Master of Arts in Professional Communication

Welcome to our website! Some of you are probably just finishing your bachelor’s degrees, whereas some may have been engaged in other personal and/or professional endeavors and considering a return to school for further education.  Regardless of your individual circumstances, I hope you feel welcome and find the information here useful to you. Let me tell you a little more about our Master of Arts in Professional Communication (MAPC) program here at SUU. We have a wonderful group of well-respected faculty who are at the top of their games in their respective areas of our discipline. They are competent, humble, and warmly embrace the mentoring of incoming graduate students. We frequently receive comments from our students about what a uniquely inviting environment we have created here. Our focus really is on you!

What we emphasize primarily in our curriculum is teaching you the theory and practical research methods in our field that will help you do two things when you begin your career: 1) To become an expert in designing effective messages for different areas of our field; 2) To become a master at evaluating, synthesizing, and interpreting information.  These skills make you almost indispensable to prospective employers. In fact, a very recent survey of 500 executives and hiring managers from different businesses found that the most sought after skills among graduates were (in this order) ability to work in teams, critical thinking skills, ability to analyze and interpret data, application of knowledge in real-world settings, and digital literacy (survey conducted by the Association of Colleges and Universities, 2020).  Our program is tailored to provide you with those skills. Some of the classes we offer are Professional Social Media, Visual Literacy, Advertising and Public Relations, Popular Culture Messaging, Professional Writing & Presentations, Mediated Communications in Relationships, Communication and Digital Culture, and Qualitative/Quantitative Research Methods.  

As an online program, you have tremendous flexibility in creating your ideal schedule and moving at the pace that is most comfortable for you.  If you have questions, I would love the opportunity to speak with you about any aspect of our program and ways in which it might personally benefit you.