Master of Arts in Strategic Communication
Washington, USA
DURATION
11 Months
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
01 Jul 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
Aug 2025
TUITION FEES
USD 2,001 / per credit
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Introduction
Make Your Mark. Communicate With Impact.
We live in the midst of a media revolution. Digital tools and social media platforms have created a tidal wave of content. But does that content have an impact? Is it improving society?
Based in Washington, D.C., the epicenter of national political and social movements, the Master of Arts in Strategic Communication at American University teaches the skills you need to advance your career and make a mark as a strategic communicator in a variety of settings, including corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Our program offers you the cutting-edge tools and insights you need to develop and implement strategic communication campaigns. Our diverse, dynamic faculty of accomplished experts teach you how to create a strategy to address any communication challenge. You’ll learn how to use information in creative and innovative ways so you can make the impact you want in the world and your career.
Our mission is to educate students on the most recent trends and empower them with strategic tools and insights that set them apart from their peers. Our diverse, dynamic faculty of accomplished writers, documentarians, correspondents, PR experts, politicians, and social change advocates teach you to grasp a communication challenge and create a strategy to address it; target an audience; create a compelling message; write persuasively; to advocate in a changing digital media world. Expertise in these areas will allow you to build on ideas and images, persuasion and information, and strategy and tactics in creative and innovative ways.
Flexible Degree Options to Meet Your Needs
We offer full-time, part-time, and online courses of study.
Full-time students are generally expected to complete the program in 1 year. Part-time or online students are expected to take a minimum of two courses each semester and complete their program in less than two years.
The School of Communication operates on a rolling admissions basis for our graduate programs. Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis until programs reach capacity.
Faculty Research Fuels Innovation
The School of Communication's world-class faculty member's excellence in the classroom, achievements in their respective fields, and deep commitment to personalized mentorship have helped launch thousands of rewarding careers in the for-profit, non-profit, and government sectors.
Their cutting-edge research activities and professional engagements play key roles in national and global policy development. Faculty fields of study encompass strategic and political communication, intercultural and global communication, public and media relations, social change campaigns and digital media studies, public opinion research, public service advertising, broadcast news and media production, race relations, and public diplomacy, among many other areas.
Specific research areas in strategic communication have included how internet politics can improve civic engagement; the impact of new media technologies on advocacy, activism, and political communication; the interaction between courts and the media; how media, public relations, and society intersect; and explorations in social media and personal branding.
Our faculty here will actively help you shape our world in positive ways. You'll engage in meaningful work with a profound impact as you strive to expand the constructive power of communication and media.
Your Network of Success
The School of Communication's highly selective graduate mentoring program bridges the gap between the classroom and the professional world to help you continue to build your career.
Each year, graduate students who are admitted to the program are paired with top alumni through a partnership among the School of Communication, our development team, and the AU Career Center. Whether it is helping you meet short and long-term career goals, sharing tips to improve your resume and portfolio, or helping you build a network of success, professional mentors are invaluable sources of knowledge and experience for students.
Curriculum
Concentrations
Tailor Your Degree to Your Goals
The Public Communication faculty have created concentrations that will allow you to focus your studies in your areas of interest. Although you are not required to pick a concentration, they are an ideal way for students to build upon areas of expertise and showcase that expertise on their resumes, online portfolios, LinkedIn, and other social media profiles.
Students must take a minimum of three courses in a topic area to list a concentration.
- Advocacy & Social Impact. We see a future where students create meaningful change and address society’s current and emerging challenges. You’ll learn the skills and tools to make that vision a reality.
- Digital Communication Strategies & Analytics. Each day, individuals and organizations compete for attention online. Each week, new tools and platforms are introduced. We help you identify and leverage strategies that will make your client or organization stand out.
- Corporate Communication & Reputation. Corporate leaders increasingly believe in the importance of reputation and its value as a corporate asset. You’ll learn how to manage and protect that asset.
- International Strategic Communication. Globalization requires communication practitioners to improve their knowledge of business, political, and social cultures. We provide guidance and structure for success.
- Diversity & Multicultural Communication. Promoting diversity and communicating across cultures are urgent societal obligations and an emergent career path. DEI issues are a focus of this track.
Career Opportunities
We Know Success
Six months after graduation, AU Masters with a degree in Strategic Communication from the School of Communication:
94% of Graduates are now working, in grad school, or both.
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Financing Your Education
The School of Communication offers graduate students both merit-based and need-based financial aid. Merit awards, named scholarships, and fellowships are administered by the SOC Graduate Admissions Office, while need-based awards are administrated by the American University Office of Financial Aid. Additional financial support is available for veterans.
All merit awards are based on your academic merit and professional experience, specifically your undergraduate grades and leadership activities as well as career-related accomplishments. Merit awards are valid for one year-they vary in amount, are typically divided evenly between the fall and spring semesters, and are not typically renewable.
Some merit awards come in the form of graduate assistantships, which consist of graduate tuition remission, a stipend, or both. Tuition remission will vary in the number of credits offered. If you are offered a stipend, you must be employed as a graduate assistant for a School of Communication faculty member for 10 hours per week.
Research fellowships at academic centers within the School of Communication and throughout the university may also be available.
Rankings
- #3 best school for Public Relations - According to College Magazine
- Top 5 One of five finalists for Outstanding PR Education Program in 2019 - by PRWeek
- PRNews A-List 2023 Education Honoree - PRNews
Program Tuition Fee
English Language Requirements
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