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NDSU Department of Communication

Graduate study on line

The department is committed to instructional innovation and technological advancement by striving for a web-based master's degree program by 2004-2005. Currently seven classes are on line and available for students. For more information, contact the course developer listed below.

On-line courses are treated as eqivalent to on-site classes. The time frame for completing on-line courses is student-driven, enabling participants to control the rate at which they move through course materials.

Graduate students enroll in on-line courses through the NDSU Division of Continuing Education. For more information, contact Karen Muri. Once enrolled, students may purchase course books and materials through the NDSU Varsity Mart and interact with the course professor on-line.

Communication courses currently available on line:

COMM 601: Survey of Rhetorical Theory, 3 credits
Historical/descriptive examination of rhetorical theory from the classical through contemporary periods. Exploration of the foundations and evolution of modern rhetorical theory.

This is an elective course for the master's and Ph.D. degrees. The course work includes units on the following: Influence of historical events on rhetoric; classical Greek rhetoricians; Roman rhetoricians; the influence of Christianity on rhetorical theory; the rebirth of rhetorical theory and the challenges of conflicting perspectives; and rhetoric in 18th and 19th century America. Course developer: Robert S. Littlefield.

COMM 636: Issues, History of the Mass Media, 3 credits
A general introduction to mass media history, emphasizing development of United States media from the Persian Gulf War of 1991 back to the Colonial era.

This is an elective course for the master's and Ph.D. degrees. the course work includes units on the following topics: introduction, the media today, war and propaganda; television, the media and contemporary political history; radio and jazz journalism, development of “celebrity”; advertising and public relations; the Civil War, new journalism, yellow journalism, and technology; photography and photojournalism; beginnings of a new nation; origins and colonial journalism. Course developer: Ross F. Collins.

COMM 700: Research Methods in Communication, 3 credits
Introduction to research planning and design, methods of research, and presentation of research results.

This is a required course for the master's and Ph.D. degrees. The course work includes units on the following topics: Exploring research topics; reviewing the literature; focusing the study; independent and dependent variables; quantitative methods; qualitative methods; developing the prospectus; writing the prospectus; and presenting the prospectus. Course developer: Robert S. Littlefield.

COMM 721: Intercultural Communication, 3 credits
Advanced theories of verbal and nonverbal behavior, attitudes, and communication styles that affect interaction between cultural groups.

This is a strongly recommended course for the master's degree. The course work includes units on the following topics: Critical discourse analysis; case studies in ethnic othering; variations on societal othering; ethnography; and narrative analysis. Course developer: Robert S. Littlefield.

COMM 725: Communication and Change, 3 credits
Investigation of the methods by which innovations are communicated through the process of diffusion to members of social systems, and adopted or rejected by them.

This is an elective course for the master's and Ph.D. degrees. The course work includes units on the following topics: History and development of diffusion research; the generation of innovations; innovation-decision process; cultural considerations in innovation and change; attributes of innovations and rate of adoption; innovativeness and adopter categories; innovations in organizations; consequences of innovations; and opinion leaders and change agents. Course developer: Robert S. Littlefield.

COMM 767: Rhetorical Criticism, 3 credits
Survey of critical methods of inquiry that may be applied to oral discourse and frameworks for critically evaluating communication processes and products.

This course may be used to partially satisfy the research course requirement for the master's degree, and is an elective for the Ph.D. degree. The course work includes units on the following: Purposes of rhetorical criticism; Neo-Classical criticism; close textual analysis; the dramaturgical approach to criticism; the sociological approach to criticism; postmodern perspectives on criticism; doing rhetorical criticism; presenting a rhetorical criticism. Course developer: Robert S. Littlefield.

COMM 752: Theory of Argument, 3 credits
Philosophy and theory of argumentation. Exploration of analytical methods employed in argumentation.

This is an elective course for the master's and Ph.D. degrees. The course work includes units on the following: The origins of argumentation theory; the Toulmin model of argument; the new rhetoric of Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca; postmodern kritiks of argument. Course developer: Robert S. Littlefield.