Professional Communication Courses

Core Courses (Required)

MMC 6936 Applied Theory

Aims to bridge theory with practice in mass communication industries. The course objective is to help students understand mass communication theories, as well as media law and ethics, and use them to address contemporary issues. The course focuses on theories that can be utilized as the foundation for effective communication strategies using traditional and new media. In a final project, students will apply mass communication theories in their development of strategies to solve problems or capitalize on opportunities.

MMC 6960c Pro Master’s Seminar

This course provides a structure to kickoff the Pro Master’s program and the Capstone project. It includes lectures and guest speakers. Students will work towards completion of a proposal for their Capstone projects. The course also includes a workshop component for improving professional writing skills. Emphasis on clarity, concision, voice, storytelling and other elements of effective writing in a variety of platforms.

MMC 6660 Comm, Tech and Society

We live in a world of rapid technological innovation, creating significant changes in how we communicate and interact with forms of media. In fact, the technologies related to communication both create and amplify culture surrounding how we see, hear, read and use information, and have clear implications for politics, economics, policy, etc. This course studies the impacts of communication technology on individuals and society, and the impact that society has these technologies. It examines current issues related to the diffusion of new technologies in society as well as the obstacles to widespread use.

Concentration Course (Required)

Students will choose one of the following courses, depending on their professional interests.

MMC 6936 Digital Storytelling

This course will follow the tenets of journalism and introduce students to the fundamentals of news judgment, reporting and writing with a purpose of gaining a deeper understanding of the art of multimedia storytelling. By using a combination of text, still photos, video, audio, graphics, mobile apps, social media and other emerging digital storytelling tools, students will build on this rich storytelling medium with research and analysis of current and evolving industry trends while producing multi-dimensional stories for a digital environment.

MMC 6466 Digital Persuasive Communication

Introduces the major theories and concepts prevalent in persuasive communication and provides the opportunity to apply the knowledge to understanding the psychology of persuasion in digital media environments. It will deal with a wide range of digital persuasion issues and topics, particularly in the areas of advertising and marketing communication.

MMC 6936 Visual Storytelling Workshop

This course will assist students in developing hands-on technical skills for the creation and dissemination of content for digital production, including photography, video production, audio recording, and visualizations. Through this professional graduate workshop, students will gain the skills needed to develop or enhance a career in the fields of journalism, marketing, public relations or digital communication. Students will become proficient with DLSR cameras, lenses and video editing using Adobe Premiere.

Research Course (Required)

Students will need to fulfill a research requirement. To do so, they can choose one of the following courses: MMC 6466 Qualitative Research, MMC 6421 Research Methods in Mass Communication, MMC 6936 Applied Research Methods, or another research course cleared by their academic advisor.

Capstone Project (Required)

Students are required to complete a culminating project (6 credits) which showcases the skills they have learned in the program. Students will work on the project over a minimum of two semesters. You can check out examples of past projects here.

Electives

The Professional Master’s program offers a flexible, “mix and match” coursework structure that allows you to customize the direction you want your education to take. In addition to core courses, students are required to take a minimum of 15 credits of electives. At least 3 credits of electives must include a professional experience or industry-related practice, unless cleared by the advisor.