Master of Arts in Communication

Our graduate-level program in communication offers a diverse, flexible curriculum that prepares students to lead and/or advocate for others in multiple career and academic fields.

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  Dr. Corinne Dalelio
  Graduate Coordinator
  843-349-2963
  cdalelio@coastal.edu 

Description of program

Students take 33 credits of diverse, flexible curriculum preparing them to lead and/or advocate for others in a variety of settings. Students gain an understanding of theoretical approaches in the field of communication, develop research skills, create and critique messages in a variety of interpersonal and mediated contexts, and explore principles of ethical responsibility. The program prepares students to succeed in professional positions involving leadership and advocacy in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations or for continued study in a Ph.D. program.

In addition, the program offers special topics courses in areas such as communication in health contexts, persuasion, creating communication campaigns, and the effects of and uses for media messages.

Foundation (9 credits)
• COMM 500 - Foundations of the Communication Discipline - (3 credits)
• COMM 575 - Communication Theory - (3 credits)
• COMM 576 - Graduate Communication Research - (3 credits)

Courses in Social Change and Leadership (12 credits)
• COMM 501 - Communication Leadership - (3 credits)
• COMM 502 - Communication Activism - (3 credits)
• COMM 519 - Communication & Media Campaigns - (3 credits)
• COMM 530 - Communication Across Differences - (3 credits)

Choose any two courses (6 credits)
• COMM 509 - Public Relations - (3 credits)
• COMM 511 - Communication in Health Contexts - (3 credits)
• COMM 531 - Communicating with Diverse and Targeted Audiences - (3 credits)
• COMM 540 - Media Uses and Effects - (3 credits)
• COMM 560 - Persuasion - (3 credits)
• Any additional COMM elective at the 500, 600 or 700 level

Capstone (6 credits)
• COMM 691 - Applied Communication Capstone - (1-6 credits)

Total Credit Hours: 33

Learn more about the program's curriculum here.

Beyond the classroom

Graduate assistantships provide students with professional experiences in teaching, editing, research, publications and work in department-affiliated radio, television and social opportunities and studios. The program also offers opportunities for working with real-world clients and for student travel and presentation at regional and national academic research conferences. Financial stipends are available, and assistantships are highly competitive.

The Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts also has several production facilities that offer students hands-on experiences with professional-level equipment and software. Learn more about our production resources, The Athenaeum Press and other experiential learning initiatives.

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CMC Department

Other Graduate Programs

Communication, Media, and Culture

Master of Arts in Communication, Thesis Topics

Spring 2022

• Ian Livingston Brooking (advisor: Dr. Jeffrey Ranta) - “Changing the Game: How Twitter has Affected the Field of Sports Journalism”
• Dahlia DeHaan (advisor: Dr. Linsay M. Cramer) - “‘Ramifications that you, quite simply, will never understand’: The Colorblind White Savior in HBO's Gossip Girl”
• Krystal Dotson (advisor: Dr. Corinne Dalelio) - “All Eyes on Me: An Autoethnographic Story of Prayer”
• Kate Federico (advisor: Dr. Wendy Weinhold) - “Lost Life”
• Dannie Johnson (advisor: Dr. Kyle J. Holody) - “The Lord is My Shepherd; I Shall Want: An Autoethnography of Desire in Southern Funeral Rituals”
• Dominique Pennisi (advisor: Dr. Linsay M. Cramer) - “‘It has taught me how to make myself more relatable’: An Exploratory Study of How Media Use Influences International Students' Adjustment to Living and Studying in the U.S.
• Ben Rutherford (advisor: Dr. Andrea Bergstrom) - “The Power of Clubs: The Clubs and Organization Experience”
• Gregory Stephens (advisor: Dr. Wendy Weinhold) - “Flipping the Switch: Creation, Implementation, & Importance of Chosen Names and Pronouns”
• Sydney Suddreth (advisor: Dr. Corinne Dalelio) - “Seeking God During Hard Times: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Popular 2020 Sermons on YouTube”

Fall 2021

• Kendra Lukacs (advisor: Dr. Corinne Dalelio) - “Shared Territory: A Close Analysis of Intercultural Communication Between In-Group and Out-Group Members on a Professional Volleyball Team in Cyprus”

Summer 2021

• Sarah Jackson (advisor: Dr. Corrine Dalelio) - “Reducing Undergraduates’ Uncertainty for Enrolling in a Graduate Program”
• Briana Marino (advisor: Dr. Cassandra Hill) - “(Un)Certainty in Mystery: Reducing Patient Uncertainty in Diagnosis of a Mystery Illness”

Spring 2021

• Madison Dunn (advisor: Dr. Kyle J. Holody) - “The Identity of Cult: A Look at Viewer Identification Through Cult Classic Films”

Fall 2020

• Rachel Abarbanell (advisor: Dr. Kyle J. Holody) - “Mandatory Furloughs in the Wake of COVID-19: An Impact Analysis of the Communication Announcing Coastal Carolina’s Mandatory Furlough Plan”
• Amber Brooks (advisor: Dr. Deborah Cunningham Breede) - “Domestic Violence Educational Magazine”
• Francesco Migliano (advisor: Dr. Deborah Cunningham Breede) - “Immigration to the United States: A Proposal for Change”

Summer 2020

• Jennifer Brown (advisor: Dr. Deborah Cunningham Breede) - “See Women”
  

Spring 2020

• Brianna Smith (advisor: Dr. Deborah Cunningham Breede) - “Unspoken Love: Care for the Caregivers”