master's program core courses

Students take 5 core courses (18 credit hours). Students with extraordinary backgrounds may petition for waiver from any of the core courses.

1. Theories of Mediated Communication. Students learn about the institutional functions and individual effects of mediated communication; the impacts of different textual content and format on individual thinking and emotion; and forces that shape content production.

2. Research Methods (Quantitative emphasis, brief exposure to qualitative). Students learn to conduct research projects using a variety of different methods.

3. Media and Foreign Policy . This course focuses on the effects of US media on foreign governments, and foreign media on the US; effects of other countries’ media on each other; the impact of the internet, inexpensive global telephone calling, CNN, al Jazeera, and other new technologies and networks on the conduct of international relations, diplomacy, military operations, and trade negotiations.

4. Comparative Media Systems. Different forms of mediated communication, their institutional shape and functions, and the impacts of public policy and market forces on their operations are discussed. This course compares: the US media to media systems across countries and cultures; relationships between varied market pressures, communication policies, political cultures and party systems; and the outputs and effects of the media systems on the politics and policies of different countries.

5. The History and Concept of Globalization. Students explore theories of media and globalization; discuss the changing role of communication media, including the internet and other newer technologies, as well as traditional media, in establishing closer relationships and interdependencies among people, their cultures, and their organizations in different countries.

electives and areas of specialization

1. Communication and International Business. Intended for those interested in the role of communication services and technologies, and in the impacts of global media and political communication, on businesses operating globally.

2. Strategic Communication and International Relations. Intended for those interested in theories of international relations and the roles of communication in IR as well as the practical application of theory to problems of diplomacy and to non-governmental organizations and other international organizations. This specialization would be offered in conjunction with GW’s Public Diplomacy Institute and the Elliott School.

3. Journalism and Democratic Practice. Designed in part for mid-career journalists (from the U.S. as well as abroad) seeking a rigorous theoretical grounding in political communication theory in a global context, along with applications of journalism in other countries, including developing democracies.

4. American Political Communication in Global Context. For those seeking to understand how U.S. political communication practices and effects are changing with the rise of globally networked communications and economic/political interdependencies.

thesis or alternatives (6 hours)

Options include: (1)writing a research thesis; (2) taking and (earning at least B+ in) two additional graduate courses related to the specialization, followed by a comprehensive examination in that focus area; (3) writing a supervised in-depth journalism project; or (4) writing a supervised strategic communication report addressed to solving a client’s communication-related problem.