Communication
Department of Communication
Chairperson: David W. Schlueter
Graduate Program Director: Ashley Barrett
Our graduate programs produce scholar-practitioners who go on to succeed in a variety of business, public service, and nonprofit settings as well as top doctoral program across the country. Students pursue unique interests and goals under the mentorship and care of graduate faculty experts in rhetoric and cultural discourse, health, organizational, and interpersonal communication.
Through coursework in theory, research methods, and multiple areas of study, students are challenged to fulfill the “Learning Outcomes in Communication” established by the National Communication Association:
- Employ Communication theories, perspectives, principles, and concepts
- Engage in Communication inquiry
- Create messages appropriate to the audience, purpose and context
- Critically analyze messages
- Demonstrate the ability to accomplish communicative goals (self-efficacy)
- Apply ethical communication principles and practices
- Utilize communication to embrace difference
- Influence public discourse
Communication (CSS)
CSS 4301 Organizational Communication (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
Communication within the organization and its relationship to organizational structure, roles, leadership, and management orientations.
CSS 4302 Communication Training and Development (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
Theory and practice of performing and supervising training activities in an organizational setting. Emphasis on the design, execution, and evaluation of communication training and development programs and strategies.
CSS 4303 Leadership and Communication (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
The intersection between leadership and communication, emphasizing the theory, research, and practice of leadership communication.
CSS 4304 Advanced Small Group Theory and Practice (3)
Examines advanced and complex types of small-group interaction, leadership, and collaboration. Taught in London.
CSS 4305 Nonprofit Organizational Communication (3)
Pre-requisite(s): CSS 4301
Survey of communication dynamics and issues in nonprofit organizations. Emphasis on assessing and developing best practices in external and internal communication. Course topics include: stakeholder messaging, interorganizational collaboration, member relationships, and role development.
CSS 4306 Advanced Interviewing (3)
Pre-requisite(s): CSS 3306 or consent of instructor
Application of survey and probing interview techniques with emphasis on career development.
CSS 4310 Politics and Communication (3)
Cross-listed as PSC 4310
See PSC 4310 for course information.
CSS 4311 Conflict and Communication (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
The role of communication in managing conflict in interpersonal, group, organization, and community contexts.
CSS 4312 Systemic Inquiry (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing
Examines advanced and complex types of communication contexts involving relational and group facilitation strategies, systemic interviewing practices, and the development of a basic understanding of systemic inquiry as a communication management strategy. Taught in London.
CSS 4313 Communication and the Family (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
Survey of communication issues related to theory and research regarding relationships within the modern family system.
CSS 4314 Communication Assessment in Organizational Settings (3)
Pre-requisite(s): CSS 4301 or consent of instructor
Design and implement a communication assessment of for-profit or non-profit organizations.
CSS 4315 Health Communication (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
Health communication theory and practice, including patient-provider communication, healthcare organizational communication, and health information technology.
CSS 4316 Advanced Interpersonal Communication (3)
Pre-requisite(s): CSS 3311 and upper level standing or consent of instructor
Advanced survey of theory and research regarding communication and personal relationships.
CSS 4317 Narrating Health Across Culture (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
Examines pervasive health narratives, including best practices for the communication surrounding illness both from those living with the illness and those in support roles.
CSS 4318 Communication and New Technology (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
The ways in which communication is facilitated by new technologies with an emphasis on various theories related to computer-mediated communication and new communication technology.
CSS 4319 Cultural Approaches to Health Communication (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper level standing or consent of instructor
Examination of the influence of culture on communicative aspects of individuals’ health.
CSS 4336 Seminar in Contemporary Communication Issues (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Consent of instructor
Seminar topics vary each semester. May be repeated once with change in topic.
CSS 4350 Rhetoric of Women and Gender (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
Analyzes the historical fight for women’s rights and contemporary arguments about gender-based rights through the tools of rhetorical criticism.
CSS 4351 Criticism of Contemporary Public Address (3)
Cross-listed as PSC 4351
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
Significant public speeches in contemporary society, with emphasis on applying principles and methods of rhetorical criticism.
CSS 4352 Corporate Advocacy and Public Policy (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
Influence of contemporary organizations on public attitudes and public policy through analysis of communication campaigns during both favorable and unfavorable conditions.
CSS 4353 Public Discourse and Foreign Policy (3)
Cross-listed as PSC 4335
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing
An analytical approach to the discourse generated by United States foreign policy in the post-World War II era. Topics covered include the nature of public opinion and foreign policy, rhetorical and political constraints on foreign policy discourse, and in-depth analysis of the arguments for and against the conflict in Vietnam.
CSS 4354 African American Communication (3)
Cross-listed as PSC 4340
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing
Rhetorical strategies of African Americans, focusing on the historically important documents of oratory, argumentation, homiletic, and narrative.
CSS 4392 Rhetorics of Race (3)
Exploration of ideas about communication, rhetoric, and race. Emphasis on rhetorical criticism as a methodological approach to public discourse and analysis of race as understood in contemporary American culture.
CSS 4394 Rhetorical Theory (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
Selected theories of persuasion in Western culture from the Greco-Roman period to the present. Topics covered include the relationship of rhetoric and poetic, arguments for a behavioristic approach to rhetoric, and contemporary claims concerning rhetoric as a way of knowing.
CSS 4395 Visual Rhetoric (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
Theories and methodologies pertaining to visual rhetoric.
CSS 4396 American Rhetoric (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
Origin and development of rhetoric in American social movements, with emphasis on the characteristics of various types of communication situations and the discovery, analysis, and evaluation of common persuasive strategies.
CSS 4397 Public Discourse and the Classic Liberal Tradition (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Upper-level standing or consent of instructor
Analysis of major speeches, pamphlets, and essays in England and America on politics and political change from the early seventeenth century through the American Revolution. Topics addressed include the birth of the public sphere, church and state relations, and natural rights.
CSS 4399 Workshop in Directing the Speech Program (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Consent of instructor
Intended primarily for directors of speech activities in high schools and colleges. May be repeated once for credit.
CSS 5199 Non-Thesis Degree Completion (1)
To fulfill requirements for non-thesis master's students who need to complete final degree requirements other than coursework during their last semester. This may include such things as a comprehensive examination, oral examination, or foreign language requirement. Students are required to be registered during the semester they graduate.
CSS 5310 Modern Communication Theory (3)
An overview of criticism regarding continuing developments in communication theory.
CSS 5311 Seminar in Interpersonal Communication (3)
An in-depth analysis of interpersonal theory and research.
CSS 5312 Seminar in Argumentation (3)
Pre-requisite(s): CSS 4352; or consent of instructor
Advanced theoretical work on the form and function of argumentation. This course explores field theory, examines the utility of argument diagram, and considers approaches to ordinary language argument.
CSS 5313 Seminar in Rhetoric and Society (3)
An analysis of the function of rhetorical discourse in contemporary society.
CSS 5314 Seminar in Small-Group Communication (3)
An analysis of small-group communication theory and research with a focus on topics such as decision making, leadership, social influence, and interaction analysis.
CSS 5316 Seminar in Organizational Communication (3)
An analysis of organizational communication theory and research.
CSS 5317 Seminar in Organizational Change and Communication (3)
Organizational change is viewed from a communication perspective with special attention placed on the conversational architectures that create sensible and coherent change.
CSS 5318 Seminar in Rhetoric and the Public Sphere (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Graduate standing or consent of instructor
Analysis of major theoretical statements on the changing nature of the public sphere in western democracies and the related implications for the role of argumentation and rhetorical discourse in the formation of public policy.
CSS 5319 Seminar in Family Communication (3)
An advanced examination of scholarly theory, research, and quantitative/qualitative research methods used for academic investigation of topics and issues related to communication within the family.
CSS 5320 Leadership and Persuasion (3)
Explores the interwoven relationship between educational leadership and persuasive communication. By the end of the class students should be able to fashion compelling persuasive messages as well as interpret the attempts at persuasion by others.
CSS 5321 Organizational Membership and Identification (3)
Explores the relationship between communication and one's self-concept as it is defined and shaped by membership in workplaces, civic organizations, churches, clubs, and other social groupings. Discussion and analysis of the processes and practical consequences of organizational identification.
CSS 5322 Communication and Organizing in Disruptions (3)
Examines the theory, research, and communicative processes related to disruptive events in organizations.
CSS 5323 Seminar in Organizational Rhetoric and Discourse (3)
This seminar focuses on how rhetoric and discourse shape organizational life in terms of power, culture, change, identity, and crisis.
CSS 5341 Rhetoric and Cultural Studies (3)
Methods of rhetorical criticism influenced and intersected by cultural studies, beginning with early twentieth century and continuing into present day.
CSS 5350 Seminar in Presidential Rhetoric (3)
Cross-listed as PSC 5350
See PSC 5350 for course information.
CSS 5351 Methods of Graduate Study (3)
Methods of quantitative inquiry in the study of communication theories. Emphasis on application theory and methods in a variety of communication research contexts, e.g., organizational communication, mass communication.
CSS 5352 Seminar in Methods of Rhetorical Criticism (3)
Quantitative/critical methodology utilized in the analysis of public discourse.
CSS 5353 Rhetorical Theory (3)
Examines the lines of inquiry that guide rhetorical theorizing and lenses that inform the practice of rhetorical criticism from ancient to contemporary usages.
CSS 5354 Quantitative Research Methods in Communication (3)
Introduction to the approaches and procedures used in designing and analyzing communication research studies.
CSS 5380 Internship in Communication (3)
Pre-requisite(s): Consent of graduate program director
Provides graduate students opportunity for application of communication-related skills and knowledge under the supervision of a professional employer in a corporate organization.
CSS 5V35 Problems in Communication (1-6)
Designed to give individual students opportunities for additional work in their area of concentration. May be repeated in a different semester for a maximum of six semester hours.
CSS 5V36 Seminar in Communication (1-3)
Seminar topics vary each semester. One to three semester hours may be earned in a semester. May be repeated once with change in topic for a maximum of six semester hours.
CSS 5V90 Professional Paper in Communication (1-3)
Satisfies the non-thesis option for the master of communication. Under the direction of a supervising professor, a student will select a problem or topic in communication and will write a substantial paper or produce a substantial project for submission to the faculty. Maximum three hours.
CSS 5V98 Praxis Practicum (1-6)
At least 150 hours of applied learning in a communication-centered role/field. Final project that includes a written and verbal report and draws from scholarly literature, original research, and field experiences.
CSS 5V99 Thesis (1-6)
Research, data analysis, writing, and oral defense of an approved master's thesis. At least six hours of CSS 5V99 are required.