Strategic Organizational Communication Certificate Courses / Curriculum

» View the complete list of courses and descriptions

Strategic Organizational Communication certificate students will develop skills with an emphasis on the internal and external uses of strategic media. 

• 12 credits — 4 courses: 2 courses Fall semester; 2 courses Winter semester
• All courses meet in blended hybrid format
• Coordinated schedule: same night for students, alternate nights for faculty (i.e., Wednesday 7-10 PM COMM 530 meets weeks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15; COMM 550 meets weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14. In winter, COMM 545 and COMM 650 get scheduled the same way).

Fall Semester 

COMM 530 Media, Organizations and Audiences (3 cr)

This course provides a foundation in the social and cultural aspects of media technology and the use of media channels to organize, entertain, and persuade. Students will critically explore the role of media within historical and contemporary contexts and develop strategies for creating rhetorically effective messages. 

COMM 550 Communication and Organizational Change (3 cr) 

Enables students to critically analyze internal and external organizational change from a systems perspective. Studies the diffusion of innovation and examines the role of communication in leading, negotiating, and understanding social change in private and public sector organizations. 

Winter Semester 

COMM 545 Social Media Strategies (3 cr)

This course will instruct students in strategies for using social media in a professional setting. Students will explore a variety of social media, both established social media and newly developed social media. Students will interact with various social media metrics tools, create social media for strategic usage, and examine emerging issues in social media. 

COMM  650 Research Practices in Organizational Communication (3 cr) 

Develop critical skills for interpreting quantitative and qualitative empirical research, including understanding design as well as primary and secondary data collection and analysis. Concentrate on elements of oral and written research reporting.