STRATEGIC STORYTELLER

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a deep and broad understanding of stories and how they can be used in strategic communication. Drawing from a wealth of evidence-based and field-tested work on storytelling from both local and global contexts, students will learn why stories tend to be so powerful and—with a focus on the written, performed, and transmedia aspects of storytelling—gain experience in telling stories to achieve organizational objectives. Your skills will be sharpened through lively seminar discussions, storytelling exercises, workshop-style coaching, and presentations and on-camera practice.  By the end, students will walk away with a new mindset and a host of strategies that can be immediately implemented in their everyday work.

• F 10:10 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: Lauren R Glover
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• 3 points

INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING

Students will learn fundamental marketing concepts and their application. By the end of this class you will know: the elements of a market, company strategy, how to identify customers and competition, the fundamental elements of the marketing mix (product, price, placement and promotion) how to research consumer behavior, and pricing strategies. Students will have extensive use of case study projects. Please note that there are separate online and in-person versions of the course, and the modalities offered may vary by semester. Be sure to check the modalities of the sections offered and enroll in the correct modality for your situation.

• W 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• W 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Instructor: Young Mi Park
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• Instructor: Andrew Blum
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• 3 points

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION MGMT

This course examines the strategic role for communication in driving organizational outcomes. It covers key aspects of communication management, including how to plan, implement and measure strategic communication initiatives. Students learn to assess organizational needs, identify stakeholders and draft messaging that speaks credibly to a variety of constituencies, both internal and external. We also emphasize fundamental business skills, such as interpreting financial reports and understanding the language of business.

• W 10:10 a.m.-noon
• W 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• W 10:10 a.m.-noon
• SF 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
• Instructor: Andrea Legnani
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• Instructor: Gabriel Amor
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• Instructor: Tim Gingrich
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• Instructor: Don Waisanen
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• 3 points

MARKETING STRATEGY

Prerequisites: BUSI PS5020 Introduction to Marketing/or Professor Approval is required Students will develop analytical skills used to formulate and implement marketing driven strategies for an organization. Students will develop a deeper understanding of marketing strategies and how to implement tactics to achieve desired goals. Students will work on case study projects in both individual and team based projects. By the end of this course, you will be able to develop a marketing strategy based on market assessments and company needs.

• M 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Sandy Becker
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• 3 points

THE COMPELLING COMMUNICATOR

The ability to communicate effectively is a key competency for professionals. As emerging industry leaders, understanding the audience, framing the message, and using media channels to achieve specified objectives are critical skills, whether written or spoken. Through a variety of written and oral assignments, students learn to apply foundational communication theory to inform and engage stakeholders. The first part of the course focuses on written deliverables, emphasizing audience-framed messaging and developing simple, clear and persuasive content. The second part transitions to enhancing spoken delivery and presentation skills where students gain experience in speechwriting, storytelling and using data visualization to motivate an audience to act.

• T 10:10 a.m.-noon
• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• T 10:10 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: Kevin Visconti
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• 3 points

POLITICAL COMMUNICATIONS

This course is designed either for students who wish to embark on or further careers in politics and for those interested in exploring the dynamic field of political communication. Three themes anchor the course material: 1.) strategic communication, or deliberate and goal-oriented communication, which enables professionals to analyze and execute political strategy; 2.) message, which enables the crafting and critique of more or less effective political communication; and 3,) research, which political professionals use to formulate, shift and optimize their strategies.

• W 5:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Andrew Whitehouse
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• 3 points

INFLUENCE: BEHAVORIAL SCIENCE & COMMUNIC

INFLUENCE: BEHAVRL SCI &

This course places students at the intersection of two converging fields – behavioral science and communication – to teach them how our predictable irrationality can become a competitive advantage in persuading people, groups, and organizations to take favorable actions. Through lectures, case analysis, and group projects, students learn and apply a variety of psychology principles to communication thinking, planning, and leadership. Students are challenged to think broadly about communication – advertising, PR, social media, content, and internal communication – in their application of cognitive bias and heuristics principles including anchoring, framing, loss aversion, and choice architecture. Students obtain a strong grounding that influence involves four core elements: decision-making, nudges, cognitive biases, and noise reduction.

• S 1:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
• Instructor: Kaireem D Wright
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• 3 points

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

This course covers the basic elements of crisis communication and the procedures for creating crisis communications plans and for reacting to crises when they occur. How best to develop various plans for different critical audiences and understand the most effective strategies for communicating your organization’s message during a crisis is explored. The course examines various types of crises that can occur with corporations and nonprofit organizations and the differences and similarities among them. How to avoid the classic and common pitfalls of crisis communication are addressed, as are ethical issues that arise during crises. Numerous case studies are discussed in class and exercises both in and outside of class are assigned so students gain experience in crisis communication situations.

• S 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
• Instructor: Andrew Whitehouse
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• 3 points

ADVANCED WRITING PROJECT

In this advanced professional writing workshop, students are guided through the process of crafting a significant publication-ready piece of writing, applying principles of journalism and strategic communication. Whether a book chapter, in-depth feature article, white paper, or policy proposal, each student’s unique project will require mastering a range of communication tools—including storytelling, data presentation, observation, and analysis.

• F 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Instructor: Edith Hill Updike
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• 3 points

CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS

Effective dialogue is one of the single most important activities of leaders today. Whether you are confronting a team member who is not keeping commitments, critiquing a colleague’s work, disagreeing with a spouse about financial decisions, or telling someone no, critical conversations are often avoided or handled in clumsy ways. This course will provide the theory underpinning these conversations, diagram their structure, and provide specific strategies for approaching them successfully.

• R 10:10 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: Jesse L Scinto
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• 3 points

COMMUNICATION AND GLOBAL BRANDS

COMMUNICATION & GLOBAL BRANDS

• T 8:10 p.m.-10 p.m.
• Instructor: Cheryl Fenelle-Dixon
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• 3 points

VISUAL COMMUNICATION & DESIGN

This course provides strategic communication students with the foundational notions and methods of design needed to collaborate with designers and amplify their work. It examines the impact technology and social transformations are having on design: the application of digital and generative technology, the redirection toward human-centric approaches, and the discipline’s standing in embracing social and ethical concerns related to ensuring inclusivity and preventing cultural bias. The course begins with a historical overview of design’s evolution and contemporary methods, setting the stage for an in-depth exploration of visual perception principles and key design elements like shape, form, color, typography, imagery, and layout. Students will apply the knowledge gained by experimenting with design practices and developing design strategies and applications through serial hands-on, collaborative assignments and workshops.

• W 8:10 p.m.-10 p.m.
• Instructor: Diego Kolsky
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• 3 points

COMMUNICATION RESEARCH & INSIGHTS

COMM RESEARCH & INSIGHTS

To make informed decisions about communication, we need a clear understanding of our audience and its motivations. We begin by asking the right questions and interpreting the results. This course covers essential market research methods, including quantitative and qualitative techniques. Students gain direct experience in collecting and analyzing data, developing insights and choosing research-driven communication strategies that meet client objectives.

• R 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Laura Milewczik
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• 3 points

ETHICAL DECISION MAKING FOR COMMUNICATOR

• M 10:10 a.m.-noon
• M 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• M 10:10 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: Frank J Oswald
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• 3 points

DIGITAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

As digital media increasingly drives the field of strategic communication, leading successful communication efforts also require a platform specific, evidence-based strategic approach. Leaders must know how to use a broad and rapidly changing mix of digital media platforms and tools to connect their message with the right audience. To that end, this course covers major topics in digital media and communication, such as content strategy, digital experience, channel planning, online reputation management, programmatic marketing, audience targeting, artificial intelligence and more. Through in-class lectures, discussion, case studies, guest speakers, group projects and individual writing assignments, students in this course will be introduced to strategic decision-making and communications planning for social media, mobile, digital advertising, search, email, digital out-of-home and interactive media (video, radio, podcasts). Students will also gain an in-depth understanding of how to integrate digital strategies and tactics with traditional communication efforts.

• W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Lilian Ore
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• 3 points

CAPSTONE

The Capstone Project is an opportunity for students to synthesize and apply learnings from throughout the Strategic Communication program. Under the guidance of expert advisers, you’ll investigate a real-world communication issue, devising solutions and strategies that bridge the gap between theory and practice.

• R 3:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• R 6:10 p.m.-9 p.m.
• Instructor: Lilian Ore
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• Instructor: Elyse Hoelzer
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• 3 points

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND CORPORATE COMMUNICA

PR & CORPORATE COMMUNICATION

This elective is designed for students looking to launch careers in public relations and corporate communications across organizations, from corporate, non-profit, start-up and/or governmental institutions. Course content will provide students with a broad overview of the PR and corporate communications function and foundational communication theory, along with hands-on, tactical training in modern public relations practice. Topics covered include strategic messaging and storytelling, working with the press to generate media coverage, leveraging social media and managing reputations online, crisis communication, public relations ethics and media law, engaging internal and external audiences, and evaluating corporate communications efforts.

• T 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Instructor: Michael Kaye
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• 3 points