Concentration Requirements
As part of their requirements for an M.A. in Communication and Advocacy, students will select a concentrated area of study: Health Communication or Environmental Communication. In each concentration, research, theory and practical application are combined to help students develop communication strategies and research designs associated with positive health outcomes and successful negotiation of the health care system, as well as the development and promotion of local to global action steps with the potential to positively shape environmental quality of life levels across local, regional, national and international living spaces. Graduate students in health and environmental communication advocacy will develop and refine knowledge and skills essential to becoming more effective health and environmental communication advocates, health and environmental communication research investigators, and health and environmental communication research consumers.
Graduate students interested in specializing in environmental communication will complete course work focusing on the multifaceted nature of environmental advocacy, key forums through which competing local to international interests are identified, contested, and managed, as well as how various levels of risk are framed, challenged, and negotiated. Students graduating with a concentration in environmental communication will be prepared to work in a variety of nonprofit, government and corporate settings constructing and evaluating environmental campaigns, facilitating organizational and group decision making about issues related to environmental practices, communicating effectively with varied stakeholders with conflicting interests, and educating and motivating diverse audiences regarding environmental interests.