Communication, Media, and Persuasion

Faculty 

Chair and Professor: James DiSanza 

Professors: John Gribas, Nancy Legge, Sarah Partlow-Lefevre, Terry Ownby, Karen Hartman, Jasun Carr, Zac Gershberg, Ken Kim

Associate Professors: Neelam Sharma

Assistant Professors: Nikyra Capson

Program Description	Type	Degree
M.A. in Communication	Degree	M.A.
Accelerated B.A. to M.A. in Communication	Degree	BA/MA

Mission Statement 

For more than fifty years, ISU's Master of Arts in Communication program has been preparing graduates to be active citizens in public life who critically engage with the world, whether as creative, strategic professionals or as researchers pursuing academic careers in teaching and scholarship. The program continues this mission in the 21^st century by using contemporary methods and best practices in communication. 

The graduate program offers a flexible integration of knowledge, skills, and research: 

• by Flexible, we mean students are afforded an opportunity to customize a curriculum tailored to their interests among the spheres of public and mediated communication;
• by Knowledge, we mean that students acquire a thorough understanding of the practices and theories of communication as well as perspective and methods;
• by Skills, we mean students learn to strategically craft verbal, written, and visual messages for businesses and nonprofit organizations, political campaigns, and/or media industries; and
• and by Research, we mean students utilize the methods and theories of communication to create new, relevant scholarship that critically explores the ethical, mediated, and persuasive aspects of communication.

Goals

1. Graduates will develop an understanding of communication research methodology and roles of research in academia.
2. Graduates finishing their master's degree will find professional employment in public or private sectors of business, service, or education.
3. Graduates will further their graduate careers by pursuing a doctorate in communication.

Objectives

1. Graduates will pass oral defense.
2. Graduates will submit to and/or present at a professional conference.
3. Graduates will find employment in education, public service, or business.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Understand practices, theories, perspectives and methods of the communication discipline.
• Strategically craft verbal, written, and visual messages for organizations, political campaigns, and/or media industries.
• Create new, relevant scholarship that critically explores the ethical, mediated, and persuasive aspects of communication.

Why study Communication at ISU? 

The Department of Communication, Media, and Persuasion offers a diverse selection of study options. We offer concentrations in Corporate Communication (Leadership, Advertising, Public Relations); Multiplatform Journalism; Visual Media (Photo, Video, Design); and Rhetoric & Media Affairs. Our graduate faculty are not only dedicated teachers, they are also national and international scholars who present their research in books, journals, exhibitions, and conferences. With the size of our program, faculty are able to work closely with graduate students, providing them with exceptional guidance and experience.