1 Semester Credit Hours
    Seminar designed to provide an introduction to the construction industry. Contains a general overview of the industry and the various career paths that are available within the industry as a whole.
  

  • CONE 2200 - Construction Materials and Blueprint Reading

    2 Semester Credit Hours
    Introduction to construction methods, materials, processes, and working drawings and specifications. Class blueprint exercises will be assigned and utilized to develop critical blueprint and specification reading skills.
  

  • CONE 2302 - Surveying

    3 Semester Credit Hours
     Prerequisite: C or better in MATH 1321  or MATH 1451  or MATH 1452  or MATH 2450 . Care and use of modern surveying equipment, differential leveling, area calculations, horizontal and vertical curves, and effects of observation errors.
  

  • CONE 3300 - Construction Equipment

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisites: IE 2324 . Introduction to construction equipment including types of equipment, ownership and operational costs, estimating equipment costs, equipment scheduling and selection, and fleet management.
  

  • CONE 3302 - MEP Systems and Design for Construction

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: At least junior standing in construction engineering or instructor consent. Introduces students to mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in buildings. Includes basic design principles, conservation measures, and green building practices.
  

  • CONE 3304 - Sustainable Building Design and Construction

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Techniques and methods of sustainable construction and design. Addresses the importance of team effort among owners, developers, architects, engineers, and contractors. USGBC and LEED process will be studied.
  

  • CONE 3310 - Construction Structural Analysis and Design

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: CE 3303 . Covers the fundamental concepts of structure analysis and design associated with statically determinate and indeterminate structures for common members, systems, and materials.
  

  • CONE 3312 - Construction Foundations and Earthwork

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: CE 3303 . Identifies fundamentals of soil properties and addresses principles of soil mechanics and the design of foundations for structures.
  

  • CONE 4031 - Special Topic in Construction Engineering

    V1-3 Semester Credit Hours
    Elaborates on a special topic of current interest in construction engineering. May be repeated for credit.
  

  • CONE 4100 - Construction Internship

    1 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisites: At least junior status in the construction engineering program and consent of the department chairperson. Practical work experience in the construction or engineering industry. The practicum includes a written report and an oral presentation addressing work experience. Requires a minimum work commitment of 3 months.
  

  • CONE 4220 - Construction Capstone

    2 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisites: CONE 4300 , CONE 4320 , and CONE 4322 . Design and development of real world construction projects. Projects require cost estimate, project schedule, site safety plan, and onsite preconstruction planning. Written proposals and oral presentations required.
  

  • CONE 4300 - Construction Safety

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisites: At least junior status in the construction engineering program or instructor consent. Management of safety and health programs for the construction company, including OSHA regulatory requirements. Students earn a 30-hour OSHA card upon successful completion of OSHA requirements. (CL)
  

  • CONE 4310 - Construction Steel Structures

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: CONE 3310 . Common practices and terminology of construction and design of steel structures. AISC-LRFD method is used to emphasize design, fabrication, and installation of steel elements and connections.
  

  • CONE 4312 - Construction Concrete Structures

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: CONE 3310 . Common practices and terminology of construction and design of concrete structures. ACI 318-Strength method emphasizes design, fabrication, and installation of concrete elements. Formwork design is also emphasized.
  

  • CONE 4314 - Masonry Construction

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: CE 3303 . A study of material properties and common practices of design and construction of masonry structures. Use of MSJC code (ACI 530/ASCE 5/TMS 402).
  

  • CONE 4320 - Construction Cost Estimating

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisites: At least junior status in the construction engineering program or consent of the department chairperson. Construction drawings and specs used to quantify material, labor, overhead, and equipment for bid preparation. Computer software used to develop construction bid in project simulation and case study.
  

  • CONE 4322 - Construction Management

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: At least junior status in the construction engineering program or consent of the department chairperson. Addresses modern methods for managing construction projects including CPM scheduling, resource allocation, and funds flow. Practical application made through project simulations.
  

  • CONE 4324 - Construction Contracts and Specifications

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: At least junior status in the construction engineering program or consent of the department chairperson. Principles and analysis of construction contracts and project specifications as well as contract law, negotiations, and ethics. (CL)

CONE - Construction Engineering (Graduate Courses)
  

  • CONE 5031 - Independent Study in Construction

    V1-3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: Graduate student standing in engineering. Explores advanced construction engineering topics not covered by current curriculum.
  

  • CONE 5302 - Construction Safety and Risk Management

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: Graduate standing or instructor consent. A study of risk assessment and management techniques, methods, and models used in the construction industry to minimize and control various risk.
  

  • CONE 5304 - Sustainable Building Design and Construction

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: Graduate standing or instructor consent. Design and construction of high-performance buildings with the basis on which sustainability can be evaluated.
  

  • CONE 5314 - Masonry Design and Construction

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: Graduate standing or instructor consent. Design and construction of masonry structures per current Joint Standards Masonry Committee Building Code Requirements and Specifications. Focus is on clay and concrete block masonry.
  

  • CONE 5320 - Construction Cost Estimating and Control

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: Graduate standing or consent of instructor. Study of advanced topics in cost estimating and control, including methods, knowledge, and computer tools for project bidding, budgeting, financing, and accounting.
  

  • CONE 5322 - Construction Management

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: Graduate standing or instructor consent. Study of advanced topics in construction management, including methods, knowledge, and computer tools for project planning and administration.
  

  • CONE 5331 - Special Topics in Construction Engineering

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: Departmental approval. Elaborates on a special topic of current interest to graduate students with an interest in construction engineering. May be repeated for credit.
  

  • CONE 5332 - BIM and 4D Modeling

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Prerequisite: Graduate standing or instructor consent. Introduction to building information modeling and its applications in the construction industry.
  

  • CONE 6000 - Master’s Thesis

    V1-6 Semester Credit Hours
  

  • CONE 6330 - Master’s Report

    3 Semester Credit Hours
  

  • CONE 7000 - Research

    V1-12 Semester Credit Hours
  

  • CONE 8000 - Doctor’s Dissertation

    V1-12 Semester Credit Hours

CRIM - Criminology (Undergraduate Courses)
  

  • CRIM 2333 - The U.S. Criminal Justice System

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Surveys the structure and process of the U.S. criminal justice system, including policing and cross-national comparison.
  

  • CRIM 2335 - Homicide

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Analyzes homicide by strangers, family members, and acquaintances from a criminological perspective. Serial, mass, school shootings, and hate crime murder are also examined.
  

  • CRIM 3328 - Offender Re-entry and Reintegration

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Investigates successful reintegration of previously incarcerated offenders. Topics include justice policies, politics, privilege, inequality, and navigating multiple barriers nationally and cross-nationally.
  

  • CRIM 3339 - Crime Data Analysis

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    An introduction to understanding crime data, statistical analysis, and interpretation of crime data and trends.
  

  • CRIM 3341 - Race, Ethnicity, and Crime

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Examination of diversity and multicultural differences in crime trends and the criminalization of behavior of racial and ethnic groups; examination of social control power differentials.
  

  • CRIM 3357 - Prison and Society

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Examines the prison through intersectional analyses of policies, politics, institutional history, and inequalities and takes a critical approach to the prison institution, culture, and structure.
  

  • CRIM 4321 - Cross-national and Global Crime

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    A comparative, cross-national approach to crime that applies criminological theory to understanding social and cultural factors surrounding criminalization of behavior and societal response to offending.
  

  • CRIM 4325 - Criminological Theory

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Surveys classical and contemporary theories of criminology and sociology of crime.

CS - Computer Science (Undergraduate Courses)
  

  • CS 1300 - Computers and Modern Society

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    Survey of computers, their uses, and their impact on society. Brief introduction to computer programming and the use of word processor, spreadsheet, and data base application software. Credit may not be applied toward a computer science major or minor.
  

  • CS 1303 - Programming and Data Analysis in Matlab

    3 Semester Credit Hours
    The course will focus on basic programming skills in the C/C++ language. This course cannot be used for a CS major or minor.
 

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