Apr 25, 2024  
2021-2022 Graduate Catalog 
    
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2021-2022 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

School of Communication

Michael Andrew Moshier, Ph.D., Interim Dean
Sara LaBelle, Ph.D., Assistant Dean of Academic Programs and Faculty Development
Andrea Weber, Ed.D., Assistant Dean of Advising and Student Life
 
Professors: Bevan, Hopson, Jia, Miller-Day, Sparks, Weber, K.;
Associate Professors: LaBelle, Lee, Tukachinsky;
Instructional Associate Professor: Weber, A.;
Assistant Professors: Ball, Janicke-Bowles, Vendemia;
Instructional Assistant Professors: Bejerano, Maeda;
Instructors: Bartosh, Calle, Nichols, Rogeness, Ross;
Presidential Fellow: Kotkin.

The Master of Science in Health and Strategic Communication graduate program aims to foster an understanding of the behavioral, psychological and social bases of health and requires students to engage in individual scholarship or team research of an interdisciplinary nature. The M.S. in Health and Strategic Communication can be completed in two years or as a one-year accelerated program.

The Ph.D. in Communication graduate program is grounded in communication theory and both quantitative and qualitative approaches to research design. After completing all coursework and dissertation work, students will be prepared to teach and conduct research, enabling them to pursue a tenure-track position in academia or a research position outside of the discipline.

Degrees

Doctor of Philosophy

Master of Science

Accelerated Program

Courses

Communication Studies

  • COM 600 - Intro to Instructional Communication Theory and Methods

    Prerequisite, Ph.D. in communication or M.S. in health and strategic communication program or consent of instructor. Survey of the theory and research in instructional communication. Emphasis is placed on the study of instructional communication behaviors and the role instructor-student communication plays in the instructional setting. Letter grade. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • COM 650 - Relational Communication

    Prerequisites, HCOM 570  and Ph.D. in communication or M.S. in health and strategic communication program or consent of instructor. Examines the communicative processes by which relationships form, maintain, and terminate. Focuses on friendships, sexual relationships, marriages, and families. Process of attraction, uncertainty reduction, intimacy, relational maintenance, relationship stages, love, transgression, privacy, conflict, and disengagement are examined in depth. Letter grade. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • COM 671 - Mass Communication Theory

    Prerequisite, Ph.D. in communication or M.S. in health and strategic communication program or consent of instructor. Mass communication from a consumer’s viewpoint. Use of consumer-oriented mass media research also stressed. Letter grade. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • COM 672 - Organizational Communication

    Prerequisite, Ph.D. in communication or M.S. in health and strategic communication program or consent of instructor. Contemporary research linking communication variables and networks to organizational change, effectiveness, leadership, power, and management practices. Analysis of communication problems within a variety of organizations. Letter grade. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • COM 678 - Healthcare Marketing and Branding

    Prerequisite, Ph.D. in communication or M.S. in health and strategic communication program or consent of instructor. This course seminar provides an in-depth and empirical examination of healthcare marketing principles. The course will focus on the strategic planning, design and implementation of marketing campaigns for the healthcare industry. The course will critically evaluate the current healthcare landscape and strategically examine current marketing strategies for various healthcare companies including hospitals, pharmaceutical, insurance and device. Letter grade. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • COM 696 - Qualitative Research Methods

    Prerequisite, Ph.D. in communication or M.S. in health and strategic communication program or consent of instructor. Qualitative research methods in human communication and related professional areas with major emphasis on conducting and evaluation qualitative research procedures. Special focus on practical application. Letter grade. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • COM 700 - Communication Theory

    Prerequisite, admission to Ph.D. in Communication or consent of instructor. Broad overview of contemporary theories in human communication. Should be taken the first semester of graduate study. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • COM 771 - Advanced Topics in Mass Communication

    Prerequisites, COM 671 , admission to Ph.D. in Communication or consent of instructor. This course will explore the relationships between Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and various aspects of human activity. This course investigates established and emerging CMC-based social, cultural, organizational, health, strategic, and instructional activities. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • COM 772 - Advanced Topics in Organizational Communication

    Prerequisites, COM 672 , admission to Ph.D. in Communication or consent of instructor. This course provides an overview of the history and development of organizational communication. Additionally, current organizational theories and perspectives are investigated. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • COM 773 - Advanced Topics in Interpersonal Communication

    Prerequisites, HCOM 570 , admission to Ph.D. in Communication or consent of instructor. This course examines how interpersonal communication patterns are linked to relational processes, both as influences and outcomes. Emphasis is on in-depth analysis of social science interpersonal research. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • COM 785 - Advanced Quantitative Methods

    Prerequisites, HCOM 595 , admission to Ph.D. in Communication or consent of instructor. The aim of the course is to provide students with the methodological skills necessary for them to carry out independent research. Methodological and design considerations are integrated with statistical techniques. Students are trained to be consumers and users of statistics. Applied linkages are developed through the extensive use of the SPSS data analysis package. Students will engage in topics including effect size measures and their associated confidence intervals, power analysis, advanced analysis of variance, regression modelling and regression diagnostics, and bootstrapping. Students are taught these techniques in the context of SPSS and other computer-based data analysis software. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • COM 786 - Advanced Qualitative Methods

    Prerequisites, COM 696 , admission to Ph.D. in Communication or consent of instructor. Research techniques necessary to conduct original communication research. Emphasis on advanced statistical techniques. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • COM 787 - Multivariate Research Methods

    Prerequisites, HCOM 595 , admission to Ph.D. in Communication or consent of instructor. The course provides knowledge within multivariate statistics: theory, calculation technique and applications. The course will also provide some deeper studies of the inference theory in multivariate analysis. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • COM 798 - Dissertation

    Prerequisites, minimum of 27 graduate credits completed, admission to Ph.D. in Communication program or consent of instructor. Research activities leading to thesis, problem report, research paper or equivalent scholarly project, or a dissertation. 18 credits required. Letter grade. Course repeatable for a maximum of 18 credits. (Offered every semester.) 3-9 credits

  • COM 798A - Dissertation: Continuous Enrollment

    Prerequisite, completion of 18 credits of COM 798 . This course is taken if after 18 credits of COM 798  the dissertation is not yet successfully defended. P/NP. May be repeated for credit once. (Offered every semester.) 1 credit

  • COM 798B - Dissertation: Extended Continuous Enrollment

    Prerequisite, completion 2 credits of COM 798A . This course is taken if after 2 credits of COM 798A  the dissertation is not yet successfully defended. P/NP. May be repeated for credit. (Offered as needed.) 1 credit

Health Communication

  • HCOM 570 - Theories of Interpersonal Communication

    Prerequisite, M.S. in health and strategic communication or Ph.D. in communication program or consent of instructor. This course provides a general overview of theoretical approaches informing much contemporary research on human communication. The course covers the major approaches to interpersonal communication, the phenomena on which these approaches tend to focus, the advantages and limitations of each approach, and the type of empirical research methods employed by each approach. Students also learn to develop effective and culturally-appropriate interpersonal based intervention strategies for members of diverse contexts or cultures. Letter grade. (Offered fall semester.) 3 credits

  • HCOM 580 - Theories of Health Communication

    Prerequisite, M.S. in health and strategic communication or Ph.D. in communication program or consent of instructor. This course explores important theories that guide health communication research and practice. In this course students will be exposed to theories drawn from health communication, health education and promotion and public health as such theories relate and apply to health outcomes, including examination of the role of communication in health care delivery, health promotion and disease prevention, risk communication, as well as in promoting personal and psychosocial well-being. The course cuts across multiple levels of communication, different communication channels, and the use of diverse communication media and technologies. Letter grade. (Offered fall semester.) 3 credits

  • HCOM 582 - Health Communication Campaigns

    Prerequisite, M.S. in health and strategic communication or Ph.D. in communication program or consent of instructor. This course explores interpersonal and media based communication campaigns to promote health and reduce health risks, including examining how health communication campaigns are designed, implemented, and evaluated, and describing the critical role of communication research throughout the campaign process. This course will also examine persuasive messages used in the areas of cancer communication science, health literacy, health risk communication, health beliefs, public relations and health crises, and how the media and Internet present health information. Letter grade. (Offered every semester.) 3 credits

  • HCOM 585 - Training and Consulting in Healthcare Contexts

    Prerequisite, M.S. in health and strategic communication or Ph.D. in communication program or consent of instructor. Course orients students to the fields of training and consulting as communication professions with unique application in the healthcare context. Introduces students to the skills needed by the trainer/consultant, stages of the consulting process, and the role of organizational communication theory in consulting. Students will gain experience identifying and diagnosing communication problems within the healthcare setting through needs assessment and data analysis, and gain proficiency in the design and delivery of appropriate training interventions and evaluation. Special emphasis on the growing role of advanced communication and information technologies, such as online learning communities, in organizational training and development. Letter grade. (Offered spring semester.) 3 credits

  • HCOM 590 - Independent Internship

    Prerequisites, admittance to the Master of Science in Health and Strategic Communication Program, consent of director. Additional credit opportunities are available for students eager to develop skills by associating with professional agencies. Consult advisor. LG with Pass/No Pass option. May be repeated for credit. (Offered every semester.) ½-3 credits

  • HCOM 595 - Research Methodology

    Prerequisite, M.S. in health and strategic communication or Ph.D. in communication program or consent of instructor. This course provides students with an understanding of a social scientific approach to health communication and health behavior research. Students will learn the basic tools to do their own research and how to critically read and evaluate published research in health communication and related areas. The course will cover different methods of research to investigate the social world. The course takes students through the entire research process, from the development of research questions and hypotheses, through gathering data, analyzing that data (rather briefly), and drawing conclusions, to the development and testing of theory. Letter grade. (Offered fall semester.) 3 credits

  • HCOM 596 - Special Topics in Research Methodology

    Prerequisite, admittance to the Master of Science in Health and Strategic Communication Program, or consent of instructor. The purpose of each special topics course seminar is to give students an understandable introduction to various complex methodological tools used in health and strategic communication research (and social sciences) such as survey research, focus groups and interviewing, content analysis, factor analysis, etc. May be repeated for credit. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • HCOM 597 - Special Topics in Health and Risk Communication

    Prerequisite, admittance to the Master of Science in Health and Strategic Communication Program, or consent of instructor. The purpose of each special topics course seminar is to provide an in-depth examination of various important issues in health risk and strategic communication research. May be repeated for credit. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits

  • HCOM 598 - Community-Based Health Interventions Capstone Research

    Prerequisites, HCOM 570 , HCOM 580 , HCOM 582 , HCOM 595 , admittance to the Master of Science in Health and Strategic Communication Program. This capstone course serves as a final research seminar for graduate students nearing the completion of their degrees. Prior to enrolling in this course, students have gained a strong foundation in theories of interpersonal and health communication and have been challenged to think about the opportunities they might pursue in the application of this theoretical knowledge. In addition, students have been challenged to investigate their particular interests through their work in elective courses, both within and outside the department. In this capstone course, students will take the final step: the completion of an independent research project that makes a significant contribution to the field of health communication. (Offered every semester.) 3 credits

  • HCOM 599 - Individual Study in Health and Risk Communication

    Prerequisites, admittance to the Master of Science in Health and Strategic Communication Program, consent of instructor, consent of director. This course provides students with the opportunity to perform an in-depth examination of various important issues in health risk and strategic communication research. May be repeated for credit. (Offered every semester.) 1-3 credits