Communication Studies
The Department of Communication Studies is concerned with human interaction and communication in all its forms. The Communication Studies Department provides research, teaching and service to enable students to develop understanding and skills in order to thrive in a global communication environment of unremitting change and increasing diversity. To this end the department offers an undergraduate major in Communication Studies, and graduate courses leading to a Master of Arts in Communication Management.
To obtain specific admissions requirements on how to apply to Graduate School, prospective students should visit this page: https://www.uab.edu/cas/communication/graduate-program
Master of Arts in Communication Management
The program requires a total of 36 semester hours. Of the 36, no more than 6 hours can be CM 699 (Plan I), no more than 6 hours can be CM 698 (Plan II), and no more than 6 hours can be CM 618 (both Plan I and Plan II). 6 hours of additional coursework may be taken in lieu of a Plan II project. A grade of A or B is required in each course to count toward the degree.
Plan I - 36 hours with Thesis
| Requirements | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Select 10 classes from list below 1,2 | 30 | |
| Foundations of Communication Management | ||
| Source Credibility | ||
| Message Construction | ||
| Analysis of Communication Audiences | ||
| Communication Effects | ||
| Seminar in Applied Communication Research | ||
| Communibiology | ||
| Instructional Communication | ||
| Seminar in Org Communication | ||
| Instructional Communication | ||
| Nonverbal Communication | ||
| Seminar: Political Communication | ||
| Intercultural Communication | ||
| Health and Med Communication | ||
| Training and Development in Communication | ||
| Communications Independent Study | ||
| Communication and the Law | ||
| Persuasion | ||
| Seminar in Small Group Dynamics | ||
| Interpersonal Communication and Relationships | ||
| Deception | ||
| Special Topics in Communication Theory and Research | ||
| Seminar in Research Classics | ||
| Graduate Internship | ||
| Communication Theory | ||
| Seminar in Communication Models | ||
| Quantitative Communication Research | ||
| Data Analysis for Quantitative Communication Research | ||
| Qualitative Communication Research | ||
| Thesis Research | 6 | |
| Thesis Research | ||
| Thesis | ||
| Total Hours | 36 | |
Plan II - 36 hours with Comprehensive Exam
| Requirements | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Select 10 classes from list below 1,2 | 30 | |
| Foundations of Communication Management | ||
| Source Credibility | ||
| Message Construction | ||
| Analysis of Communication Audiences | ||
| Communication Effects | ||
| Seminar in Applied Communication Research | ||
| Communibiology | ||
| Instructional Communication | ||
| Seminar in Org Communication | ||
| Instructional Communication | ||
| Nonverbal Communication | ||
| Seminar: Political Communication | ||
| Intercultural Communication | ||
| Health and Med Communication | ||
| Training and Development in Communication | ||
| Communications Independent Study | ||
| Communication and the Law | ||
| Persuasion | ||
| Seminar in Small Group Dynamics | ||
| Interpersonal Communication and Relationships | ||
| Deception | ||
| Special Topics in Communication Theory and Research | ||
| Seminar in Research Classics | ||
| Graduate Internship | ||
| Communication Theory | ||
| Seminar in Communication Models | ||
| Quantitative Communication Research | ||
| Data Analysis for Quantitative Communication Research | ||
| Qualitative Communication Research | ||
| Master's Applied Project | 6 | |
| Master's Applied Project | ||
| Comprehensive Exam | ||
| Total Hours | 36 | |
| 1 | Up to 6 hours graduate work may be transferred from an accredited graduate program (Non-UAB) with approval from the Graduate Director. |
| 2 | Up to 6 hours of graduate work (600 or above) in another department at UAB may be applied with approval of the Graduate Director. |
Courses
CM 601. Foundations of Communication Management. 3 Hours.
Development of communication models, relationships between models and research, examination of functions of models and their impact on human communication in various media.
999999.
CM 602. Source Credibility. 3 Hours.
Theories of ethos, dynamics of credibility in public speaking, organizational, interpersonal, print and broadcasting contexts. Measures of credibility and methods for constructing credibility.
CM 603. Message Construction. 3 Hours.
Features of communication messages, including audience, situation, and culture and their impact on message construction. The principles underlying the creation of messages in various media.
CM 604. Analysis of Communication Audiences. 3 Hours.
Analysis of the audience and its place in the communication model. Includes needs and gratification from various media as well as how messages and feedback are interpreted.
CM 605. Communication Effects. 3 Hours.
Effects of Communication, especially through mass media, as a result of messages transmitted. Topics include violence, persuasion, and sexuality.
CM 607. Seminar in Applied Communication Research. 3 Hours.
Topics include interpersonal communication, small group communication, organizational communication, and political communication.
CM 609. Communibiology. 3 Hours.
Communication personality traits will be the primary focus of this course. This course is for graduate students only.
Prerequisites: CM 601 [Min Grade: B]
CM 611. Seminar in Org Communication. 3 Hours.
CM 612. Instructional Communication. 3 Hours.
Communication problems in the classroom. Definition of sign and sign process. Signs in communicative action.
CM 613. Nonverbal Communication. 3 Hours.
Elements of nonverbal behavior (physical appearance, gestures, space, voice) which affect communication in person-to-person situations.
CM 614. Seminar: Political Communication. 3 Hours.
Seminar.
CM 615. Intercultural Communication. 3 Hours.
Intercultural Communication.
CM 616. Health and Med Communication. 3 Hours.
CM 617. Training and Development in Communication. 3 Hours.
Training and Development in Communication focuses on contemporary communication knowledge and skills that every trainer should have. The class will include topics such as: Designing Curricula, Training Content, Methods, Plans, Sessions, Assessment, and Career Opportunities.
CM 618. Communications Independent Study. 1-6 Hour.
Independent Study. Topics of mutual interest to student and faculty member.
CM 619. Communication and the Law. 3 Hours.
Communication and the Law focuses on general effects communication has in the law environment. Conflict, leadership, and use of the law will be considered.
CM 620. Persuasion. 3 Hours.
Current theories and research in the area of attitude formation and change will be explored in this class.
CM 621. Seminar in Small Group Dynamics. 3 Hours.
Current theories and research in small group communication dynamics will be explored in this class. The class will include topics such as: Leadership, Decision-making, conflict and conformity.
CM 622. Interpersonal Communication and Relationships. 3 Hours.
This class introduces students to interpersonal communication concepts, theories, and research and their broad applications to personal and professional relationships. A variety of theories and research are reviewed and applied to relationships in health, organizational, educational, and romantic contexts.
CM 623. Deception. 3 Hours.
This course examines theory and research on the topic of human deception from the perspective of Truth Default Theory. Topics include verbal and nonverbal aspects of deception, prevalence of deception, deception motives, information manipulation, truth-bias, and improving accuracy.
CM 624. Special Topics in Communication Theory and Research. 3-6 Hours.
Various topics selected by faculty.
CM 630. Seminar in Research Classics. 3 Hours.
Students read and discuss seminal works in Communication and social science.
CM 675. Graduate Internship. 3 Hours.
Professional experience in communication management.
CM 690. Communication Theory. 3 Hours.
The class will introduce students to communication theory providing an introduction to theory construction as well as an overview of several prominent communication theories.
CM 691. Seminar in Communication Models. 3 Hours.
Synthesis of courses on the Shannon-Weaver model of communication, with contemporary adaptations. Students should learn to carefully critique reviews of literature, research questions and hypotheses posed by others.
CM 694. Quantitative Communication Research. 3 Hours.
The study of communication theory from a quantitative perspective. Data gathering, experimental and quasi-experimental design, field research and data analysis in applied contexts to be probed.
CM 695. Data Analysis for Quantitative Communication Research. 3 Hours.
This class introduces students to basic descriptive and inferential data analysis techniques in communication studies research.
CM 696. Qualitative Communication Research. 3 Hours.
Study of communication theory from a qualitative perspective. Historical/critical, participant-observation, and various data gathering methods and models explored from a theoretical and practical point of view.
CM 698. Master's Applied Project. 3-6 Hours.
Master s Applied Project.
CM 699. Thesis Research. 3-6 Hours.
Thesis Research.
Prerequisites: GAC M
Faculty
| Amsbary, Jonathan H., Professor of Communication Studies, 1988, B.A. (New Mexico), M.A., Ph.D. (Indiana) |
| Benoit, William, Professor of Communication Studies, 2017, B.S. (Ball State), M.A. (Central Michigan), Ph.D. (Wayne State) |
| Hickson, Mark III, Professor of Communication Studies, 1987, B.S., M.A. (Auburn), M.A. (Mississippi State), Ph.D. (Southern Illinois); J.D. (Birmingham School of Law) |
| Levine, Timothy R., Distinguished Professor and Chair, 2015, B.A. (Northern Arizona); M.A. (West Virginia); Ph.D. (Michigan State) |
| McCornack, Steven, Professor of Communication Studies, 2015, B.A. (Washington); A.M. (Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) |
| Morrison, Kelly, Professor of Communication Studies, 2015, B.A. (Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); M.A., Ph.D. (Michigan State) |
| Powell, Larry, Professor of Communication Studies, 1998, B.A., M.A. (Auburn), Ph.D. (Florida) |
| Yang, Fan, Professor, 2017, B.A. (China Youth University for Political Science), M.A., Ph.D. (University of Miami) |