Communication, Master of Arts

In addition to University Requirements:

• Complete individual plan requirements.

Purpose Statement

The MA in Communication provides a foundation of the basic research methods, theories, and standards of argument in the academic study of communication. Students explore theories and research in a variety of communicative contexts with an emphasis on the application of concepts, theories, and research to real-world issues. Students will be able to access, understand, evaluate, and apply research, concepts, and theories. Students will engage in original research, creative projects, and the application of existing research, concepts, and theories to specific situations for the purpose of problem-solving and/or evaluation, including effective message design. Students will learn the expectations of academic argument in communication as well as how to effectively communicate their findings to diverse audiences. The MA in Communication will be of relevance to working professionals in a variety of fields, educators, activists, and those preparing to pursue a PhD in Communication, Media Studies, Strategic Communication Studies, Rhetoric, or related disciplines.

MA in Communication (Online)
Students can pursue the MA in Communication fully online. The online degree offers convenience, flexible schedules, ease of work-life balance, and earning career enhancing credentials while keeping a full-time job. There is no emphasis option currently available for our online degree program. 

MA in Communication (Mountain Campus)
Students pursue their degree in residence at Flagstaff’s stunning Mountain campus, enrolling in a mix of select online courses with in-person classes and learning opportunities. Competitive funding is available for some Flagstaff resident students including teaching assistantships and tuition assistance. 

Students completing their degree on the Flagstaff Mountain campus have the option of adding a specialized emphasis to their MA degree. Please note that an emphasis is not required. There are two emphasis options: Documentary Studies and Strategic Communication.
 
The Documentary Studies emphasis provides a solid grounding in the theoretical, critical, and practical traditions that inform documentary work. NAU is set in the midst of the striking and diverse Southwest. With its manifold Native American communities, environmental issues, and high desert landscapes, NAU’s Colorado Plateau setting provides a rich palette for the next generation of documentary storytellers. Students engage in intensive research and fieldwork, professional production skills in storytelling, and learn to critically analyze media in terms of both content and craft. Particular attention is given to the role of documentary as social critique and bringing untold, under-reported, and under-represented issues and peoples into the public eye. The program is ideally suited to prepare students for today's world of cutting-edge multimedia journalism, documentary work, as well as preparation for PhD programs in cinema and media studies.

The Strategic Communication emphasis provides a rigorous understanding of social media, public opinion, crisis communication, public opinion, audience measurement, and consumer behavior in the digital age. The diverse range of faculty experts will engage with students to explore theory, practice, and application of concepts in advertising and public relations with a focus on quantitative methods. The emphasis is designed to build leadership skills needed to achieve strategic communication goals and manage company reputations.  Students will elevate their essential skills in social media management, audience engagement, crisis communication, and public sector communication via project-based learning. The program is suited for students who plan to practice advertising and public relations in any number of industries and those students who plan to continue on to doctoral studies in communication, social media, or other strategic communication arenas.

Student Learning Outcomes
 
 Core Communication Outcomes

• Learn and apply basic research methods in Communication scholarship.
• Demonstrate ability to plan, conduct, and disseminate a research project in human communication.
• Understand, synthesize, and explain the historical development of Communication as an academic field of inquiry.
• Integrate and apply knowledge of communication theories to multiple contexts of human communication.
• Utilize communication constructs, theories, and concepts to define, evaluate, and manage real-world problems, conflicts, and events.
• Develop skills in constructing and presenting messages to diverse audiences.

• Engage a theoretical and historical understanding of documentary as rooted in the traditions of creative storytelling and social critique.
• Apply heightened skills of observation, critical thinking, and creativity to the stories of untold, under-reported, and under-represented issues and peoples; bring these stories to the public eye.
• Create and distribute a variety of documentary projects in different forms at an advanced level to diverse populations.
• Realize that production tools and techniques are a means to author a unique point of view shaped by the documentarian's philosophical sensibilities and ways of seeing the world.

• Understand theories of media effects, public opinion, persuasion, and consumer behavior in a rapidly changing digital age.
• Explore the theory, practice, and application of research applied to the advertising, and public relations fields with a focus on quantitative methods.
• Expand theoretical understanding of social media use at the individual, organizational, and societal level.
• Deliver actionable insights for organizations with effective oral and written communication skills via project-based learning.
• Develop teaching/leadership experience for key topics related to strategic communication.
• Investigate the metrics, measurements, and evaluations for assessing the effectiveness of social media and digital strategies.