- Credible.
- Customized.
- Convenient.
- Community.
-
Our Department of Journalism and Mass Communication has a long and
successful history. Continuously accredited since the first year
national journalism accreditation began in 1948, the department
has been recognized as one of the best midsize journalism programs
in the U.S. In the 1950s, the department added a master's degree,
and graduates are making a mark in the industry and higher
education around the country and world.
Students in the program will take many of the classes together, but
in other cases students will have several classes from which to
choose. Each student's plan of study will also be individualized in
two other ways: an independent study allows students to pursue a
topic of interest under a professor's supervision, and the capstone
course, a research paper or project, will be tailored to individual
student interests and needs.
All of the classwork for this degree will be available 24/7. Online
discussion and lectures will substitute for face-to-face
traditional instruction. Internet-based courseware functions as a
virtual classroom for students and instructors who can participate
at any time, from anywhere. Faculty post lectures and assignments;
students turn in papers and tests and discuss their work with
classmates online. Whether you are a student in South Dakota or
elsewhere in the world, online learning adjusts to your own
schedule.
The program uses an instructor-led cohort-based learning model
— a relatively common online learning approach in higher
education. Because interaction with peers is an integral part of
any graduate program, a cohort or group of students starts the
program and takes most classes together. By taking two eight-week
classes back-to-back each semester and one each summer, the group
will finish the program in just under two years time.
An adviser will assist each student in developing a plan of study, an individualized list of credits that add up to the 32 credits required for the degree. Everyone in the cohort will take many classes together, but students will also have some choices from a list of electives, some of which may meet at a set time each day.
Each student's plan of study will also be individualized in two other ways: an independent study allows students to pursue a topic of interest under a professor's supervision, and the capstone course, a research paper or project, will be tailored to individual student interests and needs.
