Foundations of Strategic Communications
MSC 610 | 6 Credits
Course Desc: Prerequisite: DCL 600M. Acquire foundational skills in strategic communications, including effective writing targeted to different audiences and media; fundamental research; and the planning, execution, and assessment of a communications plan. Become familiar with the public relations, marketing, and advertising industries and their practices; theoretical and ethical foundations; and the role of strategic communications in each.
Communications Techniques and Tactics
MSC 620 | 6 Credits
Course Desc: Prerequisite: MSC 610. Develop internal and external communications strategies, and select and produce appropriate communications tactics to execute them. Create internal communications that focus on employee engagement, leadership, and change management. Exercise best practices in media relations and social media product development.
Communications Leadership and Management
MSC 630 | 6 Credits
Course Desc: Prerequisite: MSC 620. Practice advanced strategic communications decision-making in both national and international contexts. Coordinate public relations efforts internally, particularly between marketing and advertising departments. Master fundamental financial accounting and budgeting concepts required for many communications campaigns in business, government, and the nonprofit sectors. Align communications campaigns with organizational objectives. Follow global strategic communications trends and legal and ethical issues.
Crisis Communications Management
MSC 640 | 6 Credits
Course Desc: Prerequisite: MSC 630. Develop strategic responses, including crisis definition, issue management, and crisis communications management, to crisis situations. Apply crisis communication theory, and implement risk communication and reputation and image restoration best practices. Utilize appropriate research methods to inform a crisis communications plan.
Capstone: Communications Campaigns
MSC 670 | 6 Credits
Course Desc: Prerequisite: MSC 640. Assume the role of a corporate communications director and create a communications plan to support an organizational strategy for an existing organization. Conduct research; develop a problem statement; and identify campaign goals and objectives, audience segments, and messaging targeted to those segments. Create a communications strategy with tactics and timelines, evaluation plans, and a realistic budget.
Introduction to Strategic Communications
MSCP 600 | 3 Credits
Course Desc: An introduction to the field of strategic communications. Discussion covers how the convergence of advertising, marketing, and public relations, and the huge impact of technology on media production and platforms, have given rise to the field. Topics include the history of strategic communications, its ethical code, and the role of research. Extensive practice in writing news and feature stories using the Associated Press (AP) Style is provided.
Strategic Communications Theory
MSCP 605 | 3 Credits
Course Desc: An examination of the major concepts, principles, and theories that govern the modern practice of strategic communications. Activities include creating products to persuade a potential client that the field of strategic communications is based in science and can enhance the client¿s ability to meet the organization¿s goals and objectives in an ethical manner.
Planning for Strategic Communications
MSCP 610 | 3 Credits
Course Desc: Prerequisite MSCP 605. A study of the communications planning process. Topics include the importance of planning, planning frameworks, and planning best practices. Practice in creating a communications plan that meets ethical and legal standards while delivering value for a client or organization on time and on budget is provided.
Communications Techniques and Tactics I
MSCP 620 | 3 Credits
Course Desc: Prerequisite MSCP 600 and MSCP 605. An exploration of how a communications plan is transformed into actual products that are delivered to targeted publics. Focus is on creating communications products for traditional media. Digital media products are surveyed.
Communications Techniques and Tactics II
MSCP 625 | 3 Credits
Course Desc: Prerequisite MSCP 620. A study of communications products that execute a communications plan¿s strategy. Focus is on creating communications products for digital media, including social media platforms, and mass media. Practice in creating traditional media products is also provided.
ROI, Measurement & Analysis
MSCP 630 | 3 Credits
Course Desc: An examination of how to design a measurement plan to ascertain progress during a campaign and evaluate the effort after the campaign is over. Practice in communicating findings to your staff and executives is provided.
Strategic Leadership¿& Management of Communications Organizations
MSCP 635 | 3 Credits
Course Desc: An investigation of advanced strategic communications decision-making in a national context. Discussion covers ways to coordinate public relations efforts internally, particularly between marketing and advertising departments, and align communications campaigns with organizational objectives. Topics include fundamental financial accounting and budgeting concepts required for many communications campaigns in business, government, and the nonprofit sectors;. Organizing a communications department and developing a management plan; following strategic communications trends; and legal and ethical issues.
International/Intercultural Communications
MSCP 640 | 3 Credits
Course Desc: Prerequisite MSCP 610. An investigation of Practice advanced strategic communications decision-making in an international context. Discussion covers how to align communications campaigns with organizational objectives based on an understanding of how messages and visual information are understood in other cultures. Topics also include global strategic communications trends, and legal and ethical issues.
Crisis Communications¿
MSCP 650 | 3 Credits
Course Desc: Prerequisite MSCP 610. A study of how to develop strategic responses, including crisis definition, issue management, and crisis communications management, to crisis situations, and plan for them. Topics include including crisis definition, issue management, and crisis communications management and messaging. Crisis communication theory is applied to inform a crisis communications plan.
Communications Campaigns Capstone
MSCP 690 | 3 Credits
Course Desc: Prerequisites: MSCP 600, 605, 610, 620, 625, 630. A study of how to create a communications plan that supports an organizational strategy for an existing organization. Practice is provided in completing all the steps of creating such a plan: conducting research; developing a problem statement; and identifying campaign goals and objectives, audience segments, and messaging targeted to those segments. Assignments include creating a communications strategy with tactics and timelines, evaluation plans, and a realistic budget.