Explore the Agricultural Communication and Leadership degree program
Agriculture drives Nebraska's economy, providing 1 in 3 jobs across the state. As food security and sustainability becoming more important, effective communication in the agriculture industry is vital. Agricultural communicators help convey complex topics such as food production, sustainability, and biotechnology is ways that are easier to understand and more engaging to the public.
The Agricultural Communication and Leadership degree program at Wayne State taps into this growing profession that brings together an understanding of agriculture and science with a practical understanding of communication and marketing. Skilled communicators are needed to inform the public, shape industry perceptions, and influence policy.
In this program, you'll learn how to communicate the science of agriculture through writing, photography, video, and radio. You’ll also discover how to promote a business and address industry issues, while gaining an understanding of advertising, promotion, and social media marketing that apply to agriculture. These skills will you an advantage in this growing field. Additionally, agricultural communication and leadership can lead to various career paths and the opportunity to impact both local communities and global agricultural progress.
Fast facts
Degree options: B.A. or B.S. in Mass Communication / Agricultural Communication and Leadership
Delivery format: On campus (Wayne)
Program credit hours: 36 or 48
- Mass communication core courses (18 credit hours)
- Agricultural communication and leadership concentration (18 or 30 credit hours)
Note: Students must also take 30 credit hours of General Studies courses. A total of 120 credit hours are needed to graduate from WSC. Additional majors or minors can be added to help meet graduation requirements.
School: Arts and Humanities
Department: Communication Arts
Opportunities and outcomes
Communication and media topics covered
- Mass communication systems and their impacts on society
- Journalism and reporting
- Ethics for media professionals
- Laws and regulations that affect communication
- Communication for agriculture
- Live broadcasting and studio film production
- Audio production techniques
- Principles, practices, and strategies of public relations
- Public relations and integrated marketing using online media platforms
- Organizational leadership concepts and theories
Student learning outcomes
- Demonstrate knowledge of the basic concepts of mass communication
- Demonstrate mass communication skills
- Apply principles of mass media
Career Scholars Program
Students majoring in Agricultural Communication and Leadership are eligible to take part in the Career Scholars Program. The Career Scholars Program offers a generous scholarship package while you embark on a unique cooperative education journey starting your freshman year at Wayne State. During your time here, you’ll participate in career readiness activities, job site visits, job shadowing, and more - all while learning the fundamentals of professional practice. After three years on campus, you’ll complete your senior year by working at a paid job in your chosen field. Job locations include Norfolk or Grand Island, Neb., where you'll live in community housing with fellow Career Scholars students.
Intercollegiate forensics
The Wayne State Forensics Team is a competitive speech team that provides students the opportunity to grow their skills in oral and written communication, critical thinking, research development, creativity, leadership, and confidence. The team competes regionally and nationally in a variety of public address and interpretation event categories, including communication analysis/rhetorical criticism; persuasive, informative, extemporaneous, impromptu, and after dinner speaking; and dramatic and prose interpretation.
WSC Student Media
Our studios, labs, and workshops provide students with hands-on learning experiences in film, television, radio, journalism, and print. Students in the Agricultural Communication and Leadership program work in KWSC Studios to learn television and video programming. You’ll also get hands-on experience in audio production and on-air broadcasting through Wayne State’s award-winning student-run radio station, KWSC-FM.
Agricultural communication and leadership internships
Our outstanding Career Services Office is available to help you find agricultural communication and leadership internships and career opportunities. Students recently completed internships at the following locations:
- Agassiz Seed & Supply
- University of Nebraska Haskell Agricultural Lab
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Ag Sciences and Natural Resources
Graduates of the Agricultural Communication and Leadership degree program work in their chosen field using the skills they learned while at Wayne State College. Each year, eager employers welcome WSC graduates into their organizations.
Jobs of recent graduates:
- Communication Associate – University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Concord, Neb.)
- Office Assistant – Northeast Nebraska Insurance Agency (Wayne, Neb.)
- Recruitment Specialist – University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Agriculture Sciences and Natural Resources (Lincoln, Neb.)

job or grad school placement rate
within six months of graduation
Data based on most recent
employment outcomes survey
2024-25 Estimated Annual Cost of Attendance
cost per credit hour
Tuition: $5,880
Fees: $2,290.50
Food plan: $4,690
Housing: $4,730
Most Affordable College in Nebraska
- College Affordability Guide, 2024
Wayne State is considered the most affordable four-year college or university in Nebraska. With same rates for in- and out-of-state students, our tuition guarantee, and our generous scholarship packages, it is clear to see how WSC earned the title. In fact, the average remaining annual cost of attendance for 2024-25 is $2,268 for undergraduate students after financial aid and scholarships.
Agricultural Communication and Leadership degree program courses
Students must complete the mass communication core courses and agricultural communication and leadership concentration courses. Students have the option of a 36-hour or 48-hour program. A total of 120 credit hours are needed to graduate from WSC. Additional majors or minors can be added to help meet graduation requirements.
Mass communication core courses (18 credits)
Credits: 3
Description: An overview of the historical development, technological evolution, current status, and future direction of mass communication. Differences between mass communication systems will be explored, as well as mass communication effects on its audiences.
Credits: 3
Description: An introduction to journalism and journalistic writing. Students in this course work as beginning reporters for the college newspaper.
Credits: 3
Description: An in-depth investigation of the ethical foundations underlying conduct of media professionals.
Credits: 3
Description: In-depth critical perspective of mass communication theoretical development and audience effects, including short- and long-term media socialization, political propaganda, advertising, social control, and characteristics shared by all media.
Prerequisite: CNA 263 Introduction to Mass Communication
Credits: 3
Description: An overview of the laws, regulations, and court cases affecting personal and organizational communication. Topics addressed include freedom of speech, libel and slander, privacy, regulation of advertising, copyright and trademark, and internet and media law. Case studies emphasize how the courts interpret and apply the law.
Credits: 3
Description: Students enrolled in this seminar will develop a cumulative portfolio of work that demonstrates the growth of their abilities in various areas of mass communication while developing tools for career readiness. The portfolio may include any of the following types of student work: writing, photography, audio, video, or electronic media projects. In conjunction with faculty, students research regional and national media employment trends, and develop a portfolio that best reflects their chosen mass communication career. Faculty will review the portfolio and conduct a qualitative exit interview for the purpose of program review and assessment. The review of the portfolio and the exit interview must be completed to graduate.
Prerequisite: 90 hours
Agricultural communication and leadership concentration (18 or 30 credit hours)
Students pursuing the 36-credit-hour program will choose 18 credit hours from the following courses in addition to the mass communication core:
- CNA 150 Agricultural Communication (3 credits) – A course designed to introduce the student to the many forms of agricultural communication including written, spoken, and electronic.
- CNA 162 Audio Production (3 credits) – Audio production techniques including digital recording, broadcast writing, announcing, remote recording, and digital editing software. This course will also introduce students to broadcast vocabulary and radio station management structures. Course fee of $10 per credit hour required.
- CNA 274 Video and Film Production I (3 credits) – An introduction to studio and remote production including live broadcasts of news, sports, talk, narrative film, and special events. Students will learn current concepts and theories of pre-production, production, and post-production procedures and will apply them utilizing video and audio equipment for digital storytelling. Lab hours required. Course fee of $10 per credit hour required.
- CNA 374 Public Relations (3 credits) – A study of the principles and practices of effective public relations with exercises and projects emphasizing application of media skills for business, educational, and political communication.
- CNA 426 Public Relations through Social Media (3 credits) – An introduction to current systems and practices used in public relations to create and maintain internet-based interactive communications with customers and constituents. Students will create content hands-on and will be able to apply a conceptual framework including branding programs, integrated marketing communications, and other professional, legal, and ethical standards and practices. This course draws from the fields of public relations writing, photography, video production, and/or other types of multimedia content creation.
- CNA 459 Organizational Leadership (3 credits) – An introduction to the study and practice of leadership from a communication perspective. Particular focus on the relationship between communicating and leading. Examination of leadership concepts and theories in organizational group and public contexts. Students will analyze leadership styles and develop leadership skills through team projects and classroom activities. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
- CNA 497 Agriculture Communication Internship (3 credits) - The internship program provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to integrate career-related work experience with classroom learning. Work experiences occur in positions relevant to agricultural communication. Internships generally require 40-50 work hours for each 1 hour of credit. Contact WSC Career Services, your academic advisor, or department chair for specific details.
Students pursuing the 48-credit-hour program will take the above courses from the 36-hour option plus an additional 12 credit hours from the following:
- CNA 252 Public Address (3 credits) - This course sets the foundation of communication theory by setting the stage of the first roots of the western heritage in rhetoric. Students will learn how the art and skills of rhetoric evolved beginning with the Greeks of Plato and Aristotle, through the Romans of Cicero and Quintilian, through the Christianization of rhetoric in St. Augustine, and ending with the Ramian and Cartesian turns leading into modern thought and practice of communication theory. Prerequisite: CNA 100 Principles of Human Communication.
- CNA 301 Advertising Copywriting (3 credits) - An introduction to the strategies of writing and presenting promotional and advertising copy, including brand promises, calls to action, and the stylistic content requirements of traditional print and broadcast media, social media, and other content sources, in written, audio, and video formats, Includes an introduction to the purposes of advertising, sales, and marketing.
- CNA 302 Language and Human Behavior (3 credits) - Examines in-depth the relationship among language, thought, and behavior, emphasizing the role linguistic communication plays in culture and society.
- CNA 352 Organizational Presentations (3 credits) - Develop expertise, poise, and confidence in presenting professional informative, persuasive, deliberative, and epideictic speeches for public, private, or business organizations. Emphasis is placed on theory and application of public speaking, speech criticism, and listening skills in culturally diverse business and professional settings. Students employ presentation software when delivering a variety of business presentations such as informative, after-dinner, persuasive, sales advertising, and team speeches.
- CNA 377 Public Relations Writing (3 credits) - This course emphasizes writing skills needed in public relations work, awareness of public relations as a management strategy, the role of public relations in generating social awareness and responsibility, and the study of ethics in public relations.
- CNA 379 Media Management (3 credits) - This course focuses on new media in converged environments and management practices, including radio, television, and print. Includes topics such as budgeting, staff, audience research, content development, promotion, sales, labor relations, governmental regulations, community responsibility, and other related subjects.
- CNA 389 Photojournalism (3 credits)An introduction to planning, shooting, and processing still photographs for newspapers, magazines, and other print media. Designed for the student with little or no background in news photography. Laboratory experience on the college newspaper. Course fee of $10 per credit hour required.
- CNA 390 Multiplatform Journalism (3 credits)An overview of multiplatform journalism from brainstorming story ideas to interviewing, writing for the web and broadcast, and multimedia journalism skills. Students will learn how to organize electronic newscasts and create online news stories using current applications. Prerequisite: CNA 280 News Writing.
- CNA 450 Media Design Applications (3 credits)Survey of contemporary media software and design elements, which includes the creative use of current print (newspaper, yearbook, and newsletters), video (editing, motion graphics, and animation), and audio software packages in professional content creation.
- CNA 452 Public Relations Case Studies (3 credits) - The study of the role of communication theory in public relations as it applies in business, politics, and non-profit organizations through the case study method. The management role in public relations will be studied, as well as the ethical responsibility of PR professionals. This course presumes prior knowledge of public relations principles and presumes effectiveness in public speaking. Prerequisite: CNA 374 Public Relations.
- CNA 453 Integrated Brand Promotion (3 credits) - An exploration of strategic communication combining advertising, public relations, sales promotions, direct marketing, and other marketing communication functions to build relationships with constituents for business, organizations, and other groups. Includes case studies and hands-on projects. Prerequisite: Junior standing or by approval.
- CNA 458 Advanced News Writing (3 credits) - Course deals with major political, social, and economic developments that have local news interest. Complex, off-campus reporting on judicial system and court reporting, environmental, criminal justice, budgets, labor and employment, housing, poverty, etc. Will examine how bias and ideological framing arise from news routines. Prerequisite: CNA 280 News Writing and one course in social sciences.
- CNA 461 Case Studies in Organizational Leadership (3 credits) - Historical and current case study and analysis of leadership from a communication perspective. Students will research and critically analyze specific cases dealing with leadership styles and attitudes with emphasis on leadership character, credibility, ethical and compliance gaining examples/strategies from private, public, and corporate organizations. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing.
- CNA 462 Communication Research Methods (3 credits) - Focuses on methodologies and designs used in communication studies, mass communication, and public relations communication campaigns. Students will evaluate the research of others as well as design their own studies. Prerequisite: Junior standing.
- CNA 467 Intercultural Communication (3 credits) - A course aimed at developing a thorough understanding of communication and culture, in both global and community settings, and the way members of diverse cultures and subcultures utilize unique systems, symbols, and media representation to communicate among themselves and other groups. Emphasis on media representation of minority groups and U.S.-sponsored health/public welfare campaigns in developing nations will enable students to critically assess the communication process in a cultural context.
- CNA 470 Family Communication (3 credits) - An in-depth study of family communication concepts including family systems, roles, networks, power, intimacy, and decision-making. Special attention will be given to research affecting family communication in such areas as gender, culture, race, and age.
- POS 430 Public Policy (3 credits) - The study of domestic policymaking processes and institutions at all levels, taught from an intergovernmental relations perspective.
Popular pairings
Many students at Wayne State will add a second major or a minor to complement their program of study, or to focus their studies on a specific topic. Students who recently majored in Agricultural Communication and Leadership at Wayne State also paired this major with one or more of the following programs:
- Agribusiness (major)
- Business Administration (minor)
- Communication Studies (minor)
- Journalism (major or minor)
Related programs
Students interested in the Agricultural Communication and Leadership degree program may also be interested in:
Agribusiness (B.A. or B.S.)
Electronic Media (B.A. or B.S.)
Journalism (B.A. or B.S.)

Transfer to Wayne State
Our generous transfer credit policy will allow you to get credit for what you've already earned.
- If you've taken courses at other institutions, you can transfer those credits to Wayne State.
- Already have an associate degree? Seamlessly transfer your full degree through one of our transfer pathways.
- Military or veteran student? You may be able to get credit for your military experience and training.

I chose my program because I wanted to learn more about communication and mass media in general, and I found a great place to be able to explore those areas. I found when I got here that I was really interested in mass media, and I could bring my passion for agriculture into that by adding the Agricultural Communication degree. I think WSC is helping me prepare for my future by teaching me the ability and skills I will need and can apply to any job I would hold in the future. Beyond technical skills, we learn the theory and critical thinking aspects that help us to be thoughtful consumers and content producers. I am hoping to stay in a rural area and serve the community as best I can.
Clare Hornung
Raymond, Nebraska
Agricultural Communication and Leadership



I chose my program because I wanted to learn more about communication and mass media in general, and I found a great place to be able to explore those areas. I found when I got here that I was really interested in mass media, and I could bring my passion for agriculture into that by adding the Agricultural Communication degree. I think WSC is helping me prepare for my future by teaching me the ability and skills I will need and can apply to any job I would hold in the future. Beyond technical skills, we learn the theory and critical thinking aspects that help us to be thoughtful consumers and content producers. I am hoping to stay in a rural area and serve the community as best I can.


Clare Hornung
Raymond, Nebraska
Agricultural Communication and Leadership
Communication Arts Department faculty

Sean Ahern, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Dr. Sean Ahern is a communication arts professor at Wayne State College. Ahern teaches Sports Writing, Radio Production, and Radio Workshop. He is also the advisor for the on-campus radio station KWSC-FM 91.9 The Cat.

Brian Begley, MFA
Associate Professor
Brian Begley is a communication arts professor at Wayne State College and technical director and designer for the theatre program. He teaches lighting and set design, technical theatre, play writing, and acting specialties, including performance for the camera and stage combat.

Raihan Jamil, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Pat Janssen teaches in the Communication Arts Department at Wayne State College. His academic interests include journalism ethics, sports and popular culture, and the relationship between politics and mass media.

Allyn Lueders, Ph.D.
Professor
Dr. Allyn Lueders is a communication studies professor at WSC. She teaches undergraduate courses in public relations and interpersonal communication and graduate courses in public relations leadership. She is the chair of the Communication Arts Department.

Teresa Morales, Ph.D.
Professor
Dr. Teresa Morales is a communication arts professor at Wayne State College. In addition to teaching CNA 100 Principles of Human Communication, she also teaches Public Address, Argumentation, Persuasion, the Rhetoric of Civic Life, Professional Presentations, Language and Human Behavior, Organizational Leadership, Leadership Theory, and Case Studies in Organizational Leadership.

Rusty Ruth, MFA
Associate Professor
Rusty Ruth is a communication arts professor at Wayne State College. He teaches acting, directing, dramatic literature, and stage dialect courses.

Liz Viall, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
She teaches Communication Law, News Writing, Photojournalism, Agricultural Communications, and Integrated Brand Promotion, and advises the student-run newspaper, The Wayne Stater, as well as the Photography Club.

Mike White, Ed.D.
Associate Professor
Dr. Mike White is a communication arts professor and teaches television and video production, electronic media, and other mass communication courses at Wayne State College. He advises KWSC-TV, the college’s cable television station, serving Wayne and streamed online. White also oversees the KWSC Productions (The Hot Attic), the student video and the short film production studio.

Joe Whitt, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Joe Whitt is a communication arts professor at Wayne State College. He specializes in human communication, particularly in interpersonal, intercultural, family, small group, environmental, and organizational contexts.
Get in touch
Department of Communication Arts
Humanities Building, Room 213
Phone: 402-375-7395
Student clubs for mass communication and agricultural communication
Film Club - For students interested in watching and discussing films
Forensics Team - A competitive speech team that that competes regionally and nationally in a variety of public address and interpretation event categories
KWSC-FM - Student-run radio station of WSC
KWSC-TV - A student-run cable access channel
Lambda Pi Eta - National honor society for communication majors
Pi Kappa Delta - Communication honorary
PR in Action - Focuses on improving the practice of public relations
The Wayne Stater - The official campus newspaper of Wayne State College

Rankings and accolades
Recognized for excellence
A Best College of Distinction
Wayne State was recognized as a Best College of Distinction for our excellence in student engagement, teaching, community, and successful graduate outcomes.

A Top Public College in the Midwest
WSC was identified as one of the top public universities in the Midwest for 2025 by U.S. News & World’s Best Colleges ranking report.

Where you'll learnDepartment facilities

Humanities Building
The Humanities Building is home to students in media, communication, language, and literature programs at Wayne State.

Student media labs
Our student media labs provide a hands-on learning environment for students in mass communication programs at WSC.
Your next steps
