A Response from Head of COMM Department

This letter was written by Dr. Aaron Boyson, Head of Department of Communication, in response to COMM Department Ranked High For Investment Return - But Why Does Enrollment Keep Declining? 

I write to thank Ben Carpenter for his recent article about the “Comm Department Ranked High” in which he highlighted (albeit incorrectly) a decline in enrollment. After being displaced for almost three-years without a physical home on campus, we are glad to be back in a remodeled space in AB Anderson Hall and to report that our major numbers are increasing again. As of this fall, our enrollment stopped declining, and this spring our majors and double majors are both increasing from the previous three years. These data were not included in the article for some reason.

But we too wonder why any major ranked third in the nation for return on investment wouldn’t be growing. UMD Communication majors earn slightly less than Economics majors and just more than Chemistry majors over their careers, above the UMD campus average. Last year, we placed 100% of our graduates in industry, at a median starting salary of $52,708, according to UMD’s graduate follow up report. With numbers like that, we encourage all students to consider majoring in Communication.

During the period of decline Ben highlighted, we also lost 11 of our faculty due to departures and retirements — likely the biggest loss of faculty in the shortest amount of time in our 75-year history. Faculty replacements did not happen in a timely manner, but after several years I am happy to report we have hired several new terrific faculty, including two who specialize in Health Communication, a growth area nationally and in our region.

We are proud to have a strong program with a national reputation at UMD and expect it to grow.  Why? LinkedIn’s 2024 survey shows that businesses rank communication as the #1 most in demand skill. Their Vice President Aneesh Raman says this, “People skills are going to come more to the center of individual career growth, and people-to-people collaboration is going to come into the center more for company growth.”

We like those trends, but there is an even older one we care about more. Since 1938, Harvard has conducted the longest study on human happiness — the Harvard Study of Adult Development. They find that the number one predictor of health and happiness is good relationships. People live longer, and it’s a happy accident they seem also to thrive financially, too.

That’s what we strive to do in our major. We don’t train professionals, you might say, we train people, which we think a good life demands. All the data above suggests it works well. So, we invite all students to consider majoring or minoring in Communication. Not just so you can make a great living, but also a good life.