SC&I Courses

Since public relations became a paid profession in the United States in the early 1900s, the industry has undergone an incredible transformation, especially in the past 15 years with the arrival of social media channels. Public Relations History and the Modern World covers the transformation of the public relations discipline from earned media to the PESO (Paid Media, Earned Media, Shared Media and Owned Media) model and will feature a detailed history review, real-time and real-world applications of the PESO Model, and the opportunity to immerse students in experiential learning by meeting and engaging with leading public relations practitioners and applying what they learn to a real-life client situation.

SERVICE, ADVOCACY, AND IMPACT helps students build practical skills in using communication for the greater good. In this course, we will explore the ways that communicators can use their abilities in the context of nonprofit organizations, direct community service provision, or corporate social good. This course will combine instruction, group work and reflection, and a hands-on project with a community organization in order to pair learning with practice. By the end of this course, students will have first-hand, working knowledge of the opportunities and challenges in using communication for public service.

This course examines the nature and impact of the media of mass communication in society. Particular attention is paid to emerging media technology, including the Internet and other digital technologies. Students learn four primary ways new technology influences media and society, including 1) how media professionals and members of the public increasingly create content using new media technologies, 2) the nature of mediated content, 3) the relationships between and among media and relevant publics, and 4) the structure, culture and management of media organizations and systems. Students learn five areas of media technology, including 1) acquisition tools, 2) storage technologies, 3) processing devices, 4) distribution technologies and 5) display, access or presentation tools.

This course examines how media theory can be used to explain the communicative power of citizens, journalists and politicians in the era of mainstream media, and today as American politics has been “rebooted” with the digital revolution.  

This course explores the strategic use of communication by individuals and groups to facilitate persuasion and change. Topics covered vary by instructor but may include theories of behavior and social change, strategic communication, interpersonal influence and diffusion, media advocacy and social marketing, argumentation, discourse and conflict.

This course is about communication for change. People, much like the groups, organizations and societies of which they are members, change continuously. Some of this change is unplanned and spontaneous, but much of it is deliberate and planned. While change can be pushed by different social actors (from social entrepreneurs, through social movements and to governments), communication remains the primary tool for facilitating change at different levels-individual, group and societal. Therefore, this course is designed to explore the strategic use of communication by individuals and groups to facilitate change processes. Topics covered include theories of behavior and social change and strategic communication approaches such as persuasive communication, interpersonal influence and diffusion, media advocacy and social marketing.

The capstone seminar requires students to integrate theory and practice through the preparation and presentation of an intensive project. Students will design their own original work that includes integrating, synthesizing, and analyzing fundamental communication theories, concepts, and research methods; show proficiency in gathering and using evidence to study and understand communication processes and consequences; demonstrate advanced written and oral presentation skills; apply communication theories and concepts to professional and civic life.

Open only to students appointed as MCM Fellows. Course is required of MCM fellows in the first term of their fellowship placement.  Includes formal assessment of the student by the fellowship supervisor.

Open only to students appointed as MCM Fellows. Course is required of MCM fellows in the second term of their fellowship placement.  Includes formal assessment of the student by the fellowship supervisor.

Open only to students appointed as MCM Fellows. Course is required of MCM fellows in the third term of their fellowship placement.  Includes formal assessment of the student by the fellowship supervisor.

Open only to students appointed as MCM Teaching Interns. Each selected student assists a faculty member with delivery and student evaluation of an undergraduate course.

Open only to students appointed as MCM Teaching Interns. Each selected student assists a faculty member with delivery and student evaluation of an undergraduate course.