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.

• COM CM 707: Writing for Media Professionals
  Serves to provide an in-depth understanding and proficiency in communication writing and transmedia storytelling skills across a wide variety of off and online formats, including news releases, social media, features (off and online), Q & A interviews, websites, broadcast PSA's, slide shows, videos. Stresses plagiarism prevention, collaborative workshops, reading aloud, media strategies, editing, and interview techniques. Extensive writing and rewriting. Develops comprehensive writing skills for media professionals. Both semesters. Prerequisite CM 703, unless waived via writing placement test or consent of the instructor.
• COM CM 708: Principles and Practices of Advertising
  Overview of the nature, function, practice, and social, economic, and behavioral aspects of advertising. Student teams develop advertising plans, create campaigns, and explore problems of account management, creativity, production, and ethics. 1st sem.
• COM CM 709: Corporate Public Affairs
  Graduate Prerequisites: (COMCM701) - Monitoring sociopolitical environment, managing corporate crises and confrontations, analyzing issues, formulating political strategies, developing programs of advocacy advertising, constituency communication, and public involvement. Case studies used. 2nd sem.
• COM CM 710: Media Theory
  Examines origins, nature, and consequences of mediated communication and related processes and contexts. Reviews traditional theories of mass communication, derivative and developing theories on various communication media, including social and mobile. Furthermore, the course considers the application and utilization of theories for media professionals.
• COM CM 712: Advertising Strategy & Consumer Insights
  Explores how to arrive at consumer insights that lead to better advertising and promotion. The course focuses on the set of skills necessary to create breakthrough advertising, including qualitative research, observation, interviewing skills, mapping, and presentation tools. Students learn to write effective, creative briefs.
• COM CM 713: Media Law and Policy
  This course covers the laws that apply to communication and media practitioners and the policies that underlie them. Topics include the First Amendment, defamation, invasion of privacy, liability for physical and emotional harm, national security, copyright, trademark, regulation of advertising, obscenity and indecency.
• COM CM 714: Professional Presentations
  This course covers the essentials of effective presentation, from preparation (audience analysis, content development) to critical thinking when presenting. It is designed to place students in business and social settings that require a mastery of presentation skills in order to be successful. A combination of lecture, discussion, and hands-on practice and simulation, this course helps students exercise leadership through oral communication.
• COM CM 716: New & Traditional Media Strategies
  Graduate Prerequisites: (COMCM708) - Examines media planning, buying and sales as performed by advertising agencies, clients and the media. Research sources providing data on media audiences and product usage are evaluated. Examines contemporary trends in communication media and their effects on advertisers.
• COM CM 717: Fundamentals of Creative Development
  Focus is on the strategic creative process in advertising including concept development, copywriting, visualization, and design. Assignments require conceiving solutions to client marketing challenges across a range of media. Teaches foundations for development of effective advertising: problem definition, strategic development, and conceptual idea generation through tangible executions. 1st sem.
• COM CM 718: Advertising Strategy & Consumer Insights 2
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: COM CM712 - Graduate Prerequisites: COM CM712 - This course offers advanced exploration in the art and science of advertising strategy highlighting the talent and knowledge required for success in this rapidly changing segment of the industry. We will extend the material learned in CM 712 through a deep dive into best practices and evolving techniques used by top advertising agencies, consultancies and the big three platforms, Alphabet, Amazon and Apple to gather and apply information about consumers and brands for use by creative teams and a variety of departments in the advertising and marketing industry.
• COM CM 721: Advertising Management
  Graduate Prerequisites: (COMCM708) - Administration of complete advertising program. Case study method used to explore the marketing mix, budgeting, media strategy, planning, coordinating advertising with promotion, working with client or agency, and the social responsibility of advertisers.
• COM CM 722: Communication Research
  CM722 Communication Research Methods is an introduction to the social scientific method of inquiry and the fundamental concepts and processes of social scientific methods that are used in media science, advertising, and public relations. Assorted research methods are covered, including both quantitative and qualitative. Also included are literature review, research design, research execution, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, and reporting of findings.
• COM CM 723: Advanced Communication Research
  Graduate Prerequisites: (COMCM722) - Provides skill training for data analysis with SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). Students will obtain hands-on experience by carrying out actual analyses using real data acquired via different research methods. Techniques covered include correlation, regression, t-test, ANOVA, and factor analysis. Students also learn how to translate the results of their analyses into data-driven narratives that provide actionable solutions to problem cases.
• COM CM 724: Sampling Design and Measurement Techniques
  Graduate Prerequisites: (COM CM 722 and CM 723) - Discusses various issues related to sampling, such as design, sample size, methods of selection, sampling error, and sampling sources for applied research projects. Also teaches about the various types of questionnaires and measurement procedures commonly used in communication research, including those used for assessing such factors as attitudes, beliefs, media use, and consumer behavior. 2nd sem.
• COM CM 726: Strategic Brand Solutions
  Graduate Prerequisites: (COMCM708) - Explores the impact of current advertising/marketing issues through the lens of strategic branding and brand building best practices from business, economic, political, social, legal, and ethical perspectives. Modified case method looking at real world solutions, with lectures from experts on selected issues.
• COM CM 730: Marketing Communication
  Addresses basic marketing and promotion principles used to increase awareness of and change in attitudes and buyer behavior about products, services, and organizations. Students learn to evaluate appropriate promotional mixes, examine the role of communication, and develop marketing communication strategies through the use of case studies and classroom discussion. 1st sem.
• COM CM 731: Human-Centered Design 1
  Human-Centered Design I introduces students to the end-to-end design process through a human-centered and strategic lens. Students learn to conduct user research, uncover insights, frame problems, and generate solutions, emphasizing empathy, inclusivity, and holistic thinking. The course focuses on building a strong foundation in design frameworks, storytelling, and critical analysis, preparing students from diverse backgrounds to approach UX/UI, research, and product challenges thoughtfully. HCD I equips students to think strategically, not just execute, providing the skills and mindset needed for more advanced work in HCD II and future design leadership roles.
• COM CM 732: Research Methods in User Experience Design
  This course introduces students to industry-standard methods used to test and evaluate user experiences. Specific methods include user interviews, card sorting, usability testing, survey design for UX feedback, A/B experiment design, feature evaluation, and behavioral analytics. The course covers research ethics, participant recruitment, how to incorporate AI tools into testing, and how to synthesize multi-modal findings into actionable design recommendations. Students will gain hands-on experience with industry-standard tools and methods while developing skills to advocate for user-centered design decisions through evidence-based research.
• COM CM 733: Ideation and Design Thinking
  Ever wondered how breakthrough ideas are born; and how they can truly connect with people? This course places you at the center of the creative process, showing that design is as much about exploration and articulation as it is about solutions: to make designs communicate, we must communicate throughout the process. Students will dive into historical and contemporary ideation methods, from immersive research and inspiration gathering to brainstorming, remixing, and reconceptualizing ideas. The course emphasizes collaborative team workshops, synthesizing insights, pitching concepts, and iterating solutions. With emerging technologies like Gen AI as part of the mix, students learn to transform ideas into actionable, human-centered outcomes. By the end, students will be equipped to lead collaborative, creative projects and drive innovation across UX/UI, product development, and research-focused careers.
• COM CM 734: User Interface Design and Prototyping
  Students will learn an in-depth exploration of user interface design within the framework of human-centered design. This class will focus on methods for creating interfaces that are functional, usable, and engaging, with an emphasis on aligning design decisions with user needs and behaviors. The course covers principles of interaction design, visual hierarchy, and accessibility. Students will gain hands-on experience with industry-standard prototyping tools to produce low to high fidelity prototypes. By the end of the course students will have projects that show how the user experience and the user interface are inextricably linked.