Communication Studies
Master of Arts
“Communication consistently ranks among the top skills that employers seek” (Morreale & Pearson).
Overview
The master of arts in communication studies will strengthen your career readiness and academic preparation. You’ll develop a deeper understanding of strategic communication as well as human relationships.
Through practical experience and communication theory, you’ll learn how to lead others and communicate effectively in corporate or non-profit careers, and a wide ranges of social contexts.
Entrance Requirements
All students pursuing the master of arts in communication are required to complete an interview. This interview is used to evaluate your background and determine your potential as a graduate student.
Program
You’ll gain practical experience through a communication consulting project in a local business or organization.
You’ll explore communication situations and strategies, with both an applied and theoretic approach. You’ll learn how to conduct original research with both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A traditional graduate thesis is an optional track in the program.
You’ll have the opportunity to take a wide variety of classes, including Strategic Public Relations, Crisis Communication, Intercultural Communication, Conflict Management, and many others. The program is customizable to your interests and professional goals.
Your studies at BJU will prepare you to be an effective communicator in every part of your life: career, family, local church and community. Our graduates have succeeded in many career fields—business, corporate communication, law, non-profit, higher education, public service and ministry.
Faculty
At BJU you’ll study under our highly qualified faculty. Their doctoral degrees are from universities such as the University of Kansas, the University of Illinois, Purdue University, and Regent University.
Their areas of expertise include leadership, media, culture, family communication, comm theory, as well as organizational and applied communication.
Faculty also have many years of corporate experience and currently serve as business consultants, trainers and mediators.
Learning Experience
Learn from the Professional Experience
In Assessment Methods in Communication class, students partner with a corporate client to conduct a communication audit, assess client strengths and weaknesses, and deliver an oral and written report of recommendations to the client.
Communication Associations
Throughout your time as a graduate student, you’ll have the opportunity to attend a number of conferences sponsored by the National Communication Association (NCA), the Southern States Communication Association (SSCA), and the Carolinas Communication Association (CCA). Many of our graduate students have presented their research at CCA and SSCA, often winning awards for their graduate writing and original research projects.
Career Support
BJU offers students a variety of ways to network with employers and organizations. A multitude of job opportunities are posted each year on Career Central, our online job board. In addition, more than 60 businesses and 150 Christian schools/mission boards/Christian organizations come on campus to recruit students through on-campus interviews and job/ministry fairs.
Career Services also helps students by holding seminars on resume preparation and interview techniques.
Success
Graduate Awards
Tina Lacock was presented the Mary E. Jarrard Award for Excellence in Student Scholarship for her top graduate paper Training with Flexibility: An Exploration of Trainer-Client Relationships Through the Lens of Relational Dialectics.
Beth Ann Paris Labadorf (2019) had her paper Bilingual Language Accommodation: A Qualitative Study published as a Spotlight on Debut Scholarship in the 2019 Carolinas Communication Annual.
Courses/Objectives
The following courses are required:
- Advanced Organizational Communication
- Assessment Methods in Communication
- Introduction to Graduate Studies
- Qualitative Research Methods in Communication
- Quantitative Research Methods in Communication
- Strategic Public Relations
12 credits of coursework must be selected from the following:
- Applied Communication Research I
- Applied Communication Research II
- Communication Training & Development-EXP
- Conflict Management
- Crisis Communication
- Intercultural Communication
- Leadership Theory & Applications
- Nonverbal Communication
- Special Topics in Communication
- Special Topics in Communication
- Special Topics in Communication:
- Strategic Narrative
- Study Abroad: Israel
- Study Abroad: United Kingdom
Program Objectives
Each student will:
- Design and execute a research project using appropriate research methodologies.
- Critique multiple theoretical perspectives of human communication.
- Evaluate communication practices in organizational contexts.