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  School of Communication and Information 2011–2013 Master of Communication and Information Studies Program Courses  

Courses

Courses marked with an asterisk (*) are required of all M.C.I.S. students.

*17:194:500 M.C.I.S. Colloquium (0) Attendance at M.C.I.S.-sponsored or -approved colloquia or workshops, with one attendance required for each course registration each semester. Required of all students each semester.
17:194:501, 502, 503, 504, 505, 506, 508 Topics (3,3,3,3,3,3,3) Elective topics that focus on relevant current issues or problems confronting organizations and individuals such as identity, globalization, and risk. Also includes occasional skills-based topics courses.
17:194:507 Digital Media Production (3)

This course gives students hands-on instruction in how to use digital media tools to produce interactive and media rich online stories. Students will learn key concepts and design principles in web technologies and programming (e.g., XHTML, CSS, JavaScript), video editing, and animation. Students will develop a website that presents a multipart investigative story, using slideshows, videos, and animations. Students will learn how to capture engaging photo and video footage to create an effective multimedia experience in postproduction.

Prerequisite: 17:194:590.
17:194:509 Digital Media Innovation (3)

Students use emerging digital technology to develop and test innovations in journalism and media. Emerging technologies are applied to journalism and media to create and test new storytelling formats, production techniques, media management strategies, and social media approaches. Students consider how these innovations can engage citizens across time and space, provide much-needed context and customization to content, interactive entertainment, and new business models to support and sustain journalism and the media in a fragmented, and mobile, digital future.

*17:194:510 Communication and Society (3)

This course examines the role of communication in society. Taught with a special topics focus in each semester, the course will examine the important impacts that communication processes, relationships, and messages have in society. Topics of focus include corporate social responsibility; community networks; community health campaigns; political communication; and communication in civil society organizations, among others.

Offered once each year during the fall semester.
*17:194:511 Organizational Communication (3)

This course will serve as a broad introduction to theories, perspectives, and empirical evidence related to organizational communication in a wide range of organizations (e.g., nonprofit, for-profit, governmental, communal) and in a variety of contexts (e.g., industry, educational, social services, advocacy). Students will learn about historical, current, and future issues; changes and challenges facing organizations; and the communication-relevant aspects of these issues. They will gain practice in applying theoretical perspectives and concepts to actual organizational situations and settings.

Offered once each year during the spring semester.
*17:194:512 Mediated Communication (3)

Drawing on existing theory and research, this course examines issues of usage, adoption, and performance of new and established communication technologies in the workplace and other contexts. The course also considers opportunities and challenges that mediated communication presents for both users of these tools and society more generally. The course will expose students to a range of new technologies used by people to coordinate, collaborate, and communicate with one another.

Offered once each year during the spring semester.
*17:194:514 Communication Research (3)

This course will introduce students to a set of social science research methods that are used in the communication discipline and in workplace and organizational contexts. At the end of this course, students should have a basic understanding of several general research methods used by communication scholars and have gained an appreciation for the ethical considerations in conducting human subjects research. Students will gain knowledge and practice of collection methods such as questionnaires, experiments, structured interviews, focus groups, structured observations, and content analysis.

Offered once each year during the fall semester.
17:194:515 Knowledge Management (3) A critical approach to theories and applications of knowledge management in organizations, with special attention to knowledge creation and knowledge sharing, including case studies from industry, education, government, and other organizations.
17:194:516 Advanced Communication Analysis (3)

This course focuses on building skills and knowledge in the analysis of communication problems in real-world settings. Students learn to define key concepts and issues, review current literature, and empirically examine a core communication problem in a specific context.

17:194:517 Media Studies: Theory and Practice (3)

This course examines the nature and impact of the media of mass communication in society. Particular attention is paid to emerging media technology, including the internet and other digital technologies. Students learn four primary ways new technology influences media and society, including: 1) how media professionals and members of the public increasingly create content using new media technologies; 2) the nature of mediated content; 3) the relationships between and among media and relevant publics; and 4) the structure, culture, and management of media organizations and systems. Students learn five areas of media technology, including: 1) acquisition tools; 2) storage technologies; 3) processing devices; 4) distribution technologies; and 5) display, access, or presentation tools.

17:194:518 Persuasion and Advocacy (3)

Explores the strategic use of communication by individuals and groups to facilitate persuasion and change. Topics covered vary by instructor, but may include theories of behavior and social change, strategic communication, interpersonal influence and diffusion, media advocacy and social marketing, argumentation, discourse, and conflict.

*17:194:519 M.C.I.S. Capstone Seminar (3)

The capstone seminar requires students to integrate theory and practice through the preparation and presentation of an intensive project. Students will design their own original work that includes integrating, synthesizing, and analyzing fundamental communication theories, concepts, and research methods; show proficiency in gathering and using evidence to study and understand communication processes and consequences; demonstrate advanced written and oral presentation skills; apply communication theories and concepts to professional and civic life.

Required of all degree candidates.
17:194:520,521,522 M.C.I.S. Fellow Internship I,II,III (3,3,3) Required of M.C.I.S. fellows each semester of their fellowship placement, includes formal assessment of student by fellowship supervisor. Open only to students appointed as M.C.I.S. fellows.
17:194:523,524 M.C.I.S. Teaching Internship I,II (3,3) Selected students assist faculty members with delivery and student evaluation of an undergraduate course. Open only to students appointed as M.C.I.S. teaching interns.
17:194:525,526 Elective Internship I,II (3,3) Recommended for students without significant experience in complex organizations; 150 hours of supervised professional practice in an approved organizational setting, with supervisor assessment and student report required.
17:194:527 Intensive Internship (6) Recommended for students without significant experience in complex organizations; 300 hours of supervised professional practice in an approved organizational setting, with supervisor assessment and student report required.
17:194:528 M.C.I.S. Fellow Internship IV (3) Required of M.C.I.S. fellows each semester of their fellowship placement; includes formal assessment of student by fellowship supervisor.  Open only to students appointed as M.C.I.S. fellows.
17:194:529 M.C.I.S. Summer Fellow Internship (BA) Elective course for M.C.I.S. fellows for summer placement; includes formal assessment of student by fellowship supervisor.  Open only to students appointed as M.C.I.S. fellows.
17:194:530,531,532,533,534 Independent Study (3,3,3,3,3) Focused readings or research conducted independently by student arranged with and approved by faculty sponsor and program director.
17:194:535,536,537,538,539 Practicum (3,3,3,3,3)   Assistance with an ongoing research project(s) with a faculty member or outside sponsor approved by program director; student summary describing and evaluating the research experience required.
17:194:540 Organizational Leadership (3)

Examination of group and organizational leadership from a communicative perspective, integrating both theory and current practice. Topics of focus include leadership roles relative to organizational culture, diversity, organizational assessment, support technology, organizational change, ethics, and leadership and organizational development. The course includes informational and experiential learning approaches.

Prerequisite: 17:194:511 or permission of instructor.
17:194:541 Organizational Decision Making (3)

Focuses on how decision making happens within and between organizations. The course focuses on how communicative action and communication networks shape decision-making processes and outcomes. The course addresses the design of effective decision-making systems. Topics include individual and group decision making, problem solving, conflict management, decision and negotiation support systems, decision making in virtual and networked organizations, and the role of technology in decision making.

Prerequisite: 17:194:511 or permission of instructor.
17:194:542 Interorganizational Relationships and Stakeholder Communication (3) The key issues explored in this course concern the management of interorganizational relationships and projection of organizational reputation, image, and identity to external audiences. The course begins with identification and specification of the external environment(s) of organizations. Readings and discussion explore interorganizational relationships, boundary-spanning communication, and management of external stakeholder relationships.
17:194:543 Organizational Communication Research (3)

This course is an advanced masters-level course focused on the diverse array of topics studied in organizational communication research. We will examine the role of communication in issues of socialization and identification; power, conflict, and control; decision making and leadership; ethics, performance, and feedback; turnover, burnout, and exit; culture; structure and networks; as well as image and reputation. It is based on theory and research, but will also address application.

Prerequisites: 17:194:511 and 514, or permission of instructor.
17:194:544 Organizational Cultures and Diversity (3) Development of familiarity with the major theoretical and research orientations to the study of organizational culture. How the construction and management of "culture" is related to power, the representation of interests, decision making, productivity, personnel development, and social well-being. Investigate cross-cultural relations and cultural change related to global organizational developments. Prerequisite: 17:194:511 or permission of instructor.
17:194:545 Public Relations Management (3) Analysis and preparation of case studies in industry, labor, education, government, and trade organizations, and the application of public relations techniques. Prerequisite: 17:194:511 or permission of instructor.
17:194:546 Understanding, Designing, and Building Social Media (3)

What makes social media--such as Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and MySpace--work? The goal of this project-based course is to merge social science, information science, computer science and engineering approaches to explore the social and technological forces driving social media services (including, for example, technological adoption, interaction design, social networks, computational and information aspects of social media, and communication and motivation theories).

17:194:547 Organizational Training and Development (3) Theory and practice of intervention in organizations and communication systems. Attention to development of communication training programs, consulting, and means of assessing the impact of development programs. Particular attention given to changes and difficulties resulting from the implementation of new information technologies. Prerequisite: 17:194:511 or permission of instructor.
17:194:549 Organizational Assessment (3) Principles and practices in organizational communication and quality assessment in industry, health care, government, and education. Topics include: surveys (communication audits and inventories), Baldrige-based assessment (criteria and application), interpretive approaches (historical analysis, participant observation, and in-depth and focus-group interviewing), and message analysis (content and interaction). Prerequisites: 17:194:511 and 514, or permission of instructor.
17:194:550 Telecommunication Processes and Policy (3)

Applications and policy implications of innovative communication and information-processing technology in business, government, and education; emphasis on political, economic, and legal aspects.

Prerequisite: 17:194:512 or permission of instructor.
17:194:551,552,553,554,555,556,557,558,559 Topics in Mediated Communication (3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3) Advanced topics in mediated communication reflecting current research focus of faculty instructor. Prerequisite: 17:194:512 or permission of instructor.
17:194:560 Health Communication (3)

This class is designed to give an overview of the major fields of study in the area of health communication. This includes the areas of health communication campaigns, multicultural health communication, physician-patient communication, and communication among health professionals. The ultimate goal of health communication is to increase health and satisfaction by encouraging healthier behaviors, medical compliance, and more efficient communication of medical information.

17:194:561,562,563,564,565,566,567,568,569 Topics in Communication and Health (3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3) Advanced topics in communication and health reflecting current research focus of faculty instructor.
17:194:570 Interpersonal Communication (3)

This class focuses on the foundational and contemporary research that makes up the study of interpersonal communication. Its primary goal is to give students an understanding of the origins and the current directions of much of the scholarship on interpersonal communication.

Prerequisite: 17:194:510 or permission of instructor.
17:194:571,572,573,574,575,576,577,578,579 Topics in Social Interaction (3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3) Advanced topics in social interaction reflecting current research focus of faculty instructor. Prerequisites: 17:194:510 and 570, or permission of instructor.
17:194:581,582,583,584,585,586,587,588,589 Topics in Knowledge Management (3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3) Advanced topics in knowledge management reflecting current research focus of faculty instructor. Pre- or corequisites: 17:194:515 and 580, or permission of instructor.
17:194:590 Digital Journalism (3) Digital Journalism is a hybrid hands-on and conceptual course designed to help master's-level students develop introductory-level skills in multimedia reporting (using text, still images, and video), while gaining an understanding of the foundational philosophical, ethical, and legal principles underlying the practice of journalism in the 21st century.
17:194:591 Critiquing Marketing Communications (3) Marketing communications pervade nearly every aspect of modern life in consumer society, from broadcast commercials, to public relations, to product design and packaging, to online search marketing. As our economy shifts from a manufacturing base to an information base, this process is accelerating; with the increasing capacity to track, profile, and target consumers across media, we ourselves have become the product, the medium, and the message. This fact, in turn, has influenced the very nature of the human experience. Friendships, identities, and even the most intimate of relationships are now mediated through channels in which marketing is not only present but central. In short, you might say we live in a hypercommercial society. What are the political, economic, and social implications of this change? How are new technologies contributing to, and changing, this process? How can we, as citizens of this consumer society, navigate these complex issues? What costs and benefits accrue from the increasingly commercial environment in which we live? In addition to addressing these issues in readings and online class discussions, we will collectively develop and maintain a public blog dedicated to discussing, dissecting, and critiquing marketing communications of all kinds.
17:194:592 Digital Advocacy and Persuasion (3) This course explores how political, economic, and social actors leverage emerging communications media to pressure and persuade one another. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of how to use new media tools for digital advocacy and persuasion, and will also develop a critical perspective on how these tools are changing society.
17:194:593 Globalization, Media, and Social Change (3)

The last 30 years have seen a fundamental transformation in society. Characterized as a transformation from industrial to informational, this new system is marked by the increased velocity and fluidity of capital, goods, people, and ideas. Facilitated by new information and communication technologies (ICT), the increased flows of both objects and ideas have led to shifting notions of identity, nation, democracy, and society among others. In this class we seek to more fully understand the shifting nature of society today particularly as this new and complex world intersects with media and communication. We pay particular attention to considering the different causes for change in society, as well as the new complex human- and, at times, computer-mediated configurations. Finally, we focus on how these shifts are both impacted by and impact media and communications.

17:194:594,595,596,597,598,599 Topics in Media Studies (3,3,3,3,3,3) Advanced topics in media studies reflecting current research focus of faculty instructor. Prerequisite: 17:194:517 or permission of instructor.
 
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