Department of Communication Studies

Winter 2026 Quarter

Monday – Thursday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  
Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30pm 

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 19): Closed
Presidents Day (February 16): Closed

Spring Break (March 21 - March 30)

See the Academic Calendar for more information about the important dates and deadlines at WWU.

Contact Us

Please call us at our main number (360) 650-3870 or email Communication Studies Advising with any questions you may have. To contact a member of staff or faculty directly, see the department directory on the People page.

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Why Communication Studies?

Our Mission

We focus on the centrality of human communication for understanding our relationships, our communities, and ourselves. Our teaching, scholarship, and service nurture inclusive discourse, critical thinking, and cooperative solutions in a diverse global community. We offer opportunities to develop communication skills and explore communication theories within a rigorous liberal arts program.

Statement of Principles

The Department of Communication Studies is committed to transformative education as a guiding principle for service oriented, civic engagement. Transformative education embodies a commitment to a diversity of thought, expression, and culture; critical thinking, intellectual humility, and ideological reflection; and an inclusive and equitable vision of academic excellence.

As a department, we are committed to and respect individuals and groups, assuming the best of others’ intentions. Our community is grounded in trust, empathy, forgiveness, and humility. We are dedicated to championing our students, staff, and faculty. 

We value social justice—the foundation of which is rooted in inclusive discourse among students, staff, faculty, and the broader community. We value solution-oriented collaborations, transparency, magnanimity, and elevating disempowered and marginalized perspectives.

We are dedicated to putting our values into action through departmental policies, procedures, and curriculum that consider all the perspectives in our community.