Communication Studies

 

Department of Communication Studies

5000 Colvard North

704-687-4005

www.uncc.edu/gradmiss/comsma.htm

 

Degree

M.A., Certificate

 

Coordinator

Dr. Barbara DeSanto, APR, Fellow PRSA

 

Graduate Faculty

Jonathan Crane, Associate Professor

Cristine Davis, Assistant Professor

Barbara DeSanto, Associate Professor

Robert John DeSanto, Adjunct Professor

Kirk Duthler, Assistant Professor

Alan Freitag, Associate Professor

Heather Gallardo, Assistant Professor

Dan Grano, Assistant Professor

Bill Hill, Professor

Richard Leeman, Professor

Shawn Long, Assistant Professor

Clifton Scott, Assistant Professor

 

MASTER OF ARTS IN COMMUNICATION

 

The Master of Arts in Communication Studies is designed to provide advanced study in the communication discipline, particularly in the areas of organizational communication, critical media and rhetorical studies, health communication, and public relations.  All studies emphasize the ability to understand and analyze communication practices in different environments in the 21st Century.  The curriculum is broad-based and is a balance of theory and application to practice.

 

Additional Admission Requirements

Students must meet all of the Graduate School requirements, including earning an acceptable score on the Graduate Record Examination and submit three letters of recommendation and a strong personal essay outlining their reasons for pursuing a master’s degree.

 

Degree Requirements

The Master of Arts degree program requires the completion of thirty (30) credit hours of graduate work.  All students, regardless of orientation and area of study, must complete two core courses:  COMM 6101 Communication Theory and COMM 6100 Communication Research Methods within the first three semesters of work in the program. All students then complete twelve (12) hours of elective course work in Communication Studies, six (6) credit hours of approved study in a cognate area.  Students writing a thesis or doing a directed project earn their final six (6) credit hours with these research-based activities.  Students electing to sit for the comprehensive examination instead of writing a thesis or conducting a directed project finish up their final six (6) hours with two more elective classes, as the comprehensive examination carries no credit with it.

No more than six (6) credit hours may be taken at 5000 level.  Successful completion of the degree requires a minimum GPA of 3.0. 

 

Post-Baccalaureate Study

The Department does allow students to take up to six (6) credit hours as a baccalaureate student; students must follow the Graduate School guidelines for application for this status.  Students are encouraged to meet with the Graduate Coordinator as soon as possible after registering as a post-baccalaureate student to discuss application procedures and program options.

 

Admission to Candidacy Requirements

The official candidacy form must be filed by the following deadlines before graduation materials can be processed by the Graduate School.  Students are responsible for securing the proper forms and meeting the filing deadlines set by the Graduate School for each semester.  The candidacy form is available from the Graduate School and must be filed with the Graduate School.

 

Assistantships

The Department has four regular research/teaching assistantships available on a competitive basis to qualified students.  Students must complete an assistantship application (available from the Graduate Coordinator) and return it to the Department for consideration as a graduate assistant.  This form is available to students upon formal acceptance into the program.  Out-of-state students  from the sixteen (16) Southeastern U.S. states region opting for the International Public Relations concentration are also eligible to apply for Academic Common Market (ACM) program, which provides financial assistance in various forms, including in-state tuition consideration and assistantships, based on availability of funds.

 

Core Courses

COMM 6100 Communication Research Methods

COMM 6101 Contemporary Viewpoints in Communication Theory

 

Area Descriptions

 

Organizational Communication

Organizational communication focuses on the various ways individuals influence and are influenced by organizations and their members.  Work in organizational communication is concerned with organizational culture and symbolism, interpersonal and group communication, change communication, globalization, mediated communication, leader communication, structural concerns of organizational communication, and critical analysis of organizational communication.

 

Media/Rhetorical Critical Studies

Graduate study of the mass media at UNC Charlotte concentrates on applied and critical research on the organization and effects of media industries and new media technologies.  Areas of study include persuasion and popular culture, computer-mediated persuasion, computer-mediated communication, and the rhetoric of spectator sport.

 

Health Communication

Health communication is a field of study offering students a better understanding of the communication within a health context.  This includes, but is not limited to, provider-patient interaction, the creation, promotion, and influence of health information, social and community health issues, organizational issues, media issues, and interpersonal health communication.

 

Public Relations

The focus of public relations is on building and maintaining internal and external relationships with entities essential to an organization’s success, including entities such as media, activist groups, community groups, and regulators.  The focus of UNC Charlotte’s program is on public relations management, especially in the areas of issues tracking, corporate communication, crisis communication, not-for-profit communication, and international public relations efforts.  One strand of the public relations track includes the opportunity to study public relations at a partner university outside the U.S. for a semester through the Academic Common Market program.

 

Advising

Upon formal acceptance, all graduate students must meet with the Graduate Coordinator to file a proposed plan of study in the department and become familiar with the department’s expectations.  As students progress through their program of study, the Graduate Coordinator will assist them in selecting a suitable advisor and committee members for the thesis or directed project options.

 

Capstone Experiences

Students choose among three (3) options for their capstone experience:  writing a thesis (6 credit hours); designing and conducting a directed project (6 credit hours); or taking the comprehensive examination (0credit hours).

 

Thesis

A thesis is a written research document incorporating original research in a student’s area of interest.  Students select a thesis committee chair and two committee members and submit a proposal to them.  The written thesis is defended before the thesis chair and committee members in the semester the student graduates.  A thesis must be written and defended within six (6) calendar years after admission into the Communication Studies master’s program.

 

Directed Project

A directed project is an applied research document involving research and application to a real world problem or opportunity.  Students select a directed project chair and two committee members and submit a project to them.  The completed project is presented to the directed project chair and committee members in the semester the student graduates.  A directed project must be successfully completed and presented within six (6) calendar years after admission into the Communication Studies master’s program.

 

Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive examination is a four-hour written examination covering communication theory, communication research methods, and a third comprehensive area in communication.  Students opting to take the comprehensive examination should indicate their intention to the Graduate Coordinator in the semester previous to the one in which they plan to sit for the examination.  The examination itself carries no credit hours; students selecting this option must take six (6) additional credit hours to reach the thirty (30) hour credit requirement. These six credits may be taken in Communication Studies or a related department with the Graduate Coordinator’s approval.  The comprehensive examination must be successfully completed within the six (6) year master’s time limit for degree completion.

 

Application for Degree

All degree application forms and deadlines are available from the Graduate School.

 

GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN COMMUNICATION

 

The Graduate Certificate in Communication is designed to provide advanced study in the field of communication. The program emphasizes the ability to understand and analyze communication practices in the 21st century. The curriculum is broad based, and includes opportunities to study the theory and practice of communication in the areas of organizational communication, public relations, mass media, and health communication.

 

Additional Admission Requirements

GRE, personal statement, three letters of recommendation.

 

Certificate Requirements

Fifteen (15) credit hours in graduate communication courses, including COMM 6100 Communication Research Methods and COMM 6101 Contemporary Viewpoints in Communication Theory, with no more than six (6) credit hours at the 5000 level are required. 

 

Core Courses

COMM 6100 Communication Research Methods

COMM 6101 Contemporary Viewpoints in Communication Theory

 

Advising

All incoming students are advised by the Graduate Coordinator. Students are free to designate another graduate faculty member of the Department of Communication Studies as their advisor of record.

 

 

Courses in Communication

COMM 5000. Topics in Communication Studies. (3) Timely and important areas relevant to communication studies. May be repeated for credit with permission of the graduate advisor. (On demand)

 

COMM 5101. Media and the Law. (3) Survey of legal rights, restrictions, and ethical considerations in field of communication including the First Amendment, libel, invasion of privacy, obscenity law, regulation of electronic media, relationships between media and judiciary. (Fall, Spring)

 

COMM 5102. Federal Interpretation of the First Amendment. (3) In-depth case analysis of tests determining Constitutional boundaries of expression including clear and present danger, prior restraints, fighting words/symbolic speech, strict scrutiny, obscenity, indecency. (On demand)

 

COMM 5141. Advanced Organizational Communication. (3) Critical examination of the communication practices of organizations which accomplish such tasks as establishing organizational identification, influencing organizational members, and making decisions. Includes application of research methods to assess and analyze an organization's communication practices. (Fall, Spring)

 

COMM 5147.  London Seminar in International Public Relations (3/3). 

Course examines the complexities of public relations practice in an international setting.  The seminar is taught by UNC Charlotte faculty at Regent’s College in London for four weeks each summer, from mid-May through mid-June.  The agenda begins with an overview of the factors that complicate communication across cultures and borders, then examines how those factors affect public relations practice in specific global regions.  Principles acquired during this course will aid in improving international and cross-cultural public relations practice, and contribute to success in any profession.  The seminar includes participation as guest speakers by London-based practitioners as well as visits to UK organizations relevant to international PR practice. (Annually)

 

COMM 6000. Topics in Communication Studies. (3) Intensive investigation of a timely and important topic in communication studies. The topic of investigation may vary from semester to semester. May be repeated for credit with permission of graduate advisor. (On demand, Evenings)

 

COMM 6100. Communication Research Methods. (3) Methods for systematic investigation of communication behavior. Theoretical and practical applications of both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies are utilized for completion of original projects. (Spring, Evenings)

 

COMM 6101. Contemporary Viewpoints in Communication Theory. (3) A survey of the leading theoretical traditions in communication studies. Covers both qualitative and quantitative approaches to conceptualizing communication practices. (Fall, Evenings)

 

COMM 6110. Advanced Persuasion. (3) Analysis of theories of persuasion as a mode of social influence. Focus on the understanding and analysis of how persuasion works in various communicative contexts including mass-mediated, public relations, organizations and public advocacy. (On demand, Evenings)

 

COMM 6120. Communication and Network Society. (3) Examines the social dynamics arising from the global embrace of revolutionary communication technologies. Topics include the forces that shape new information flows and the effects emergent technologies exert across nations, local communities and individuals. (On demand, Evenings)

 

COMM 6121. Communication and the Internet. (3) This course considers the Internet as a social, cultural and political phenomenon. It will study and debate the competing visions of how the Internet does, can and should play a role in reshaping society. It will explore how the computer and network technologies shape communities as well as individual identities. The course will also address questions of law and public policy connected to issues of access, intellectual property and censorship. (On demand, Evenings)

 

COMM 6130. Textual Analysis. (3) The application of qualitative methods of language and rhetorical analysis to communication artifacts. The course uses a seminar approach to learn close textual analysis. Methodologies include dramatism, situational analysis, genre, metaphor, perspectival and postmodern paradigms. (On demand, Evenings)

 

COMM 6141. Organizational Communication Case Studies. (3) Communication theories are applied to real and fictional organizational cases. Topics such as culture, diversity, change, networks, and diffusion of innovations are examined from a communication perspective. (Yearly, Evenings)

 

COMM 6142.  Seminar in Organizational Communication. (3) Using a seminar approach, this course surveys the theoretical approaches to the study of organizational behavior from a communication perspective.  The course particularly focuses on issues of communication, roles and leadership. (On demand, Evenings)

 

COMM 6143.  Organizations and Communication Technology. (3) This course studies the theories and concepts of how communication and technologies interact to shape organizational structures and communication processes.  (On demand, Evenings)

 

COMM 6145. Communication Campaign Management. (3) A blending of theory and application to public relations/communication campaigns. The application dimension stresses mastery of the technical aspects of the campaign: research, problem-solving, planning, evaluation, and teamwork. The theoretical dimension stresses the study of actual campaigns and formulating generalizations regarding their successes or shortcomings. Class members serve on account teams with the instructor as manager. Account teams represent real-world clients and prepare a campaign book for the client’s later implementation. (Yearly, Evenings)

 

COMM 6146. Media Relations. (3) This course will draw on academic and professional research to study the communication strategies and tactics associated with establishing and maintaining effective relations between public relations practitioners and the media. (Yearly, Evenings)

 

COMM 6170. Communication Law and Policy. (3) Survey of legal rights, legal restrictions, and policy developments governing public communication in the United States. (On demand) (Evenings)

 

COMM 6995.  Directed Project in Communication. (3 or 6) May be repeated by permission of the Graduate Coordinator, if taken for three hours credit. Six hours of Directed Project may be taken during a single semester. Design, implementation, presentation and evaluation of an approved applied research project in student’s specialty area. The Directed Project is of the student’s own design under the supervision of a research advisory committee. (On demand)

 

COMM 6999. M.A. Thesis. (3 or 6) May be repeated by permission of the Graduate Coordinator, if taken for three hours credit. Six hours of Thesis may be taken during a single semester. Appropriate research and written exposition of that research is required. The Thesis is proposed and defended under the supervision of a research advisory committee. (On demand)

 

COMM 7999. Master’s Degree Thesis Residence. (1) Required for continuing registration and enrollment while completing the Thesis or Directed Project. May be repeated with permission of the Graduate Coordinator. (On demand)