Undergraduate
American Political Communication
An examination of how institutions, campaigns, media systems, and citizens communicate about American politics.
Representative topics
- Foundations of political communication
- Political rhetoric
- Campaign communication
- Political talk
- Contemporary issues
Major course project
A pitch proposal to improve some aspect of civic life in the U.S.
A campaign communication plan for a presidential candidate of students' choice
Graduate
Descriptive / Experimental Research in Communication
Representative topics
- Quantitative research methods
- Intro statistics
- Intro to R
Major course project
Start to finish research project with preliminary results
Undergraduate
Principles of Persuasion
A theory-driven course on how messages shape attitudes, beliefs, and behavior across interpersonal, organizational, political, and strategic communication settings.
Representative topics
- Theories of persuasion
- Attitudes and behavior
- Source and message characteristics
- Deception
- Cialdini's principles
Major course project
A multi-part persuasive campaign connecting theory to a real communication challenge.
Undergraduate
Quantitative Methods for Communication Research
An applied introduction to research design, measurement, sampling, experiments, surveys, and statistical reasoning in communication research.
Representative topics
- Conceptualization and operationalization
- Measurement
- Sampling
- Experiments and surveys
- Hypothesis testing (t-test, ANOVA)
Major course project
Collaborative study replication and data collection with individual method and results write-up
Graduate
Survey of Political Communication
A discussion-focused seminar examining foundational and emerging scholarship in political communication.
Representative topics
- Democratic theory
- Cognitive theories
- Media selection, effects, and trust
- Polarization
- Political talk and avoidance
- Platforms
- Contemporary issues
Major course project
A research proposal designed for development toward conference presentation or publication.