Communication (COMM)

This is a practical introduction to scholarship in the Communication discipline with emphasis in: reading and understanding academic source material; finding source material in scholarly literatures; writing academic research papers; editing and revising your own work; and presenting scholarship. Completing this course will prepare you to think, write, and present ideas as an advanced scholar in the Communication discipline.

This course represents an advanced treatment of theory in the Communication discipline. Theoretical traditions and theories discussed in this course are used by scholars to explain and/or interpret communication processes in such areas as interpersonal, intercultural, organizational, and media settings

This course is designed as an intellectual and practical introduction to communication research at the graduate level, including epistemological, intellectual, and practical issues associated with qualitative, quantitative, and critical methods research.

This course examines theoretical approaches to cultural studies; focus on interdisciplinary research of media audiences and covering a range of methods and theoretical frameworks; concentration varies.

BASIC COMMUNICTION IN HIGHER ED This course provides individual development in philosophies and practices unique to teaching basic oral communicaiton. It is designed primarily for students who wish to teach public speaking in higher education. This course is required for all studdents serving as Graduate Teaching Assistands in COMM 1315.

This course will draw upon academic research in instructional communication to provide a foundation for aligning the instructional skills and knowledge necessary for achieving organizational strategic goals and objectives.

This course surveys traditional and contemporary readings in organizational communication. Readings cover such topics as the relationship of communication and organizational structure, process, stakeholders, leadership, decision making, culture, and identity.

This course focuses on the process of influence that takes place through communication to achieve goals or to produce change from a collective of people.  This course will include instruction on the various approaches to leadership, process of leadership, and the role that leadership plays in a variety of contexts.

This seminar focuses on terminology, key theories, and functions of interpersonal communication as it pertains to the formation and maintenance of relationships.

This course explores the relationship between communication and culture through scholarly readings, discussions, and critiques in three subfields of Intercultural Communication: cultural communication, cross-cultural communication, and intercultural communication.

This course investigates traditional and contemporary theories of persuasion and is an in-depth study of the major concepts of persuasive communication.

This seminar focuses on terminology, key theories, and cutting-edge research within the study of gender communication.

This course will focus on the theory and practice of small group decision making, by considerating both effective work groups and small groups that have made faulty decisions.

Overview of theory and research on communication in the family. Content focuses on definitions, frameworks, perspectives, theories, and outcomes tied to the study of communication processes within the family.

Introduces graduate and advanced  students to the study of leadership in international and intercultural settings with the emphasis on the context of mediated communication.

This seminar will educate students about the history, key theories, types and functions of nonverbal communication, or message with words.

Examines crisis communication from the perspective of academic researchers and practitioners.  Includes the analysis of crisis communication research, reviews the elements of an effective crisis communication plan, and centers on case study analysis of best and worst practices in crisis planning, prevention, and response.

A discussion of theories of excellence in public relations and crisis communication through the exploration of models, roles, communication, media, ethics, and culture to serve as a foundation for professional practice.

DIGITAL FILMMAKING This course concentrates on the professional skills needed by a well-rounded independent filmmaker: writing, visualizing the script, producing, directing the actors, digital cinematography, sound, editing and postproduction.

SEMINAR IN TELEVISION STUDIES This course is a critical study of television programming content, production practices, and audiences. Includes consideration of industrial, political, aesthetic, and cultural analyses of television.

SEMINAR IN FILM STUDIES Investigation of selected topics in film through viewing, reading, and independent research. May be repeated when topics vary.

Explores contemporary instances of new and emerging media platforms, especially as facilitated through digital media technologies, as they continue to disseminate more widely as portals of communication. Students will engage with specific issues in new media through the lenses of various cultural theories in order to gain a greater understanding of the scope of new media, its culture, and the relationships that exist between machines and humans, as well as those between society and technology.

This course is an intensive exploration of selected topics in communication study. May be repeated when topics vary.

The thesis is independent research under the direction of a student's graduate committee, and to result in a completed thesis project, it should be taken in two separate semesters for a total of 6 credit hours dependent upon thesis proposal.

This Individual Study course is designed to provide inquiry and research opportunities in an area of special interest otherwise not available in course offerings. Two individual study courses may be applied toward the degree with the approval of the student's Faculty Mentor.

Practical experience in the communication field through placement in an communication or media internship position. Students must have completed at least 6 hours of graduate coursework in communication and have a minimum GPA of 3.5 to apply for the internship course.