We’ve all been warned. They’re notorious in the Communication and Journalism department for being the ultimate weed-out classes. And if you actually get into the class, chances are you’ll fail.

They’re the Trilogy.

If you’ve taken them, you know how difficult the classes are; if you haven’t taken them, you know how difficult the classes will be.

Even though each class is different, they all provide important information for public relations majors. These classes act as the “gatekeepers” (shout out to Ric Smith’s class) when receiving a degree in public relations.

Smith, who teaches Foundation of Mass Communication, or RTVF 3300, explains what makes his class relevant for public relations majors.

“It’s very important for them because public relations utilizes media in so many different ways,” Smith said. “It’s a matter of understanding our culture and understanding people. Since mass communication has such a big impact on who we are, public relations students really need to have that basic understanding.”

Dr. Robert Agne teaches Foundation of Human Communication, or COMM 3500, and said he believed PR students would benefit from the information taught in his class as well.

“PR people don’t just produce mass-mediated messages and want to persuade a mass based on those messages,” Dr. Agne said, “but they have people to interact with, relationships to develop, skills they need to be aware of. There’s an incredible variety of social situations that I think PR people will find themselves in and therefore find examining theories of how communication works useful for them.”

Dr. Agne’s class is acclaimed by many as the most challenging of the three courses, but he said that if students do the reading assigned, stay up-to-date and do the assignments, they should be fine.

Dr. David Sutton teaches Foundation of Rhetoric and Social Influence, or COMM 3600. This course focuses on rhetorical theory from the past 2,500 years, yet still remains useful for public relations majors today.

“If you’re in public relations, you’re in a business that deals with persuasion, so it’s good to know how people in the past have thought about persuasion,” Dr. David Sutton, who teaches, said. “Still, some of the things they’ve taught, certainly what Aristotle taught, is still relevant today.”

Even though these courses are known by communication, journalism, RTVF and PR students alike as the “dreaded trilogy,” there are still ways to succeed and perform well in them.

“Number one, come to class…everyday…even on Fridays,” Smith said. “Read every day and, really, read ahead. Then keep up along the way. Keep up with the reading and the notes. The students that I notice who have problems are those who try to cram at the last minute and it’s a very difficult class to do that.”

Dr. Sutton suggests students rely on a higher power.

“Prayer. Prayer is always good. To prepare for an exam one should always pray.”