Courses
The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.
View courses in
-
COM CM 517: Entertainment Media and Society
This course provides an in-depth exploration of the historical evolution of media and emerging trends in the entertainment industry. The course reviews entertainment theory and covers various forms of entertainment, including film, television, music, gaming, streaming services, and user-generated platforms. The class will highlight considerations for media representation and the rapid integration of AI across various topics. The class will also cover the challenges and career opportunities in traditional and emerging entertainment industries. -
COM CM 518: Creative Video Development
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (COMCM217 & COMCM417) - Graduate Prerequisites: (COMCM708 & COMCM717) - Students develop concepts, create scripts and storyboards, and study execution-based challenges of video production. Students will create extendable advertising concepts for video, designed to succeed in a changing media landscape on multiple platforms.4 cr. Either sem. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Creativity/Innovation, Teamwork/Collaboration. -
COM CM 519: Interactive Marketing Strategy
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (COMCM215 OR COMCM217) - Graduate Prerequisites: (COMCM701 OR COMCM708) - Students study how interactive marketing strategy integrates communication objectives with consumer insight and digital execution. How social, digital and experiential media are used to achieve branding, engagement and behavioral goals for organizations in a wide range of business categories. The impact of interactive marketing strategy on the advertising and public relations sectors.4 credits. -
COM CM 520: The COMmunicator
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (COMCM331) Consent of Instructor Required - Graduate Prerequisites: (COMCM707) Consent of instructor required - Students write, edit, develop multimedia and social media, as well as work as photographers and graphic designers for the COMmunicator, a website for the Mass Communication, Public Relations and Advertising department. Students also create marketing communication plans for the site. As an online publication, The COMmunicator is updated/ refreshed on an on-going basis, giving students numerous opportunities throughout a semester to submit their work for publication. Editors review and critique all COMmunicator items; students develop/polish their skills as they build portfolios across a multitude of communication writing formats. This course is open only to students in the Mass Communication, Public Relations and Advertising Department. 2 cr. -
COM CM 522: Managing Corporate Crises
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (COMCM215) - Graduate Prerequisites: (COMCM701) - Students learn about the strategy and tactics associated with effectively preventing, preparing for, managing, and responding to a variety of crisis scenarios that stretch an organization's vital relationships and resources. The course will focus on the options and opportunities available to communication professionals and leaders as they manage a wide range of crisis scenarios. Students will be instructed on how to navigate and provide executive counsel before, during, and after a crisis, while also preparing detailed crisis plans. The course includes lectures, in-class discussions, guest speakers, case examples, and crisis simulations. Students will be challenged to investigate and gain a command of the critical thinking skills, tools and strategies required for successful crisis management and communication in 21st century corporate, non- profit, and government settings. -
COM CM 523: Design and Interactive Experiences
Graduate Prerequisites: CM501 or CM510 or consent of instructor - This course introduces students to principles of interactivity through a hands- on experience designing and building an interactive project (website/app). Students will learn to apply design thinking for interactivity while building a device-agnostic package using modern web technologies: HTML, CSS, JavaScript and related libraries, plug-ins, frameworks and tools as necessary. Students will experience the full design and development process (concept ideation, prototyping, user testing and iteration) in building a functional project. Topics on media technology, animation, accessibility, interface design, information architecture, interaction design, networking, performance, prototyping, responsive design and usability will be covered. -
COM CM 524: Public Relations Career Management
Undergraduate Prerequisites: COM CM215; Senior in the Public Relations track/major. - Graduate Prerequisites: (COMCM701) COM CM701 - This unique course provides students with a practical and theoretical overview of various principles of public relations career management. This class explores opportunities and requirements for work in the public relations industry. Through visits by leading industry professionals, readings and case studies, students who are about to set out on their PR careers (or reenter them) will receive a comprehensive view of the many paths open to them. Whether it is on a corporate communications staff, the agency track, in social/digital/analytics, taking an entrepreneurial direction, in content development, sports and entertainment or change communication, students will learn about the competencies required in each, begin to formulate their career objectives and build plans for getting there. More broadly, through in-class lectures and discussions, students also will explore the skills sets and characteristics necessary for success in the rapidly changing world of contemporary PR, as well as the differing work environments and cultures that are out there so that they can begin to assess the ones that might be a fit for them. 4 cr. 1st sem. -
COM CM 525: Public Relations Ethics
Undergraduate Prerequisites: CM215 or CM701 - This course will acquaint students with ethical standards and expectations society has for public relations practitioners. Through the study of case studies and other readings it will prepare students so they can adequately wrestle with ethical complexities, dilemmas and ambiguities so as to form personal ethical underpinnings for their future careers. 4 credits. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Ethical Reasoning. -
COM CM 527: Brand Experience Marketing
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (COMCM217 & COMCM417) - Graduate Prerequisites: (COMCM708 & COMCM717) - Today's rapidly changing digital and media landscape calls for strategic and creative solutions that take into consideration emerging consumer behaviors and the new technologies that enable them. In this course, students create content and campaigns that consider the many different ways in which brands engage with their communities - paid and earned media, mobile apps, and branded utility. 4 credits. -
COM CM 528: Advertising Copywriting
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (COMCM217 & COMCM417) - Graduate Prerequisites: (COMCM717 & COMCM708) - This course builds on the concept development and copywriting foundations learned in prerequisite courses. Assignments will require the creation of copy for a range of audience segments and media channels. Students will learn to shape copy for video, digital, print, and social media. 4 cr. 1st semester -
COM CM 529: Design Strategy & Software 2
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (COMCM501) - Graduate Prerequisites: (COMCM501) - In this course students develop advanced design and new media skills while participating in multi-media lectures, critiques, and hands-on software skill building. While implementing individualized creative processes, students develop strategic projects from concept through to functional new media campaigns. The projects are continually updated to prepare students for emerging opportunities in the communication industry. 4 cr. Either sem. -
COM CM 530: Public Relations in Nonprofit Settings
Undergraduate Prerequisites: CM215 - Graduate Prerequisites: CM701 - This course will provide a kaleidoscopic view of the fundamentals nonprofit public relations. Students will study the processes, effects and influences of media relations practices, related to both traditional and new media, in a nonprofit environment. They also will learn the essentials of fundraising and volunteer recruitment/retention and how these can be influenced, in part, by politics locally--as well as across the nation and around the world. The course also will explore types of nonprofit organizations and the breadth of communication management careers available within them. Additionally, the course will study the benefits and cautions of nonprofit-corporate partnerships and the communication management techniques related to forming and managing such agreements. -
COM CM 531: International Communication
International Communication is a niche field that encompasses wide-ranging and interconnected subjects in communication and international relations. This course is intended to introduce relevant concepts and real-world practices in the broadly defined field, which is an important dimension of higher education for students aiming to specialize in a host of communication and socio-political areas. As the world has become immensely internationalized and intricately related, a good grasp of the world's communication systems, their underlying concepts, and the potential impact of practices may prove pivotal to one's edge in building successful careers in any field that involves any facet of communication, including news, campaign, public relations, or public diplomacy. Empowered with the knowledge and understanding beyond national borders, professionals in communication and public affairs are better prepared to fulfill their professional responsibilities, advocate the ideals they embrace, and the interests they represent. To all students, the knowledge of how global communication works indisputably can enhance their appreciation, enrichment, and engagement with different parts of the world. -
COM CM 533: Advertising for Good
Prerequisites COMCM417 or 712 and 717. - The world can be better, and you can help. This course is an opportunity to dedicate your creative and strategic ability to making the world a better place through advertising and social communication, and generate behavioral change. Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CM217 & CM417) — Graduate Prerequisites: (CM717 & CM712). Students taking this class are expected to be interested in creating purposeful work through a combination of strategic and creative problem solving. Art directors, copywriters, and strategists will learn to use strategic and creative thinking to build strategic briefs and big imaginative ideas that function across all media to execute creatively influential campaigns that generate positive change for non-profit/NGO/sustainable organizations/products/services. Categories of exploration can include, but are not limited to: climate change/sustainability/ environmental issues, biodiversity/conservation, civil rights, support for marginalized groups, conflict/war/global destabilization, ethical business practices, animal/wildlife welfare, education and early childhood learning, gender inequality, the arts, community issues (i.e. public schools, green parks initiatives or support for local libraries), and human trafficking. Teams of writers/art directors and strategists will work to develop an understanding of the non-profit, charitable, corporate responsibility, and sustainability sectors of advertising while creating broad-media spectrum campaigns for chosen sectors from the ground up. Teams will play a role in their project destiny by outlining challenges that are personal to them. We (the class) will play a role in adjudicating the merits of team goals before moving forward. -
COM CM 534: Advanced Advertising Management
Prerequisites: COMCM419. - Advanced advertising management experience that elevates leadership skills and raises understanding/abilities to include business development, client/scope management, project management, production, and client-side advertising management. Ideal for those who aim to run things, aspire for future leadership and looking to expand their management experience for greater, future career opportunities. -
COM CM 535: Political Campaigns
Undergraduate Prerequisites: Sophomore standing. - Critical evaluation of political campaign strategies and tactics within the sociopolitical environment. The roles of campaign managers, media consultants, pollsters, press secretaries, and field operatives are studied. Analysis of the impact of press coverage, political advertising, and candidate debates on the electorate. 4 cr. Either sem. -
COM CM 539: Health Campaigns
This course provides students with both theoretical and applied foundations for understanding and developing health communication campaigns. Students will explore ways to communicate effectively with individuals and populations to improve health and reduce the burden of disease, with applications to issues such as smoking, alcohol use, illicit drug use, physical activity and diet, condom use, public safety, and environmental health. Students will study theory-based principles for developing and delivering health messages to diverse populations, including underserved groups, and will gain practical experience in creating and assessing health communication interventions. Drawing on established theoretical frameworks, the course emphasizes not only the design and implementation of health campaigns but also their evaluation. The course also highlights two areas essential to contemporary practice. Students will learn to design digital health campaigns using platform-native strategies like TikTok storytelling, interactive tools such as chatbots, and integrated transmedia approaches that coordinate messages across multiple platforms. Students will also strengthen their ability to evaluate campaign effectiveness through pre-testing, digital analytics, and behavioral outcome assessment. By analyzing existing campaigns and developing applied projects, students will gain a strong understanding of how theory informs the creation and evaluation of campaigns that shape health behavior. -
COM CM 541: Brand Communication and Consumer Analytics
Undergrad prerequisites: CM180, CM321, and either CM215 or CM217. - This course provides a comprehensive understanding of brand communication through consumer analytics. Through a combination of theoretical frameworks and practical applications, it explores the foundational components of brand development and the effective strategies and tactics implemented across owned, earned, and paid media to build, manage, and reshape winning brands. The course examines a diverse array of global brands spanning various categories and representing different phases of their life cycle. Students will collaborate to launch a new global brand as a final project. -
COM CM 547: Measuring Public Relations in Emerging Media
Undergrad prereqs: CM215 and CM321; Graduate prereqs: CM701 and CM722. This course is designed as a public relations elective that focuses on learning how to evaluate public relations efforts effectively and accurately. Students will explore the complexities and variables involved in communication and understand key concepts and performance indicators that demonstrate strategic communication efforts in public relations practice. Through real-world cases, students will assess whether key metrics, such as media coverage, impressions, and engagement, are adequate and accurate for evaluating communication programs for various stakeholders on a global scale. Additionally, students can improve critical thinking and social science research skills by participating in discussions, writing, and using innovative analytical tools like social media analytics and AI-driven tools in hands-on individual assignments. By the end of this course, students will create a comprehensive report recommending more precise and effective metrics for evaluating communication efforts within the continuously evolving landscape of media environments. -
COM CM 548: International Public Relations
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (COMCM215 or CM701) - This course focuses on the global practice of public relations with an emphasis on corporate and agency practice. A major goal of the course is to help students become knowledgeable about the ever-increasing development of public relations throughout the world and the opportunities it offers within corporations, government, business, and non-governmental organizations. (This course was formerly CM448; if you have taken CM448, you cannot take CM548.) (Undergrad prereq: CM215.)
