The School of Communications' master of science program in interactive communications focuses on the principles and practices of creating content for specific distribution through the Internet, portable media devices and related digital platforms. Through a balance of courses that teach students how to create and deploy animation, audio, graphics, still images, text, video and user-generated content into a single narrative, students learn how to transform traditional media forms and create a non-linear, multimedia experience for the audience.
Students completing the program can compete for opportunities as producers for advertising, entertainment, education, corporate information and news organizations engaged in the creation and distribution of their content through digital platforms. The program encourages applications from prospective students who want to apply skills acquired during their undergraduate education or professional careers to multimedia content development to mirror the audience shift from traditional, linear media such as broadcast and print to interactive, non-linear media found online.
In addition to traditional course work, students are offered the opportunity to enroll in a three-credit internship. Graduate students have served as interns at local, regional, national and global media companies and Web development firms.
Specific courses cover practical areas such as visual aesthetics, writing for interactive media, video and still imaging, audio creation and animation development. Seminars in media law, communications and society, and current topics, among others, provide the intellectual structure for leadership in the field. Students must complete the program with an individual capstone, either in the form of a master’s project, such as an interactive narrative presentation, or a thesis that advances knowledge of the field.
The program is offered in two formats: a traditional on-campus program and an online-only program.
Both are identical in terms of courses and outcomes. Students must select one when applying and cannot cross from one to the other.
The on-campus program offers a select number of online courses as part of its routine program of studies but is not an online-program. Students follow the traditional arc of the semester, taking up to four courses per semester and can finish in two years. Alternatively, students may choose to enroll on a part-time basis, with a maximum of two courses per semester.
The online-only program follows a seven-week sequence. Students take one course in each of the two seven-week modules in the fall and spring and take two courses during the summer, for a total of six courses per calendar year. They thus finish the program in two years.
To earn the master's degree, students must complete 36 credits with a minimum 3.0 GPA. Students
complete their program with a master's thesis or master's project, which counts for 3 credits toward the 36 credits required to graduate. The thesis is a work of research that advances knowledge in the field. The project is a professional work of multimedia designed to reach a public audience. In addition to course work that emphasizes professional production techniques and tools, students also engage in rigorous academic study of communications theory and innovative thinkers whose work is indispensable to understanding the shift from legacy media to online. The combination of study in the intellectual and production aspects of interactive communications transforms students into leading practitioners and leaders.
Information on the application process and requirements for the on-campous program is available from the Graduate Admissions Office. (Applicants to the online-only program should contact Quinnipiac University Online admissions).
Graduate Admissions Office
Quinnipiac University
275 Mount Carmel Avenue
Hamden, CT 06518
Telephone: 203-582-8672
E-mail: graduate@quinnipiac.edu