• Course Delivery
    100% Online
  • Total Credits
    18
  • In-State Tuition Per Credit
    $320.00
  • Out of State Tuition Per Credit
    $450.00

Communication Studies

Graduate Certificate

The IU Online Graduate Certificate in Communication Studies provides graduate-level instruction in communication strategies, practices, and techniques. It teaches practical communication skills needed in professional, academic, and personal contexts, such as presenting information, arguing a position, promoting a cause, presenting information via social media, designing targeted messages, and managing relations and conflicts.

As a student in the program, you develop innovative strategies for teaching communication, employ effective and ethical communication practices, and apply critical perspectives to production and consumption of media messages.

Of Special Interest for Dual-Credit and Community College Instructors Needing to Meet HLC Standards

The Graduate Certificate in Communication Studies is ideal for those who want to teach dual-credit courses and who need to meet Higher Learning Commission dual-credit qualification standards. These standards require teachers wanting to teach dual-credit courses to hold either a master's degree in their area of instruction or a master's degree in another discipline (such as education), plus at least 18 credit hours of discipline-specific graduate coursework.

  • If you hold a master's degree in another discipline, you can meet HLC standards by completing the 18 credit hour Graduate Certificate in Communication Studies. 
  • If you plan to pursue the  IU Online Master of Liberal Studies, you may apply the 18 credit hours from the Graduate Certificate in Communication Studies toward the master's degree.

Your IU Online Graduate Certificate in Communication Studies prepares you for such careers as:

  • Communication dual-credit teacher (high school) 
  • Communication instructor (community college)
  • Communication professional in an organization or institution

This 100 percent online, consortial program is taught by IUPUI, IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, IU South Bend, and IU Southeast. This consortial model allows you to take coursework from several campuses and learn from a wide range of faculty.

Certificate Requirements

To earn the Graduate Certificate in Communication Studies, you must complete 18 credit hours.

Requirements are broken down as follows: 

  • Communication pedagogy course (3 cr. hours)
  • Communication in context courses (9 cr. hours)
  • Communication in media course (3 cr. hours)
  • Communication elective course (3 cr. hours)

See courses that are being offered this semester.

Download a printable PDF summary of all our graduate programs for teachers.

Admissions

To be accepted to this program, you must have:
  1. A bachelor's degree 
  2. 3.0 GPA or above on a 4.0 scale

NOTE: This program is authorized, exempt, or not subject to state regulatory compliance and may enroll students from all 50 states

To apply to this program:

Complete an online application that includes:

  • Official transcripts
  • 250-word statement that briefly describes your background and goals for entering this degree program 
Application Dates

Fall semester: Aug 1

Spring semester: Jan 1

Summer 1 semester: May 1

Summer 2 semester: Jun 15

Courses

ALL core courses are listed here. You will select from among these courses to fulfill degree requirements.

Core
CMCL-C 502 or SPCH-S500Intro to Communication Theory3 Credits
COMM-C 592 or CMCL-C 592Advanced Health Communication3 Credits
SPCH-S 633Studies in Interpersonal Communication3 Credits
Focuses on critical, theoretical, philosophical and strategic approaches to problems of pedagogy in communication and culture.
This seminar-format course examines the communication exchanges that facilitate conflict management within organizational contexts. Specific attention is focused on negotiation and mediation; however the communication of alternative means of conflict and dispute resolution are also discussed. In addition, students are introduced to methods for assessing conflict interaction in organizations.
Study of the main schools and methods of media criticism.
Political, social, and cultural dimensions of identity and difference. Interrogates the production of marginal and dominant identities (e.g. racial, sexual, colonial) and the emergence of new forms of identification.
This course is designed to teach communication skills and practices related to health care talk, by examining transactional communication within health care contexts. Topics covered in this course focus directly upon interpersonal dialogue between health care providers and patients.
This seminar-format course examines the ways in which informal groups and communication networks facilitate a variety of organizational processes (i.e. socialization, diffusion of innovation). Emphasis is placed on developing theoretical understanding of informal groups in organizations as well as on methodological issues involved in studying communication networks in organizations.
An introductory course in interpersonal communication. Applications of communication theory/research in such areas as relational culture and relationship development. Includes a scholarly project on a real relationship, and applications of research to areas such as pedagogy and couple/family therapy.
Exploration of issues related to the intercultural communication process. Consideration of the role of social, cultural, and historical contexts in intercultural interactions. Examination of the relationship between culture and communication from the socio-psychological, interpretive, and critical perspectives.
Applications of theory and research on the role of communication in creating and maintaining marriages/committed couples and families.
Bibliographical resources, methods of research and professional writing in speech.
The study of cross-cultural communication in theory and practice.
Critical examination of quantitative and qualitative research in the area of organizational communication. Emphasizes decision making, superior-subordinate interaction, communication not works and climate and organizational culture. Focuses on critical assessment of research.

Tuition & Fees

Cost for Indiana Residents
  • Per Credit Hour
  • Tuition: $320.00
  • 3 Credit Hours
  • Tuition: $960.00
Cost for Out of State Residents
  • Per Credit Hour
  • Tuition: $450.00
  • 3 Credit Hours
  • Tuition: $1350.00
Note: 

-Additional fees will apply.


-This program is ineligible for financial aid.

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