Online Master’s Degrees in Communications

SDSU’s online master of mass communication (M.C.C.) program is specifically directed towards mid-career professionals working in journalism or strategic communications. It’s designed to focus on new media and has added emphasis in navigating the diverse nature of communications. Students come from a variety of backgrounds including print, broadcast, marketing and public relations.

The program follows a cohort model, where students take most courses together typically with 15 students per class. Each semester includes two back-to-back eight-week courses. Students have a couple completion options. The first is to complete the program with 32 credit hours and conclude with a professional project where they choose a profession-related problem, propose a solution and then carry out a creative project. This is designed to be applied towards their current work and should help position them for advancement. The other option is to complete the program with 36 hours of coursework that would require building a professional portfolio of course-related projects along the way. Because the program is focused on practical skills that can be applied immediately, at least half the courses students will take must be skills-based (e.g. health campaigns or opinion writing).

Unique to the SDSU program are the learning objectives that are geared specifically toward building awareness around diversity, inclusion, global communications and ethics as it relates to communications. For example, three objectives from the program include:

• Demonstrate an understanding of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and, as appropriate, other forms of diversity in domestic society in relation to mass communications
• Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of peoples and cultures and of the significance and impact of mass communications in a global society
• Demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity

While these elements are likely introduced in most of the required coursework, three courses specifically focus on these objectives: “Media Law Case Studies,” “Women in Media,” and “International Media.”

The University of Alabama’s online M.A. in communication studies program is focused on the specialization in organizational leadership. Students who complete this program excel in understanding and managing organizational dynamics and management-level communications by providing training in leadership. This is a great fit for prospective students wishing to position themselves in higher-level leadership positions within their career. The coursework covers theory and practice essential to organizational leadership including public discussion, negotiation, persuasion and interpersonal communication. Graduates of this program will leave with skills and knowledge that will help them become better leaders.

The online communications program falls within the College of Communication & Information Sciences vision to promote excellence and promoting intellectual creativity and curiosity. The college’s strategic plan focuses on the goal to bring research and dissemination to the forefront of all their programs. Students can also be encouraged by the college’s commitment to fostering diversity which would be an element throughout all the coursework. In fact, the accrediting body, AEJMC used the college as a model for the International Mass Communication Training and Research Center.

The program requires 30 credit hours (12 of which are within the organizational leadership specialization). The coursework is pre-determined for the online program. Examples of core theory courses include “Gender and Political Communications and Technology,” “Culture” and “Human Communication.” Organizational leadership specialization course examples include Conflict and Negotiation and Group Leadership. Once initial coursework is complete, students complete a professional project designed to be completed within their current professional environment.

Located about 60 minutes from New York City, Sacred Heart’s M.A. in strategic communications and public relations has a hybrid program that, while requiring in-person courses, the blended courses and “innovative scheduling” (i.e. offering face-to-face classes combined with online sessions) make for a program that works with a student’s busy schedule. This flexible schedule allows students who live in and around New York City the flexibility to continue to work in their field and develop skills in three concentrations: corporate communication and public relations, digital media public relations, and political communication and multimedia production. The diverse nature of the coursework gives students the freedom to tailor their degree to their career goals. Courses also offer students the opportunity to think critically about how the public digests information and how that plays a role in their work in communications. Examples of courses offered include “Crisis Communication,” “Gender, Identity, and Media,” and “Race, Politics, and Media.” Graduates work in or go on to careers in non-profit management, crisis communications, event planning, political communication and corporate social responsibility among others.

The program requires 36 credit hours and can be completed within one year as a full-time student (attending class two nights a week) or in two years as a part-time student (attending class one night a week). After coursework is completed, students can choose either an internship or a capstone project that can be completed within a student’s workplace to help advance their career. Students leave the program with a tangible portfolio that will demonstrate their skills in digital media. A bonus of the program is that all students receive a MacBook Pro on which they’ll receive training on the platforms they’ll need to know to advance in the field.

St. Bonaventure has one of the few master’s of integrated marketing programs in the country. Whether a prospective student is new to marketing, wanting career advancement or purely wants to become an expert marketing manager, the program will help students build a personal brand. Its promotional video gives concrete examples including making writers into copywriters, artists into art directors, and proteges into mentors. The program and coursework are built around “five pillars of personal marketability”:

• Peer study: Through the diverse professional backgrounds of the student body, deep peer-focused learning occurs
• Debate: Coursework challenges students to think on their toes and learn how to defend their marketing strategies
• Connection: The network of professionals from the program become immediate connections during and after the program
• Reputation: Bonaventure prides itself on its strong reputation and valuing of students’ time by providing top-notch instruction
• Confidence: Through consistent practice of marketing skills, feedback from students and faculty, and excellent instruction, students build and exude confidence in producing high level work

The online degree program focuses specifically on business communications and can be completed in less than 12 months by taking two courses per semester. Graduates are able to coordinate and integrate marketing tools into their work. These include marketing, public relations, business communications, promotions, package design and e-commerce. Upon completion of the coursework, students are required to complete a comprehensive integrated marketing communication plan.

Queens University of Charlotte’s M.A. in communication program is offered through one of the leading communications schools in the country, the James L. Knight School of Communication. This degree is based on the foundation of theory and practice in both soft and technical skills necessary in a modern workforce. The university’s website succinctly explains that the program “emphasizes universal truths of communication and how to adapt them to complement fast-moving, fast-changing technologies and trends.” Soft skills such as interpersonal and cross-cultural communication are emphasized, as well as a strong sense of collaboration and building mentorships between faculty and students. As a result, graduates should excel in any field requiring communicating with others – from corporate managers, entrepreneurs and public relations professionals to educators and non-profit leaders. In addition to the main coursework, students have an option to concentrate in integrated digital strategy which builds knowledge and skills in digital and social media tools through four courses: “Complete Strategic Communication for Global Audiences,” “Creative and Networks,” “Organizational Identity” and “Brand.”

The program requires 36 credit hours, or 12 courses. The integrated digital strategy concentration requires one more course on top of that, making the total requirement 39 credit hours or 13 courses. Throughout the program, students build a digital portfolio and are required to complete a capstone that demonstrates their ability to turn communication theory into practice. Capstone projects are diverse and depend on the interests and career focus of each student. Examples of past projects include: “Rebranding Diabetes: Creating a conversation shift through stigma reduction in online and social media,” “Journey from social media visual to social justice movement: The meaning & meme-ing of #BlackLivesMatters,” and “The art of storytelling and emotional branding: A rhetorical analysis of the Dove campaign for real beauty.”

UNT’s Mayborn School of Journalism offers a unique, accelerated, M.S. in digital communication analytics for public relations, marketing and advertising professionals. The coursework is specifically designed to provide a foundation in data management that’s essential in creating effective marketing and advertising campaigns. By combining courses in statistics, big data and data visualization with courses in journalism and marketing, students leave the program knowing how to translate data into compelling storytelling through a variety of campaigns.

The program requires 36 credit hours, 24 of which are required courses that include a variety of quantitative research courses, social media analytics and computer graphics for mediated communication among others. In addition to these required courses, students can take 12 hours of electives within the Mayborn School of Journalism to expand on their career interests.

The Mayborn School of Journalism had the honor of receiving the Equity & Diversity Award from the accrediting body, Association of Education and Journalism and Mass Communication, because of its “measurable success and innovation in racial, gender and equity and diversity.” The school hired more faculty of color and female faculty to ensure greater representation and included courses on race and gender in the media and integrated diversity and cultural sensitivity within its general coursework. Because of this concentrated work, students can be confident they are receiving an education that reflects the diversity of our society.

SUU’s M.A. in professional communication prides itself on being a professionally-focused program that can be completed fully online. It focuses on building a personal interaction between students and faculty that isn’t compromised by its online format. The program is designed for almost anyone whose job performance relies on excellent communication skills, from marketing to non-profit management. Students study messaging, message construction, dissemination and carrying out messaging goals. The program is rooted in the ever-changing and dynamic nature of the communication field through technology.

The master's degree requires 36 semester hours of coursework to graduate, 18 of which are core courses (including “Applied Communications Theory” and “Professional Writing and Presentations”), 12 semester hours of electives (which could include “Communication & Popular Culture,” “Professional Social Media” and “Visual Literacy & Application” to name a few examples) and a six semester hour capstone. While the professional communication program offers a wide variety of electives, business-focused master’s students also have the option to take courses within the MBA program upon faculty approval. For their capstone projects, students have three options depending on what they would like to get out of the degree. For students interested in academia or who intend to complete a doctoral program, they may take the research-focused thesis track; there’s an internship option for students who want to gain experience in a field different from their current environment and finally, a professional project is an excellent way for students to advance where they currently work.

Stevenson’s M.S. in communication studies is a program designed for working professionals who want to dive deeper into communication theories and understand how to apply them within their current profession. Because the coursework is fairly broad, the degree can be applied to a variety of professions. Some examples Stevenson notes include business, media, education and law or politics. The coursework involving communication ethics can be applied to careers in business such as human resource management, corporate communications and organizational consulting. Because of the focus on writing, public speaking and problem-solving, students wishing to advance in media and communications can apply their newfound skills to public relations, brand strategy or marketing management (which Stevenson points out is a high-demand career of 2016). Educators can expect to develop their interpersonal skills and abilities of coherently and clearly explaining complex topics to a wide variety of audiences that can be applied to advance careers as administrators, educational advisors or communications and public affairs directors within the education sector. Because careers in law and politics requires exceptional analytical and interpersonal skills, this program can help students advance themselves in careers as legislative aides, public information officers or campaign managers.

The program requires completing 36 credit hours of core courses. Examples of courses include “Cultures and Communication,” “Communication and Ethics in the Public Sphere” and “Nonverbal Communication” among a variety of theory-focused courses. Students may choose between a research thesis or a capstone project that can help advance them in their current work.

A professional advantage for some students is the unique reduced-tuition partnerships offered with employers and academic institutions (most of which are located in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, DC). If a student’s company or institution is not a current partner, there may be a way to work with an employer to partner with Stevenson.

Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Journalism prides itself on being one of the pioneers in communications education and they see the online master’s in communications program (or Communications@Syracuse) as essential to expanding their reach and preparing students for the new media landscape. The mostly online program requires two in-person weekend-long immersion courses throughout the program which offers three specializations: public relations, advertising, and journalism innovation.

The public relations track will help students advance their strategic marketing skills with an important focus on digital messaging and social media. Graduates from this specialization can expect to position themselves for careers in non-profit public relations, corporate communications and government communications. The advertising track also builds on strategic marketing skills but further helps advance a students’ expertise in advertising campaign development through courses such as “Strategic Principles and Practices” and “Digital Branding and Strategy.” And last, the journalism innovation track provides insight and practice in digital innovation and how technology affects the way news and media are consumed. Courses in data analysis and emerging media platforms will help build expertise.

Each student takes 18 core course credits (six three-credit courses), nine credits (three courses) within their specialization and complete a final capstone project. In addition to the core and specialization courses, all specializations require two weekend-long immersion experiences, which are in-person courses that take place in different locations around the world. These courses provide in-person networking with students and faculty and immerse participants within an important communications topic through guest lectures from industry leaders and hands-on experiences. Students are encouraged to attend the annual campus-based immersion and then may choose from the offerings from around the world. Example sites and topics include a course on disrupting the status quo through strategy and innovation in Seattle, WA, a course on sustainability in Costa Rica and a course on political communication in Washington, DC.

Point Park’s M.A. in communications technology has a strong focus on what they call “social interaction technologies.” While all students engage in basic communications theory and practice, the two concentrations – social media and applied practices – are specifically centered on technology. Social media explores best practices and helps students develop cohesive and professional social media campaigns within their communications career. In the applied practices concentration, students delve into visual communication technology, web publishing and global communication. Elements of social media will also be discussed in the applied practices concentration, but not as deeply as within the social media concentration.

The online program requires 36 credit hours and typically takes two to three years for students to complete online. All courses are taught by industry experts who not only provide a strong theoretical foundation but are also able to bring insights into real-world application.

This profession-focused program prepares graduates to become experts in a variety of fields including public relations, technical writing, marketing, broadcasting and market research. For students interested in continuing on to a doctoral program, the applied practices concentration is an ideal option for creating a strong academic foundation.

ECU’s M.A. in communications is a health communication-focused program created with the lofty goal to make a difference in the health fields by training professionals from healthcare and health-related fields to become exceptional communicators. The program notes that ECU identified the pressing need to “study the health of our children, citizens, and communities from a communication perspective.” This program is their response. Their two primary goals are to integrate communication theory and practice and to influence the field of health communication. Graduates of the program have gone on to become leaders in healthcare and the non-profit sector. They also leave the program exceptionally well-prepared for doctoral work.

The program requires 30 credit hours that can be done entirely online, but students are also free to take courses in person if they’d like to travel to the beautiful Greenville, NC campus. Courses include focuses on media and health communication, interpersonal communication (including doctor-patient communication), intercultural communication and health advocacy among others. Once completing the initial coursework, students can decide to complete the program through a thesis track (six-credit research course with a final paper) or the non-thesis track, which includes twelve credits of additional electives.

Clarion’s M.S. in mass media arts and journalism is a broadly-focused program that would appeal to anyone working in the communications sector wishing to dig deeper into theories and apply their skills in real time. Students can expect to develop more expertise in communications strategy including building effective marketing campaigns, professionalize their skills in relevant communications technology including social media and engage in critical discussions around ethics in the fields of communications and journalism. Clarion’s mission to provide “transformative, lifelong learning opportunities through innovative, nationally recognized programs delivered in inclusive, student-centered environments” is reflected in the program structure, coursework and interactive nature of its online courses. It also hopes to create the country’s next crop of communications leaders.

This 36-credit program could take as little as 18 months for a student to complete while still working in their current job. Students will take the foundational communications, public relations and journalism theory courses, as well as courses in society, law and media technology, advanced public relations writing, management of the communication process and mass communication research. Students also have one elective course and can choose either a thesis or research study.

Texas Tech’s master’s in strategic communication and innovation came out of the College of Media & Communication’s ambitious strategic plan to create a program that was accessible to all students no matter where they lived. Flexibility is a key focus of the program and for anyone wanting to advance in their communications career. As a result, student choice is the centerpiece – students decide where to study, when to study, when to start and course load. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and admitted students can start at the beginning of any term. The asynchronous model lets students carve out the time that works best for them rather than requiring them to be in front of the computer at a specific time.

The master’s program feeds right into the college’s mission, which is to educate and prepare students for future careers in various communication industries while also earning recognition as a leader in media and communication education, research and service.

The program requires 30 credit hours which are designed to prepare students for senior level positions. There are seven required courses and three electives. The curriculum has a strong focus on digital communications and global engagement. Because the program is designed for high-level communications professionals, the flexibility honors students’ precious time while still emphasizing skills and coursework so students can complete the program with a professional portfolio that will help them advance in their career.

Mississippi College offers two online master’s programs in communication: the generalist master’s in integrated communications and a master’s in professional communication in health services administration. Online students can also continue coursework to gain a public relations graduate certificate.

Mississippi College is a Christian university that bases much of its programs on the founding faith of the institution. This is true for the master’s in communications programs and is specifically mentioned in the coursework for communication ethics courses which stem from Christian teachings as they relate to ethics. The most flexible of the programs is the integrated communications program where students can design their coursework based on their personal and professional interests. Thirty-one semester hours are required to complete the generalist program. Required courses take up 13 semester hours that include foundational courses in communications and public relations as well as a final convocation paper. Beyond the required courses are 15 credit hours of three-credit communication electives (five courses) and three credits (or one course) of an out-of-department graduate elective. Recommended elective courses include negotiation, intercultural communications and science communication among others. The master’s in professional communication in health services communication (M.S.C.) combines courses from the communications department and health services administration program that positions students to become leadership in health communications. The M.S.C. also requires 31 semester hours to complete but has a distinct track with 16 semester hours of required core courses that are foundational to communications, a three-credit elective (a choice between negotiation and science communication), and 12 semester hours of health administration courses. The health administration courses focus on the fundamentals of organizational communications and legal and administrative aspects of healthcare services.

Lasell’s M.S. in communication program offers flexibility to complete a degree within 12 to 24 months in either completely online or a blended program between online and on their Newton, MA campus. Regardless, all classes are capped at 23 students to encourage interaction between students and personal attention from faculty. Students may specialize in any of the three concentrations: health communication, integrated marketing communication, or public relations.

The health communication concentration combines lessons in public health, public policy, marketing, management, and communications theory to provide students with a strong and diverse foundation in the field. The goal of this specialization is to create a professional workforce that is positioned to make waves in the health communications field. They do this through hands-on collaborative projects that provide real-world insight such as creating a Zika safety campaign or addressing policies on international travel regulations. The integrated marketing communication concentration focuses on building strategic planning and knowledge around consumer behavior and brand development. The public relations concentration is rooted in developing the skills to translate messages and building relationships between agencies (be it media, government or non-profit) and their target communities. Each of these concentrations have a strong foundation in theory and strive to build leaders in their fields as directors of marketing, directors of communication, social media managers or communication campaign strategists.

The program, no matter the concentration, requires 36 credits of coursework. The core curriculum is 21 credits of foundational courses, nine credits of concentration-specific courses, six elective credits and a practice-based capstone course.