The purpose of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the nature and evolution of contemporary audiences and how they can be conceptualized from both firm and consumer perspectives. The students will examine the diversity of audiences and how they can best be served in today’s marketplace. In addition, students will learn about the ethical implications of serving modern consumers, including the challenges that accompany new technologies and data access.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, students will receive an overview of the primary and secondary research methods and approaches used in analyzing consumers and audiences across media platforms.
*PREREQUISITES: Statistics for Analysts in Communication.
This course offers a broad, non-technical overview of data sources, methods, and tools available to understand, evaluate, and target consumers and audiences. Students will be introduced to the best approaches for transforming consumer and audience data into actionable insights that cultivate business intelligence, enhance marketing and communications efforts, and drive desirable business outcomes. The course covers the full analytics development process including framing the business problem, gathering appropriate data sources, analyzing the data, packaging results, and delivering and integrating the insights.
*PREREQUISITES: None
This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of effective data-driven storytelling and communications. The students will learn how to detect and articulate the stories behind data sets and communicate data findings in visual, oral, and written contexts for various audiences and publics. The students will gain an understanding of Tableau, a data visualization tool.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn mass communication theory from its inception as a field of study, its major trends, current applications of previous paradigms, and the development of new currents of thought. The main focus of this course is the integration of current mass communication theory with an individual and organizational online presence. In addition, students will discover how digital platforms can inform the future of theoretical research and vice versa. From a practical perspective, students will learn to apply these theories to their integrative approaches in creative digital communication and design.
*PREREQUISITES: None
In this course, the students will collect and analyze real social media campaign data and describe the proper measurement mechanisms to utilize. The students will learn how to identify the data points that help clarify campaign effectiveness, master the proper approach for analyzing data, and determine how the outcomes from data analysis should modify an overall strategy.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, students are provided an overview of statistical methods commonly utilized within the communications and media industries. The overall goals of the course are for students to develop an understanding of statistical principles and concepts, develop the ability to perform statistical tests within various research contexts, and to critically evaluate statistical test results, their relevance, implications, and application.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this capstone course, the student will use an integrated research approach to synthesize and apply actionable intelligence that can be leveraged by an organization demonstrating the synthesis and application of the knowledge gained from the College of Journalism and Communications program. The student will design an audience analytics project using quantitative and/or qualitative methods and analysis to develop recommendations and a strategy for an organization to tailor its initiatives to a specific audience based on findings and needs.
*PREREQUISITES: All core courses from degree plan for this specialization. Departmental approval is required.
The students in this course will learn the methods of how to stand out, make an audience connect with a company, and to turn a website into a brand story. The students will study the value of design and copy partnership as well as create ads, emails, blog posts, and other marketing content. Students will understand what it means to write for a brand and as a brand. By the end of this course, the students will develop a brand guide and messaging documents for a brand.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, students will be introduced to the theories behind Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and apply them directly to User Experience Design (UXD). The students will learn the UXD process through a hands-on approach to bi-weekly projects that build off of one another and accumulate to the final project, a presentation of the student’s UXD recommendation for a website or other digital medium. The final presentation is a branded user experience complete with user flows, personas, information architecture, wireframes and insights from usability testing to optimize their experience. This course will teach students to effectively communicate and evaluate user experiences.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn the skills and best practices of professional digital marketers, marketing strategies, and initiatives that drives a positive return on investment for any organization. The students will also learn marketing strategies to attract new business, retain and foster repeat customers, drive leads and referrals, and increase brand awareness and loyalists.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course focuses on how the students can execute techniques that generate upper and lower funnel conversions on the most popular social media platforms. Students will work on the most advanced targeting platforms to develop a roadmap in overcoming challenges and measuring success through cost-per-click, click-through-rate, and customer acquisition. By the end of this course, the students will be able to develop a paid social media campaign and strategy that includes branding, copywriting, and a budget.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course is designed to give learners the needed knowledge and skills to develop productive and realistic strategies for inbound marketing. The content of this course will provide essential business, marketing and social media information, and activities to assist the learner in understanding the changes, methods, techniques, and strategies used in the processes of conceptualizing, creating, implementing, and measuring inbound strategies and initiatives.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course focuses on educating and instilling core values around methodologies and strategies to launch and maintain performance campaigns within Google Ads including search, display, and video strategies. The students will learn the importance, techniques, and strategies of Google Ads by analyzing the various products within the interface and what key performance indicators can fulfill the marketing goals of an organization.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn mass communication theory from its inception as a field of study, its major trends, current applications of previous paradigms, and the development of new currents of thought. The main focus of this course is the integration of current mass communication theory with an individual and organizational online presence. In addition, students will discover how digital platforms can inform the future of theoretical research and vice versa. From a practical perspective, students will learn to apply these theories to their integrative approaches in creative digital communication and design.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This capstone course was designed for the student to complete a marketing challenge project demonstrating the synthesis and application of the learnings from the College of Journalism and Communications program. Under the guidance of an instructor, the student will plan and execute a digital marketing campaign, which will include measuring, reporting, formulating solutions, developing strategies, and producing a final project that bridges the gap between theory and practice.
*PREREQUISITES: All core courses from degree plan for this specialization. Departmental approval is required.
This course focuses on the dynamic and rapidly changing field of intercultural communications by providing the students with the foundational knowledge needed for strategic communications. Students will work on a semester-long project concentrating on current topics using various intercultural communications methods related to a specified global problem. This project will bring theory into practice to help the students with problem-solving skills.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will examine activism and social change from a local and global perspective to enhance perspective of social change as it manifests through popular media and community action. The students will incorporate social and other media to critically analyze public debates around national and global political issues to identify community organizing and the breadth of human rights activism. This course will also introduce and analyze activist rhetoric, strategies for social justice, and methods for inter-movement organizing. Students will leave this course with the tools necessary to engage in strategic communication from a global activist framework.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course analyzes the tools and applications in proactive strategic communications development for crisis communications and international issues. The students will learn formulas for establishing distinctions in a market, the fundamentals for reducing risk, and advancing creative and meaningful solutions to communications challenges and crises. The students will apply theory to practice by designing communications that help protect and defend individuals, companies, and organizations facing challenges to their reputation.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn mass communication theory from its inception as a field of study, its major trends, current applications of previous paradigms, and the development of new currents of thought. The main focus of this course is the integration of current mass communication theory with an individual and organizational online presence. In addition, students will discover how digital platforms can inform the future of theoretical research and vice versa. From a practical perspective, students will learn to apply these theories to their integrative approaches in creative digital communication and design.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
The course is designed to familiarize students with key strategies and tools used in public affairs campaigns to influence public policy and public opinion. The students will explore current thinking about how public affairs works at the intersection of communication strategies, policy processes, and behavior change. The students will focus on concepts and challenges surrounding social responsibility, citizen engagement, and the role of digital technologies in triggering advocacy and action. This is course gives the students an opportunity to learn and apply global communication strategy and skills.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
The students in this course will learn the methods and strategies to use when evaluating online communication tools. Through effective working knowledge and real-world applications, the students will analyze and apply various types of research methods and tools.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course introduces students to the field of Strategic Communication. Students will explore strategic communication theory, the PESO model of communication strategies, ethical communication considerations, and how desired organizational outcomes and communication strategies are necessarily interrelated. Students will demonstrate critical global perspectives while addressing communications issues for international audiences. They also will practice sensitivity for diverse cultures and ensure their messaging is localized and parallel to the cultural context.
The capstone course was designed for the student to complete a strategic communication project demonstrating the synthesis and application of the learnings from the College of Journalism and Communications program. Under the guidance of an instructor, the student will work with an organization that requires a global strategic communication project to solve an important problem, create a strategic plan, execute a project that helps the organization achieve its objectives, and present the plan. The final plan will bridge the gap between theory and practice.
*PREREQUISITES: All core courses from degree plan for this specialization. Departmental approval is required.
In this course is designed to help the students learn the necessary skills and best practices of political organizing online. The students will learn how to develop, execute, and evaluate activist and voter engagement plans on policy and political issues. The students will also implement campaign-style tactics across email, social media, websites, voter targeting, advertising, and fieldwork. Finally, this course will help the students acquire a fundamental understanding of how to engage voters online based on self-identified and publicly available data points.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course will cover the mechanics of digital advertising with a specific focus on political campaigning. The topics in the course will include processes for creating political advertisements, techniques for maximizing engagement, and measurement of digital environments (including digital publications), social networks, and digital video. Students will use the most current industry software to have an advanced interpretation of how to use paid communications on the internet to mobilize and persuade voters.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn how to utilize email and other channels to engage potential voters, volunteers, and donors. The students will learn about voter messaging and how to ask potential donors for contributions. In addition, students will learn about email deliverability, A/B testing, and the proper use of web analytics. By the end of this course, the students will know how to reach voters organically in a variety of ways.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course is an introduction to the field of digital political campaigning offering an overview of the skills and tactics necessary to develop and implement digital strategies for success in today’s political environment. The students will be exposed to a wide range of challenges related to the technological impact on political campaigns and provided with strategies to solve those challenges.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn mass communication theory from its inception as a field of study, its major trends, current applications of previous paradigms, and the development of new currents of thought. The main focus of this course is the integration of current mass communication theory with an individual and organizational online presence. In addition, students will discover how digital platforms can inform the future of theoretical research and vice versa. From a practical perspective, students will learn to apply these theories to their integrative approaches in creative digital communication and design.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, students will review and analyze traditions in storytelling and its evolution from traditional to modern-day structures. The students will learn that corporate messaging, branding, news and information, even self-published stories and opinions are more visible, shareable and potentially influential than ever before. This course will teach students to examine narrative structures including character and arc, master plots and framing, and apply these elements to communication contexts relevant to our age of rapid communication and ubiquitous information. The students will assess and create video content that forges an emotional connection and tells a story in a memorable way without sacrificing accuracy or message. *Adobe Premiere Pro is required.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn how the web operates as well as the associated terminologies such as frontend vs. backend languages, hosting and domains, web developer tools, and more. The students will learn HTML5, CSS, and basic JavaScript concepts that will allow them to create and host their own websites. In addition, the students will be introduced to version control concepts.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
The student in this capstone course will develop an individual project using integration and culmination development, strategic development, and execution of a full communications strategy for a political communications strategy demonstrating the synthesis and application of the learnings from the College of Journalism and Communications program. The student will drive offline action via digital activity, email fundraising pitching, use paid communication to mobilize voters/supporters, optimize response channels using social media, use digital advertising, and engage voters, volunteers, and donors to maximize political engagement. The capstone project will be individual to each student and will be supervised by an industry expert who will use real-world examples to help bridge the gap between theory and practice.
*PREREQUISITES: All core courses from degree plan for this specialization. Departmental approval is required.
This course familiarizes the students with the development and impact of imagery in interactive media. Students will learn how visual “language” is the basis for developing contextual symbolic meanings that are shared throughout a culture. Semiotics, information design, and persuasive communication will be explored in this course. The students will develop communicative images using their knowledge gained through lectures, discussions, and Adobe Photoshop training.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn an interdisciplinary approach to strategic communications through the frameworks of public interest communications. Public interest communications is a science-driven discipline that draws from fields such as anthropology, sociology, social psychology, cognitive science, political science, social marketing, etc. The students will learn the science behind strategic public interest communications frameworks, analyze cases from the field, and hear directly from strategists to synthesize insights from academic research and best practice into communication strategies that can drive particular change and create meaningful impact towards an issue.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, students will be introduced to the principles of visual communication design and examine those principles through the lens of Public Interest Communications. Students will experiment with type, image, color, and shape to design visual messages and apply the design method to solve a communication problem. Students will apply the design method through a hands-on approach to weekly projects that build on one another and accumulate to the final project.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn the history of public interest communications, its role in driving change, the strategic planning process, and the six spheres in which effective social change communications campaigns work. The students will be introduced to the roles of branding, storytelling, and empathy. In addition, the students will learn to use media, policy, social marketing, activism, and communities of influence to drive change.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course takes a broad look at the role of research and evaluation in strategic communication campaigns and provides a foundation and tactics for working productively with evaluators. Funders, policymakers, and the public often want to know if a campaign “worked” in the past or will work in the future. Evaluations provide an opportunity to answer questions with some certainty, rather than simply guessing or assuming based on anecdotal experience. The students in this course will learn about the evaluation phases (formative, monitoring, and summative) and the types of research designs that evaluators use to measure campaign impact. An evaluation is ultimately an important component to successful campaigns and establish a set of tools for conducting and leveraging research as part of strategic communication practice.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn public interest communications theories and their strategic applications to practice. In addition, the students will be introduced to professional resources in public interest communications related to theory and strategic application. By the end of this course, the students will understand the major areas of public interest communications theory and how those areas have been developed through empirical research.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn the techniques and structure of effective storytelling and navigate the growing pool of research that shows how stories and narrative structure affect our brains. The students will review and experiment with new approaches to storytelling to build stories that can drive belief and behavior change.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this capstone course, the student will examine public interest communications theory and their strategic applications to practice demonstrating the synthesis and application of the learnings from the College of Journalism and Communications program. Under the guidance of an instructor, the student will investigate a real-world communication issue, formulate solutions, develop strategies, and produce a project that bridges the gap between theory and practice.
*PREREQUISITES: All core courses from degree plan for this specialization. Departmental approval is required.
The purpose of the course is to provide students with an understanding of the theoretical body of knowledge in public relations and its application to professional practice. The overall goal of the course is for students to develop an intellectual foundation in theories of public relations.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course will teach you how to tell stories with data and identify insights that drive outcomes and impact organizations. Measuring and evaluating communications and engagement activities impact and highlight the objectives of an organization. Measurement and evaluation are how smart organizations learn, improve, and succeed and is instrumental to any organization.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course focuses on the strategy and messaging tactics used to reach an audience directly. The students will learn how environmental variables such as political systems, level of economic development, legal systems, culture, and media control, access, and diffusion impacts planning. The students will create a strategic communications plan for a campaign to reach diverse audiences using research, planning, evaluation, messaging, public interest, and persuasion.
*PREREQUISITES: None
The students in this course will learn the fundamentals of strategic writing communications including measurable objectives, storytelling, and audience/channel analysis to design a comprehensive communication plan to achieve internal and external organizational goals. The students will be able to analyze and evaluate new information that may impact a communication plan.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course is the foundational course in the public relations master’s degree curriculum. The overall goal of this course is to help students develop the knowledge and skills that lead to professional competence in the field. Students will focus on the origins and significant milestones of the profession, theories and principles of public relations, professional ethics, public relations programming, and on the roles and responsibilities of public relations professionals in today’s environment, with an emphasis on the role of social media and the importance of storytelling and content development.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
As a professional in the public communication field you will likely hold a management position. You will manage projects, people, clients, agencies, issues and information. You will advise senior management and may even be an integral part of that senior leadership structure. Being prepared to take on these management functions is crucial to your ability to be an effective communication professional, whether you work for a small firm or a large one, for a business or a non-profit.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
The capstone course was designed for the student to complete a public relations and communication management project demonstrating the synthesis and application of the learnings from the College of Journalism and Communications program. Under the guidance of an instructor, the student will investigate a real-world communication issue, formulate solutions, develop strategies, and produce a project that bridges the gap between theory and practice.
*PREREQUISITES: All core courses from degree plan for this specialization. Departmental approval is required.
Students research, identify, and analyze new social media platforms and emerging technologies related to social media. The examination of the platforms and technologies will include artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, gamification, eSports, and more. Recognizing how innovations are adopted, the students will create a process for the critical evaluation of new technologies as well as the implications of the social and ethical impact of the technologies. Finally, the students will complete a comprehensive research report on a new technology of their choice and investigate how that technology will impact, or be impacted by, social media.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
Students develop a strategic social media plan focusing on branding and analyze the impact of social media on branding efforts. Using the fundamental principles learned in this course as a foundation, the students will map the landscape of social media, create brand strategies for social media marketing, audit the competitive scope of social media activities for a brand, assess the effectiveness of social media engagement strategies, and use the most influential tools in social media engagement and branding. Special attention will focus on how online tools can enhance and strengthen a product or service’s brand strategy. Using current case studies and step-by-step processes, students will learn to maximize online efforts while maintaining brand continuity and consistency.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
The purpose of this course is to teach students a new skill set in digital storytelling through ideas, production, and analysis. To create impactful stories, the students will be introduced to a new understanding and thought process of how digital stories differ from those in print, radio, and television. The students will learn about the changing roles of storytellers in news, promotion, public relations, and marketing while discussing and analyzing media consumption habits that encourage a seamless transition from active audience member to creator. The students will develop skills to produce creative online stories that will reverberate with the widest audience possible and learn video storytelling techniques with Adobe Audition and Adobe Premiere Pro.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course focuses on social media best practices for content, frequency, visuals, and the mechanics behind each practice. Students will learn how social media influences public relations, marketing, customer services, and other aspects of business communications. The course explores the differences between the major social media channels, their evolution, and the current and future status of social media for business.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn mass communication theory from its inception as a field of study, its major trends, current applications of previous paradigms, and the development of new currents of thought. The main focus of this course is the integration of current mass communication theory with an individual and organizational online presence. In addition, students will discover how digital platforms can inform the future of theoretical research and vice versa. From a practical perspective, students will learn to apply these theories to their integrative approaches in creative digital communication and design.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
The students in this course will learn the methods and strategies to use when evaluating online communication tools. Through effective working knowledge and real-world applications, the students will analyze and apply various types of research methods and tools.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course was designed to provide students develop the necessary skills to build and grow communities, lead and moderate constructive and meaningful conversation for organizations, and to succeed on social media platforms. The students will learn how to seize opportunities to open public discussions and apply best practices to create highly interactive social media aimed at specific communities of people.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn to establish social media key performance indicators based on an organization’s goals. The students will apply strategic collaboration, tactical execution, and measurement of social media efforts to reinforce online marketing goals. The students will create social media strategies and tactics, content planning and creation, paid social management and measurement tools, and crisis management for an organization.
*PREREQUISITES: None
In this course, the students will collect and analyze real social media campaign data and describe the proper measurement mechanisms to utilize. The students will learn how to identify the data points that help clarify campaign effectiveness, master the proper approach for analyzing data, and determine how the outcomes from data analysis should modify an overall strategy.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
The capstone course was designed for the student to complete a social media campaign and content calendar project demonstrating the synthesis and application of the learnings from the College of Journalism and Communications program. Under the guidance of an instructor, the student will investigate a real-world communication issue, formulate solutions, develop strategies, and produce a project that bridges the gap between theory and practice.
*PREREQUISITES: All core courses from degree plan for this specialization. Departmental approval is required.
In this advanced course, the students continue advancing through HTML5, including video and form processing, CSS3 animation, advanced coding techniques, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) compliance, and best practices for web design and development. In addition, mobile-first, responsive web design is also covered. In the second half of the class, students are introduced to JavaScript and get hands-on experience getting comfortable with JavaScript primitive and complex types, using variables, writing functions, and using constructs like loops and conditional statements. Basic project management tools and reinforcement of the design and coding processes including code validation, wireframes, mockups, and debugging techniques to round out this robust course.
*PREREQUISITE: MMC5277 Web Design Principles
This course focuses on the application of current web design, development techniques, and the most recent tools used by professionals in the field. The students will also focus on development using version control, responsive design techniques, progressive enhancement, HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery, and jQuery plugins.
*PREREQUISITES: MMC5277 Web Design Principles, COM6338 Advanced Web Topics 1: Advanced Design
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the most practical tool of a web manager, the content management system (CMS). Using WordPress, the students will gain insight of CMSs and how they are used to save time and handle large amounts of data. The students will also learn more about server scripting using PHP and database integration with MySQL.
*PREREQUISITES: MMC5277 Web Design Principles, COM6338 Advanced Web Topics 1: Advanced Design, MMC6278 Advanced Web Topics 2: Programming and Specialized Topics
This course synthesizes two different, but complementary, tools of communication: graphic design and assembly (both print and electronic). The students will learn the fundamental design principles and techniques for effective visual communication. These principles and techniques are applied through projects to achieve a communication objective across different platforms. Students can expect a practical, hands-on experience. A key tool for creating your digital work in this course is Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator is an effective tool for creating original artwork and for designing logos, banners, icons, and navigational elements for online and print formats. The artwork can then easily be exported to the Web or imported into other programs.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course familiarizes the students with the development and impact of imagery in interactive media. Students will learn how visual “language” is the basis for developing contextual symbolic meanings that are shared throughout a culture. Semiotics, information design, and persuasive communication will be explored in this course. The students will develop communicative images using their knowledge gained through lectures, discussions, and Adobe Photoshop training.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course introduces the students to the skills and concepts that enable them to create documents for both print and interactivity. Using Adobe InDesign, the students will apply their knowledge of color, type, layout, and design to create a portfolio project. While InDesign permits several possible workflows, this course will focus on those that most readily translate into digital design.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, students will be introduced to the principles of visual communication design and examine those principles through the lens of Public Interest Communications. Students will experiment with type, image, color, and shape to design visual messages and apply the design method to solve a communication problem. Students will apply the design method through a hands-on approach to weekly projects that build on one another and accumulate to the final project.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn mass communication theory from its inception as a field of study, its major trends, current applications of previous paradigms, and the development of new currents of thought. The main focus of this course is the integration of current mass communication theory with an individual and organizational online presence. In addition, students will discover how digital platforms can inform the future of theoretical research and vice versa. From a practical perspective, students will learn to apply these theories to their integrative approaches in creative digital communication and design.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, students will be introduced to the theories behind Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and apply them directly to User Experience Design (UXD). The students will learn the UXD process through a hands-on approach to bi-weekly projects that build off of one another and accumulate to the final project, a presentation of the student’s UXD recommendation for a website or other digital medium. The final presentation is a branded user experience complete with user flows, personas, information architecture, wireframes and insights from usability testing to optimize their experience. This course will teach students to effectively communicate and evaluate user experiences.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this introductory course, the students will become skilled at website creation, website deployment, and hosting. Through a historical perspective of the progression of web technologies, students will gain the foundation to clearly understand the principles of web design as well as utilize the latest programming tools like Visual Studio Code (VS Code), GIT, and essential terminal commands. Students will also learn best practices for search engine optimization (SEO) and international standards for accessibility (World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]) as they apply to HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and JavaScript.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
The capstone course was designed for the student to complete a website and communications pitch project demonstrating the synthesis and application of the learnings from the College of Journalism and Communications program. Under the guidance of an instructor, the student will research a real-world communication issue, formulate solutions, develop strategies, and produce a project that bridges the gap between theory and practice.
*PREREQUISITES: Successful completion of at least 28 credit hours from this specialization. Departmental approval is required.
This course introduces the students to guidelines and proven best practices that ensure individuals can produce and protect their online reputation (this course differs from other courses that focus on brand or organization reputation). The students will concentrate on the practical applications of guidelines to build their personal online reputation throughout the semester. This course will solely focus on producing and protecting an individual’s digital reputation. Case studies and current events will provide for rich discussion and reflection.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course will provide students with a comprehensive overview of the major concepts of the design thinking process. Students will gain confidence in using design thinking concepts to identify problems, ask better questions, brainstorm more deeply and thoughtfully, communicate as a part of a team, and innovate with more insight. This theoretical background in design thinking can aid and empower students in the process towards completing their capstone project, building their personal brand, and/or enhance their career.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course is designed for students to learn the skills and best practices of professional feature writing no matter the medium (print, digital). You’ll learn the foundation for gathering research and interviewing sources for articles. As writing is a recursive project, you’ll also edit your work, decipher, and implement editor feedback, as well as edit your classmates’ stories to provide constructive feedback. You’ll learn how to identify publications that reflect your article ideas and then identify and pitch story specifics to editors. You’ll fine-tune your craft as a writer and sharpen takeaway tools related to writing stories that go beyond features, strengthening your mass communication skills in any industry.
In this course, the students will learn how effective salespeople can comfortably communicate their ideas to any audience. This course will teach students advanced pitching skills that include how to effectively organize ideas, integrate storytelling in pitches, how to read and respond to key audience stakeholders, and how to integrate both logic and emotion in a sales appeal.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
The course examines the historical evolution and function of a value proposition crafted for an organization, product, or service. The student will learn the framework, need, benefit, and strategy behind a value proposition. Through active learning projects, students will move through the process of identifying the proper components to support the value proposition framework. In addition, the student will develop a sound and honest value proposition and evaluate it.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
In this course, the students will learn how to determine client needs, advise executives, create innovative tactics, coordinate partnerships, and team engagement for non-profit organizations and governments. The course specializes in building awareness for organizations committed to integral domestic or worldwide support in humanitarian assistance, environmental/wildlife advocacy, government services, social justice, disaster relief, health/human services, ethical economic practices, and education progression. The students will learn to navigate through the non-for-profit and government landscapes for successful strategic communication plan development as well as manage clients.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
This course was designed for the student to complete an internship to gain first-hand knowledge of trends in the field, gain the skills necessary for employment, and understand the importance of networking. Under the supervision of an experienced practitioner, the student will complete a project related to their career goals.
*PREREQUISITES: Departmental approval is required.
The course examines teaching strategies for mass communication courses in higher education. The student will learn to identify the purpose of higher education, understand faculty roles, and create a professional teaching portfolio. In addition, the student will focus on the elements of quality course designs as well as examine their roles as a professional educator.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
Social media marketers are known to carefully planning and scheduling strategic content to overcome company goals. But conversation on social media happens every day in real-time, which sometimes calls for us to be reactive vs. proactive. From trending topics, to memes, pop culture headlines, and breaking news to be sensitive to, there are several external factors to consider when publishing content. In this course, students will learn how to prepare for the unexpected, communicate swiftly yet tactfully, and navigate an ever-changing industry that seems to be “always on.”
*PREREQUISITES: Consent of instructor or graduate adviser.
In this course, you’ll learn the basics of communication-related to social change in the sports industry. Students will be introduced to communication tactics and issues for talking about the “tough” issues like racism, ableism, sexism, religion, homophobia, transphobia, domestic violence, sexual abuse, class, and social status. The skills you’ll learn are transferable to any industry facing tough, societal issues or crisis communication.
In this course, the students will learn to build a podcast for a brand, advertising, or a strategic communication challenge. The students will learn to find subjects, create strong themes, generate ideas, develop and conduct interviews, and utilize their skills and style as a host. This course reinforces the importance of authentic communication.
*PREREQUISITES: None
This course examines the fundamental roles that communication plays in corporate reputation. Students will learn how corporate reputation affects conceptualization, monitoring, measurement, management, business ethics, and valuation. This course prepares students for work in strategic planning, public relations, market research, competitive intelligence, and general management. Through interactive projects, discussions, and assignments, the students will explore the various roles communication plays in reputation building, measurement, maintenance, change, repair, defense, and evaluation.
*PREREQUISITES: None.
Fall Semester
April 1
Spring Semester
October 1
Summer Semester
February 1
College of Journalism and Communications
1204 Weimer Hall
1885 Stadium Road
PO Box 118400
Gainesville, FL 32611
APPLICATION DEADLINES
Fall Deadline: April 1
Classes Begin: late August
Spring Deadline: October 1
Classes Begin: early January
Summer Deadline: February 1
Classes Begin: early May
