Strategic Communication Master’s Program Courses

We consult regularly with our professional faculty and the top communication executives in our Strategic Communication Leadership Network to determine the skills and curriculum students need to become successful strategic communicators. To find out when these courses are offered and to register, visit the UO Class Schedule.

Core Courses

JCOM 610 Communication Ethics in the Digital Age 4 credits
Explore the ethical issues communication professionals face almost daily, with a focus on surviving and thriving in the turmoil and disruption of the current media landscape. We will explore what is changing, why it is changing, and how you can do good work despite—and sometimes because of—these changes.

JCOM 611 Media and Society 4 credits
This introduction to graduate study in communication emphasizes the major intellectual traditions and enduring issues in the field of strategic communication.

JCOM 616 Intro to Strategic Communication Marketing 4 credits
Approach the practice of marketing from the perspective of a general manager.

JCOM 618 Strategic Communication Management 4 credits
Learn the essential elements of managing and leading groups and organizations.

JCOM 621 Foundations of Strategic Communication 4 credits
Get an introduction to the many facets and theoretical frameworks of strategic communication, from public relations, advertising, and marketing to social media and corporate communication.

JCOM 623 Creativity in Strategic Communication 4 credits
Explore the use of creative conceptual thinking as part of the strategic basis in successful communication campaigns.

JCOM 624 Finance for Strategic Communication 4 credits
Explore the basics of financial statements and their application for anyone working in public relations, advertising, marketing, and corporate communication.

JCOM 624 Strategic Communication Topic: Strategic Influence 4 credits
Today’s communications professional is an influencer in their own right. This course explores the interplay between art and science in the realm of professional communications, with a specific focus on the powerful skill of influence. As communication professionals, understanding how to artfully and ethically influence people to build support and inspire action that advances an organization's goal is paramount in today's complex and interconnected world is foundational to strategic communications.

JCOM 624 Campaign Planning & Management 4 credits
Explore common problems in strategic communication management and the specialized skills you’ll need to solve them. Examples of topics we’ll cover are crisis communication, creativity in business, and corporate social responsibility.

JCOM 641 Qualitative Research Methods 4 credits
Learn the principles of research for the strategic management of communication programs and campaigns.

JCOM 642 Quantitative Research Methods 4 credits
This is a practical, real-world research course that teaches methodological skills you can apply to directly in the workplace.

Terminal Project

JCOM 609 Terminal Project 6–9 credits
As your final project for the Strategic Communication Master’s degree, you'll develop a complete communication plan to address a problem or issue in the field of strategic communication that is directly applicable to improving the communication of a process, service, procedure, idea, or product. (Note: you have the option of completing additional course work and creating a portfolio in lieu of completing a terminal project, with permission of the program director.)

Elective Courses

Students can choose electives that build focused skills in their areas of interest. Some elective topics are not offered every term or year. Talk to your program director about the electives offered each term.

JCOM 608 Audio Storytelling I 2 credits
Learn the technical aspects of audio field recording and editing using Adobe Audition software.

JCOM 608 Audio Storytelling II: Podcasting 2 credits
Explore narrative storytelling through audio. Get hands-on experience in field recording, interviewing, and editing an audio story for broadcast and other contemporary media platforms. Focus on short-form audio production that incorporates the use of interviews, actualities, voice-over narration, and sound effects. Special emphasis will be placed on writing for the ear and voicing scripts.

JCOM 608 Motion Graphics 2 credits
Gain exposure to the fundamental principles of motion graphics. Learn the basics of Adobe After Effects software, including 3D camera tracking titles and “2-½ D” photo movement.

JCOM 608 Storytelling with Data 2 credits
Get an introduction to data visualization techniques used in multimedia storytelling. Learn core vocabulary to more effectively communicate with designers and data visualization specialists.

JCOM 608 Story in Stills I: Intro 2 credits
Learn to think with more clarity and sophistication about how still images can convey narrative. You’ll discuss the process of finding, researching, shooting, and editing. 

JCOM 608 Story in Stills II: Photo Story 2 credits
Learn how to find and tell stories effectively with pictures. Develop your ability to research, find, and report stories that explore and explain issues in communities. Explore the ethics of using pictures to tell stories, and look at where we are in the history of photojournalism and documentary photography. This class is for graduate students who have experience taking pictures in the tradition of photojournalism or documentary photography.

JCOM 610 Crisis Communication 2–4 credits
Prepare to guide an organization through a critical time by mastering the foundational principles of crisis communication.

JCOM 610 Political Communication 2–4 credits
Examine how political messages are produced and transmitted. Students study messaging produced by political communicators and how the recipients of these political messages are affected.

JCOM 610 Corporate Social Responsibility 2–4 credits
Build a deep understanding of CSR and related concepts such as sustainability, corporate citizenship, and corporate social advocacy.

JCOM 610 Strategic Social Media 2–4 credits
Learn the “why?” and “when?” of social media so you can meet organizational goals and objectives, build relationships, and demonstrate success.

JCOM 610 Building Strong Brands—Strategy to Creative 2–4 credits
Get the foundational tools to bridge the gap between business and creative, left-brain and right-brain, technical and intuitive.

JCOM 610 Design for Strategic Communication 2–4 credits
Build the skills to design memorable, meaningful, and ethical communications for a given message, audience, and medium using print, digital, and social media platforms.

JCOM 610 Writing for Grad School 1 credit
Learn the skills for success in graduate-level writing, including how to access and understand academic research, translate it for nonacademic audiences, and write with effective “academic voice.” Fundamentals of clear writing will also be introduced. (Offered every year.)

JCOM 610 Communicating for Social Impact 2 credits
Whether you work for a nonprofit or as a journalist, creating social change takes strategic planning, resource development, and fierce determination. This course explores contemporary cases and provides a roadmap for developing messages and campaigns that make the world a better place.

JCOM 624 Strategic Communication Topic: Sustainability in Communication 2 credits
This course enables students to apply their communication skillsets to organizational sustainability challenges. It aims to help build the vocabulary, understanding and mindset necessary to contribute to boardroom level business (both profit and non-profit) sustainability discussions, decisions and facilitate collaboration across departments and organizations.

JCOM 624 Introduction to Social Virtual Reality* 2 credits
Get insight into the history and evolution of social virtual reality, from its early stages in the game space to the emerging social platforms designed for immersion with VR headsets. Explore and experience several platforms and critically analyze current and potential use of immersive VR in community building, storytelling, marketing, design, education, and more. Consider the ethical implications of this technology and its potential impacts on equity and inclusion.

JCOM 624 User Experience and Design* 4 credits
This course is designed to teach fundamental principles of user experience (UX) and human-centered design (HCD) in the context of strategic communication. This course is heavily interdisciplinary, relying on various theoretical and applied approaches drawn from fields of human-computer interaction (HCI), media psychology, and many others. UX is also context-specific, and we will be highlighting UX design in various domains, including mobile apps, traditional web, service and customer experience, gaming, and product design.

JCOM 624 Marketing with Immersive Technology* 2 credits
An introduction to social virtual worlds (VW), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR) within the frameworks of building communities, marketing and storytelling.

JCOM 624 Creating for Immersive Platforms* 2 credits
An introduction to designing and building tools for virtual reality and augmented reality experiences, including Unity, Maya, WebXR, and other character-generating tools used to create immersive VR experiences. Students work with industry-standard software to create their first interactive VR environment and explore the foundations for AR-driven applications. Students will become familiar with off-the-shelf resources to get started quickly and gain an understanding of the overall production pipeline used in generating content for immersive platforms. No prior experience required.

JCOM 624 Introduction to Building Real-Time Ready Assets for Immersive Media* 4 credits
Students will get an introduction to the production pipeline used in creating custom assets for immersive and interactive media. They will gain hands-on experience using cross-platform workflows to bring their original ideas to life. This course focuses on 3D modeling, texturing, and lighting for real-time rendering environments.

JCOM 624 Comparative Software for Immersive Media Development* 2 credits
Students will work with comparable production applications like Unreal Engine to develop VR scenes used for storytelling and visualization. The technical focuses of the course are setting up user functionality, basic interaction and UI, prototyping using Blueprints, high-dynamic lighting, and working with material graphs to generate visually compelling environments. This course also examines factors that contribute to a successful user experience and how to develop with those elements in mind. (Prereq: Creating for Immersive Platforms and Building Real-Time-Ready Assets for Immersive Media)

JCOM 624 Photogrammetry for Immersive Media 2 credits
Get an introduction to photogrammetry, a technique that stitches together dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of photos to create a virtual model of a room, object, or environment.

* Offered in the Oregon Reality Lab


Questions?

Need some guidance? Here are a few options:

  1. Download our graduate handbook for more details about program requirements and resources.
  2. Contact our graduate recruiter with questions about the program, the application process, and admission.

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