High Point University’s Nido R. Qubein School of Communication offers an online Master of Arts in Communication and Business Leadership that is designed to equip students with the collaborative and leadership-oriented communication skills necessary to support organizations’ growth in corporate and other professional settings. Through the courses in the program, students develop key skills in written and oral communication, analytical thinking, relationship-building, and teamwork. High Point University uses Blackboard Ultra for its learning management system, which enables students of the MA in Communication and Business Leadership to attend classes, complete course assignments, engage in peer discussions, and connect with faculty members.
The MA in Communication and Business Leadership consists of 30 course credits that are divided across five core courses, four electives, and a final capstone project for credit. Core courses include Strategic Message Design, Data and Decision-Making, Persuasion and Negotiation, and Organizational Behavior, and Leadership. Through these required classes, students learn the essential theories and best practices of multimodal communication (written, oral, and digital/mediated), strategies for communication data analysis and presentation, principles of persuasion and negotiation, human behavior in organizational and other social environments, and leadership principles in practice. Students are also required to complete a practicum each semester of their enrollment, which gives them the opportunity to apply course concepts to real internship, research, and/or professional experiences in communication and business leadership.
After completion of the core courses, students work with their program advisors to craft a personalized program of study through their four electives. Examples of electives include Corporate Culture, Brand Management, Change Management, Crisis Communication, AI Issues in Digital and Social Media, Message Design and Production, and Design Thinking. The culminating experience for this program, as mentioned previously, is a final capstone project. In the last semester of their enrollment in the program, students complete two Capstone Project courses that require them to discuss real-world challenges in the business and communication leadership before working in small groups to analyze a communication case study and design a solution. Students present their solution-oriented action plan to their capstone course instructor at the end of the program.
High Point University is regionally accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
Online Master of Arts in Communication and Business Leadership
Overview
Department: Nido R. Qubein School of Communication
Websites: Department
and Program
Program Format
Structure: Online program with no required campus visits
Instruction Methods: Program uses synchronous and asynchronous instruction depending on the course
Campus Visits Required: No
Program Length: Program can be completed in one year (three semesters: fall, spring and summer)
Start Dates: Fall, Spring, and Summer with rolling admission
Curriculum and Graduation Requirements
Credits Required: 30 credits (10 courses)
Thesis Required: No
Capstone Options: Capstone project
Example Courses: Strategic Message Design; Organizational Behavior; Data and Decision Making; Leadership; Persuasion, Positioning and Negotiation; Brand Management; Corporate Culture; Change Management
Admission Requirements
Application Requirements: Bachelor's degree; resume; statement of purpose; two references for recommendations
GPA Requirements: Minimum GPA 3.0 (recommended)
Testing Requirements: GRE not required
Tuition Costs
Estimated Tuition*: ~$43,950 + fees
Cost per Credit Hour: $1,465 per credit hour
State Authorizations: Program accepts students from all 50 states
