COMT 501 Communication Law and Ethics. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Spring

Examines both legal responsibilities and ethical decisions in communication. Key principles and court rulings will be examined that are necessary for public communication professionals to understand. Topics include libel, privacy, press rights, advertising, broadcast regulations, and other cases relevant to contemporary legal issues. This course also examines ethical theories and moral responsibilities for practitioners in communication contexts.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: Communication

COMT 502 Research Methods. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Fall

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Surveys qualitative and quantitative research methods utilized in the field of communication. Reviews principles and purposes of social science research, engaging students in critical discussions of measures, methods, theory, and research design.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: Communication

COMT 510 Adv Interpersonal Comm. 3 Credits

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

(alternating Sp) Considers major concepts relevant to the study of interpersonal communication, explores some of the most important and recent research in the area of interpersonal communication, and provides experiences for the practical application of these ideas. The content centers on such issues as self-disclosure, interpersonal conflict, perception of self and others, empathic listening, and the study of various specific types of interpersonal relationships such as inter-personal guidance and loving relationships. Graduate students will be required to present an extensive research paper/project.

Department: Communication

COMT 514 Issues in Org Comm. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Fall, Summer

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Covers climate, leadership, and conflict issues related to organization. Includes assessment center process, communication training, managing work team effectiveness, functional managerial metaphors, communication audits, communication ethics, planned change in organizations, cognitive mapping as a managerial skill, dealing with ambiguity, and managerial creativity. Graduate students will be required to present an extensive research paper/project.

Department: Communication

COMT 516 Leadership & Communication. 3 Credits

(every other Sp & Su) Presents material related to leadership theories, leader-participant relations, vision/mission/goals, structure and design, culture, capacity building and social responsibility. Offered ONLY Online.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: Communication

COMT 521 New Media Skills. 3 Credits

(every other year) Provides students with knowledge of how social networks influence the communication processes of individuals and organizations in creating and maintaining online identities. Students learn how to develop a social media plan for an organization, and how to assess the strengths and limitations of using social media to create lasting connections with target audiences.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: Communication

COMT 522 Issues in Public Relations. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Summer

Explores advanced public relations strategies and the role of public relations in society. Topics may include (but are not limited to) Corporations and their publics, Not-for-profit public relations, Socially responsible marketing, Public relations theory, Crisis communication, and Public Relations for Multicultural Audiences.

Department: Communication

COMT 524 Risk Crisis & Comm. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Fall

Explores how organizational risk is socially represented, constructed, and maintained. Students learn how to identify the stages of organizational crisis and how decision-making and sense-making processes are influenced by crisis and perceptions of risk. Students will also examine how communication both prevents and creates crises.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: Communication

COMT 525 Media Criticism. 3 Credits

(every other year) Engages students in the in-depth exploration, analysis, and criticism of the media as foundational components of democracies, as economic institutions, as producers of text (rhetoric), and as meaning-making systems. Students will learn a variety of critical methods and apply them to the analysis of pressing contemporary issues of media and society.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: Communication

COMT 526 Case Studies in PR. 3 Credits

(alternating Sp) Uses actual cases to assess strategic decisions concerning internal and external publics and appreciate the accompanying ethical, legal, economic, psychological, organizational, political, and media impact of such decisions.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: Communication

COMT 530 Public Influence. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Spring (odd years)

Examines the leading theories of persuasion/rhetoric and argumentation—including their nature and history—with special time and attention given to contemporary perspectives on rhetorical theories of influence.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: Communication

COMT 531 Political Communication. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Fall (even years)

Explores communication methods and strategies employed by political campaigns to influence voters. Students will analyze political discourse produced by national, state, and local campaigns in order to understand the communication patterns and interactions that occur.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: Communication

COMT 540 Pop Culture & Cultural Studies. 3 Credits

(every other year) Provides an introduction to the history, theory, and practice of studying popular culture. Explores a variety of theoretical approaches to pop culture, including classical Marxism, the Frankfurt School, structuralism, feminism, and postmodernism. Throughout the course, theoretical methodologies will be illustrated through their ability to interpret and/or decode cultural objects ranging from HBO television to science fiction to hip hop. Students will be encouraged to take these applications as models for their own work in choosing, reading, and analyzing specific instances of pop culture.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: Communication

COMT 561 Multicultural Mass Comm. 3 Credits

(every other year) Explores and critically analyzes mass mediated communication in a multicultural world and the U.S. as a multicultural nation. Provides an understanding of the roles of media corporations and media texts in the construction of cultural, subcultural, and individual identities. Considers media as transnational businesses, as expressive forms, and as mirrors and shapers of culture. Investigates theories, practices, and outcomes of mediated cultural imperialism and the unique role played by U.S. media organizations and U.S.-produced texts.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: Communication

COMT 565 Communication Theory. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Provides the student with a theoretical/conceptual framework for understanding human communication. Graduate students will be required to present an extensive research paper/project.

Department: Communication

COMT 570 Applied Communication Studies. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Provides the opportunity to develop an applied graduate-level professional and/or academic communication project that explores how people apply their knowledge of communication in practical contexts. Addresses applied topics such as dealing with conflict, conducting meetings, leading effectively, managing rumors, advocacy, political communication, and the practices of the media. Students will base their course work upon an independent project or communications-related internship that they identify and complete. Class does not meet regularly.

Department: Communication

COMT 580 Health Communication. 3 Credits

(every other year) Explores key findings in health communication research and practice, focusing on a wide range of media (e.g., brochures, posters, radio, television, telephone hotlines, Internet) and a wide range of health objectives (e.g., STD/HIV prevention, smoking cessation, cardiovascular disease prevention). We will examine the literature and key health communication campaigns to determine what are the key ingredients of successful or effective approaches in each medium, for different types of messages and target audiences.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: Communication

COMT 581 Campaign Planning. 3 Credits

(every other year) Examines the application of commercial campaign technologies to the analysis, planning, execution, and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behavior of target audiences in order to improve their personal welfare and that of their society.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: Communication

COMT 582 Gender, Media, and Society. 3 Credits

Provides a critical look at representations of gender in various media industries. Major theoretical methodologies will be used to interpret and/or decode cultural objects ranging from social media to film to television.

Lecture Hours 3

Department: Communication

COMT 587 Applied Communication Theory. 9 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Summer

Prerequisite(s): master’s degree.

Addresses some of the subfields of communication studies, and introduces graduate students to graduate-level study of persuasion, rhetorical theory and criticism, public address, and mediate communication theories.

Lecture Hours 9

Department: Communication

COMT 590 Internship. 1-6 Credits

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Provides graduate students on-site observational and involvement opportunities.

Department: Communication

COMT 591 Independent Study. 3 Credits

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Provides graduate students of outstanding ability an opportunity to explore material not covered by regular Communication courses.

Department: Communication

COMT 592 Seminar. 3 Credits

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

This course may be Provides graduate students an opportunity to investigate topics pertinent to the field of Communication. Offered ONLY Online.

Department: Communication

COMT 593 Workshop. 3 Credits

Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

Provides graduate students an opportunity for experimental study in areas of Communication.

Department: Communication

COMT 595 Comprehensive Exams. 3 Credits

Term Typically Offered: Fall, Spring

Prerequisite(s): COMT 502, COMT 514, COMT 525, COMT 565, and consent of instructor.

Serves as the culmination of the MSPR. Students choosing this option will answer a series of questions that correspond to core courses in the program and will write a paper, in conjunction with the supervising professor, that demonstrates their mastery of the ability to research and write in their area of specialty. Must be taken during or after the final semester of coursework.

Department: Communication

COMT 596 Cooperative Educ/Internship. 1-8 Credits

Provides university credit for graduate work experience in the area of Communication and Theatre, supervised by faculty. Learning agreement must be completed prior to registration (restricted).

Department: Communication