Student Experience

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Immersion

Immersion is an opportunity for undergraduate students to pursue their passions and interests through experiential learning. Media, politics, law, business, medicine, technology, gender, sexuality, race, and more—communication intersects with many areas of inquiry that can make for exciting Immersion experiences.

Students interested in communication should think broadly about the many Immersion experiences that can connect with communication studies. For example, a student interested in civic engagement could work with a local nonprofit organization that serves disadvantaged communities, followed by a presentation about this experience. Or, a student interested in digital storytelling could create a documentary video and offer a public screening.

The opportunities are endless. Below are but a few options of how students can complete their Immersion experience in communication studies. This list is meant only to spark creativity; you are encouraged to develop your own unique Immersion project based on your interests and passions.

Immersion Opportunities

Civic Engagement and Advocacy

Politics, public engagement, and community organizing are fundamentally communicative endeavors. The Department of Communication Studies offers a wide range of courses to students who want to fulfill their Immersion requirement by engaging fellow citizens on issues that affect us all.

You could combine different CMST courses with volunteering on a political campaign, working with a local nonprofit, interning in the public defender’s office, or leading a Vanderbilt student organization devoted to advocacy and engagement.

Public Speaking and Oratory

Even with the tools of digital communication at our fingertips, the art of oratory remains as important as ever. In addition to taking CMST courses related to the art of oratory, you can complete an Immersion project by participating in public speaking events around campus. Opportunities include the Franklin K. Houston Public Speaking Contest, the Vanderbilt Chapter of Toastmasters International, and TEDx Vanderbilt, which allows students with a passion for public speaking and big ideas to influence their fellow Vanderbilt students.

Study Abroad

Study abroad is a great way for students to create a novel, exciting Immersion experience. If you study abroad and are interested in communication, you can enroll in courses related to the media, language, and culture of your host country. You can also take a course on intercultural communication, which provides a revealing perspective on the problems and possibilities of communicating across cultural divides.

Completing an Immersion project on top of studying abroad allows you to pair the study of communication with the international pathway of the Immersion requirement.

Many study abroad programs offer courses such as intercultural communication, media around the globe, rhetoric in the ancient world, and more. Receiving credit for one of these courses is fairly straightforward and will likely transfer as an elective into your CMST major.

All CMST majors thinking about studying abroad should make an appointment with Isaac West, Director of Undergraduate Studies, to receive pre-approval for study abroad courses. This meeting should happen BEFORE the semester in which a student hopes to study abroad.

Students should also make an appointment with Vanderbilt’s Study Abroad Office.

Debate

Participation in debate has long been an immersive activity, with debaters becoming skilled in constructing arguments, researching evidence to support those arguments, and organizing those arguments into persuasive positions.

Debate offers several possible Immersion opportunities. Students interested in pursuing debate as their Immersion experience should contact Vanderbilt debate faculty members.

Interdisciplinary Immersion

Law, politics, medicine, health, media, social movements, business, history—communication studies teaches courses related to all of these areas, but so do other departments on campus.

With Immersion Vanderbilt, students are not only able but are encouraged to experiment with interdisciplinary Immersion experiences.

If you’d like to discuss the interdisciplinary potential of Immersion, contact Paul Stob, professor of communication studies.

Immersion Contact

Above are just some of the options for linking your Immersion experience with the study of communication. If you’d like to learn more, contact Department Chair Jeffrey Bennett, Director of Undergraduate Studies Isaac West, or any CMST faculty member.

Internships

Communication studies students have completed internships in a variety of areas—political campaigning, media consulting, broadcast journalism, advertising, public relations, radio and television programming, and film production. Contact Courtney Travers, Director of Internships for the Department of Communication Studies.

Internship Opportunities

Media, Film, and Digital Technology

If you’re interested in journalism, film and television production, social media, and similar areas, the Department of Communication Studies can offer valuable resources.

One option is to participate in the Vandy-in-Hollywood summer internship program. If you’re interested in a career in the entertainment industry, or even if you just want to spend a summer in Hollywood, this is an excellent opportunity. What’s more, participation in Vandy-in-Hollywood can be combined with communication studies courses related to film, television, and media production to constitute an Immersion experience.

In addition to participating in an external internship, students interested in media can participate in any number of Vanderbilt-sponsored programs. Vanderbilt Student Communications, which is responsible for the student-run The Vanderbilt Hustler and much more, offers students a range of hands-on experiences related to production and content creation.

Interdisciplinary Internships

The communication studies department sponsors one-credit-hour interdisciplinary internships (INDS 3880 and INDS 3884), which are repeatable for a maximum of three credit hours. Credit earned will not count toward major/minor requirements but will count as part of your total credit hours earned toward graduation. Any student who is at least a sophomore and in good academic standing may participate.

Students obtain their own placement but will have a communications studies faculty adviser who works with them to develop a list of readings or research agenda for the internship. Students should email Courtney Travers, director of internships. Please note that only students who have declared a major or minor in CMST will be advised. Read more about interdisciplinary internships.

Summer Internships Subsidies

Vanderbilt provides a subsidy to waive the cost associated with the academic credit required for internships. See the Career Center for more information and eligibility.

Lambda Pi Eta

Lambda Pi Eta crest

Lambda Pi Eta is the official honor society of the National Communication Association and an accredited member of the Association of College Honor Societies. The Delta Psi Chapter of Lambda PiEta at Vanderbilt University was founded in 1996.

The purposes of Lambda Pi Eta are to:

Recognize, foster, and reward outstanding scholastic achievement;
Stimulate interest in the field of communication;
Provide an opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas in the field of communication;
Promote and encourage professional development among communication majors;
Establish and maintain close relationships and mutual understanding between faculty and students; and
Explore options for further graduate education.

To be eligible for membership, students must:

Have completed 60 semester credit-hours and have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0.
Have completed 12 semester credit-hours in communication courses and have a grade point average of at least 3.25 in those courses.
Be currently enrolled as a full-time student in good standing.

To learn more about Lambda Pi Eta, contact Dustin Wood.

Awards

Franklin K. Houston Speaking Contest

Among the many gifts to Vanderbilt University from the late Franklin K. Houston, life trustee, was an endowed fund to provide prizes for public speaking.

Mr. Houston grew up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and took public speaking while he was a student at Vanderbilt. When he became CEO of the Corn Merchants Bank in New York City, he established this competition to encourage competent public speaking, as he believed that his experience at Vanderbilt had made a very real difference in his own life.

The Houston speech competition is held every semester.

Recent Winners

2025: Olga Konstantara, Jonah Barbin, Savannah Harris

2024: Olivia Gordon, Shayda Niksefat, Karalyn Smith-Ross

2023: Madelina Huffman, Cory Wurtenberger

2022: Andres Hernandez, Blair McDonald, Payton Frankiewicz

Founders Medal for Oratory

Since 1877, a gold medal has been awarded annually to the top graduating student from each school in honor of founder Cornelius Vanderbilt, who endowed the awards. In addition, Cornelius Vanderbilt established the Founder’s Medal for Oratory, which was first awarded in 1876, before our other Founder’s Medals.

The tradition of Founder’s Medals lives on today with a medal still given for “oratory,” as well as for top honors in Vanderbilt’s 10 schools and colleges.

Recent Winners

2025: Ainsley Gill

2024: Daniel Ardity

2023: Sojourner Rouco-Crenshaw

2022: Keely Wilson