Applied Communication

School of Liberal Arts
Indianapolis

Chairperson
Professor John Parrish-Sprowl

Departmental E-mail
commdept@iupui.edu

Departmental URL
www.iupui.edu/~comstudy/gradprogram.htm

Graduate Faculty
Degrees Offered
Applied Learning Project or Thesis
Courses

Graduate Faculty

Professor
John Parrish-Sprowl

Associate Professors
Catherine A. Dobris*, Elizabeth Goering, Gail G. Whitchurch, Kim White-Mills

Assistant Professors
Ron Sandwina, Stuart M. Schrader, Kristina Horn Sheeler

Director of Graduate Studies
Kim White-Mills, Department of Communication Studies, Cavanaugh Hall 307G, IUPUI, (317) 507-9638

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Degrees Offered

M.A. in Applied Communication
The Department of Communication Studies offers a master's program in Applied Communication with concentrations in Corporate Communication, Health Communication, and Media Management Communication.

Program Goal
The overarching goal of this unique program in Applied Communication is to provide students with the competencies and skills necessary to address specific communication issues and problems that are socially relevant and to suggest or implement change. The primary intellectual goal of the program is to increase our students' understanding of the theoretical implications of discipline-specific knowledge, to enhance their ability to understand and predict human interaction relative to realistic, applied outcomes associated with contemporary social problems. A practical goal of the program is to train a cohort of the population who will satisfy society's increased need for professionals who grasp the complexities of communication problems and who are able to develop and execute strategies and programs to address such issues.

Admission Requirements
Applicants should have a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 grading scale in the student's undergraduate program. An official transcript and a personal statement must be submitted. Applicants are generally expected to have been communication majors, but admission is considered for those who otherwise demonstrate the competency necessary for successful graduate work in communication. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test with satisfactory scores in the three areas must be submitted. Applicants are encouraged to take the examination two months prior to the semester of admission. Three letters of recommendation for the applicant should be submitted.

Foreign Language Requirements
None, but M.A. students continuing on for the Ph.D. are encouraged to validate their reading proficiency in a foreign language according to University Graduate School standards. Grades M.A. students must maintain a 3.0 (B) grade point average.

Course Requirements
Nine (9) credit hours of core courses: C500, C501, C503 or C597 in addition to 18 credits of applied communication electives including six (6) interdisciplinary electives from outside of the Department of Communication Studies; Written Examination.

Examinations
The candidate must pass written examinations as a requirement for completion of the degree. The examination procedures shall be administered by the student's primary committee.

Applied Learning Project or Thesis

The candidate must satisfactorily complete the Applied Learning Project (ALP) or thesis as a requirement for completion of the degree.

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Courses

C500 Advanced Communication Theory Students explore how scholars from various traditions have described and explained the universal human experience of communication. Students develop an understanding of a variety of communication theories to more completely interpret events in more flexible, useful, and discriminating ways.

C501 Applied Communication Research The course is designed to offer students an opportunity to examine, assess, and utilize communication research methods as a means to test theory in applied settings and/or as a means to applied ends (i.e., problem-solving, policy, analysis).

C503 Applied Learning Project An applied learning project that provides students with a culminating educational experience. The project gives students the opportunity to apply their knowledge of communicative processes to real-life organizational problems, and provides the opportunity to produce a body of work reflecting their abilities.

C510 Health Provider-Consumer Communication Designed to teach communication skills and practices related to health care talk by examining transactional communication within health care contexts. Topics covered in this course focus directly upon interpersonal dialogue between health care providers and patients.

C520 Advanced Public Communication Critical analysis and employment of rhetorical strategies in forms and types of professional discourses, incorporating current technologies.

C526 Effective Media Strategies Contemporary communicators in need of mediums of communication in addition to face-to-face interaction require an expanded knowledge of rhetorical strategies. This course will have a special focus on the effective use of media as a means of persuasion.

C528 Group Communication and Organizations (3 cr.) This seminar-format course examines the ways in which informal groups and communication networks facilitate a variety of organizational processes (i.e., socialization, diffusion of innovation). Emphasis is placed on developing theoretical understanding of informal groups in organizations as well as on methodological issues involved in studying communication networks in organizations.

C530 Communication Criticism (3 cr.) This course will introduce students to criticism as a method of studying persuasive message in speeches, fiction, mass media, musical lyrics, political campaign literature, art, and other modes of communication in contemporary culture.

C531 Media Theory and Criticism (3 cr.) A course organized primarily around theories and critical strategies commonly considered within the broad category of contemporary criticism-it utilizes primary theoretical texts to introduce students to a variety of methodologies employed in analyzing media messages, and emphasizes the application of theoretical frameworks on the analysis of specific media texts.

C544 Advanced Relational Communication (3 cr.) Applications of communication theory/research in such areas as relational culture and relationship development. Includes a scholarly project on a real relationship, and applications of research to areas such as pedagogy and couple/family therapy.

C580 Advanced Organizational Communication (3 cr.) The course provides a solid foundation of concepts for understanding and discussing human organizations. Students will analyze, evaluate, and apply the theories and practices related to organizational issues. Through case studies, readings, and practical applications, this course combines a theory-based understanding of communication in organizations with real-world applications

C582 Advanced Intercultural Communication (3 cr.) An in-depth analysis of how variables such as values, beliefs, traditions, language, background, and experiences are manifested in the verbal and nonverbal meaning of messages communicated by cultures and subcultures throughout our global society.

C591 Topics/Seminar in Applied Communication (3 cr.) Applied Communication is a revolving topics course. The changing nature of the topic allows graduate students to explore, synthesize, and integrate knowledge of the field of communication and the particular discipline of applied communication while focusing on a single topic not otherwise addressed in the course of study.

C592 Advanced Health Communication (3 cr.) A course designed to teach communication skills and practices related to health care, by examining health care communication theory. Topics covered range across communication levels (interpersonal, intrapersonal, group, organization, mass media, and mediated communication) within a variety of health care contexts.

C593 Advanced Family Communication (3 cr.) Applications of theory and research on the role of communication in creating and maintaining marriages/committed couples and families. Includes a scholarly term paper on a real couple or family's communication.

C594 Communication and Conflict Management in Organizations (3 cr.) This seminar-format course examines the communication exchanges that facilitate conflict management within organizational contexts. Specific attention is focused on negotiation and mediation; however, the communication of alternative means of conflict and dispute resolution are also discussed. In addition, students will be introduced to methods for assessing conflict interaction in organizations.

C597 Thesis

C598 Internship (1-3 cr.) This course integrates applied communication theory and practice in a practice setting. Students will apply theoretical concepts and research tools, conduct projects, and interact with communication professionals in the designated setting. In concert with the student's chosen area of concentration, they will address issues of importance to that particular organization.

C599 Independent Study (3-6 cr.) This course provides students with the opportunity to synthesize and apply knowledge acquired through course work and professional experience into a completed research project in applied communication. Students will work independently on a topic/issue of choice under the guidance of graduate faculty.

C620 Computer-Mediated Communication (3 cr.) An overview of practical and scholarly approaches to computer mediated communication. The readings address mass communication, discourse, community, gender, intercultural understanding, ethics, interpersonal relationships, identity, organizational communication, and education.

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