2025 Master's in Communication Programs in Delaware (Campus, Online)

Campus Programs in Delaware
Online Programs in Delaware
Directory of All Programs in Delaware

At present, the University of Delaware (UD) and Wilmington University are the only two schools in Delaware that offer master’s in communication programs. For students who do not live near UD or Wilmington University, and students who do not want to relocate for their master’s program, both UD and Wilmington University offer online master’s in communication programs. UD has an online Master of Arts in Strategic Communication, while Wilmington University has an online Master of Science in Digital Communication. In addition to these in-state online programs, numerous out-of-state schools have online master’s in communication programs that accept applications from residents of Delaware.

Campus-Based Master’s in Communication Programs in Delaware

The University of Delaware’s College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Communication offers a Master of Arts in Communication program that is comprised of 30 credit hours, or approximately 10 master’s level courses. Areas of study within the program include Health Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Media Communication, Political Communication, and Public Relations, with students choosing electives from within these areas to tailor their course of study. The core curriculum covers topics such as interpersonal communication theory, communication research methods and procedures, media theory, and epistemology in communication. After completing their core classes, students progress to elective courses in subjects such as business communication, intercultural communication, health communication, science communication, mass media, public relations campaign development, conflict management, persuasive communication, media ethics, media criticism, and advertising.

Students in this program have the option to either complete a master’s thesis or a comprehensive examination that covers all the topics they learned in their program. The thesis option is for students who wish to engage in scholarly research on a topic within communication, and is the ideal choice for those who wish to pursue further graduate study at the doctorate level. The comprehensive exam option is for students who are not interested in communication research and who do not intend to pursue further graduate education after their master’s degree. Students should note that, as the master’s thesis counts for course credit, students who opt for the comprehensive exam option are required to take additional elective courses to meet the credit hours required for graduation.

Online Master’s in Communication Programs for Students in Delaware

The University of Delaware offers an Online Master of Arts in Strategic Communication that prepares students for diverse roles in organizational communication and media campaign development. This 30-credit program features optional concentrations in Public Relations, and Digital and Social Media. The program requires students to complete core courses on the Principles of Strategic Communication, Communication Research, Communication Theory, and Communication and Ethics. From there, students choose either their concentration coursework or electives to customize their program of study.

The Public Relations concentration includes courses in areas such as strategic communication principles, branding, public relations management, campaign planning, crisis communication, reputation management, communication ethics, and persuasion. The Digital and Social Media concentration’s courses cover social media campaigns, integrated marketing, digital media writing tactics, digital content strategy, user data analytics, and strategic writing principles. In addition to their concentration courses, Digital and Social Media students have the option of taking electives in areas such as health communication, patient-provider communication, political communication strategy, sports branding and communication, media analytics, and communication leadership.

Students’ final graduation requirement is a Strategic Communication Capstone, which involves students identifying and researching a communication challenge, before designing a campaign or project that addresses this challenge. Through the Capstone, students apply all of the concepts and skills they have learned in their courses to a concrete deliverable that helps serve as a steppingstone to their career advancement.

Wilmington University in Newcastle offers a fully online Master of Science in Digital Communication through its College of Technology. This 33-credit program integrates STEM concepts and skills with communication theories and strategies, preparing students for a wide variety of roles in digital media development, analysis, and improvement. Students of this program can choose from six concentration options: Digital and Social Media Strategy, Healthcare Communication, Marketing, Public Relations, Web Design, and General Communication.

Regardless of their chosen concentration, students of this program take 18 credits of core courses in Emerging Technology and Communication, Crisis Communication and Risk, Communication Writing, Legal and Ethical Issues, Communication Analytics, and either Digital Content and Visual Data, or Strategic Communication. The core requirements for the program give students strong foundational skills in leveraging communication technologies to design and execute on digital media strategies, while continually assessing audience impact to improve communication campaigns.

The remaining 15 credits are dedicated to students’ concentration coursework, which vary widely. For example, the Digital and Social Media Strategy Concentration includes courses that cover social media’s impact on society, digital campaign strategy, search engine optimization (SEO), and management strategy and decision-making. Meanwhile, the Healthcare Communication Concentration features courses on medical writing, healthcare marketing, team communication, and either a course on social media and society, or a class on digital campaigns. The Marketing Concentration has courses that cover global marketing management, consumer behavior and market research, business-to-business and business-to-government marketing, and marketing analytics.

The Public Relations (PR) Concentration covers PR analytics, entrepreneurial branding, team communication, multimedia communication, and management strategy. The Web Design Concentration has technical courses on web design and architecture, Javascript, markup languages, database and web integration, server-side web development, and competitive design for the internet. The General Communication Concentration allows students to choose from the courses featured in the other concentrations, so that students can tailor their program of study to their interdisciplinary interests.

For their culminating experience, all students either complete a Communication Capstone course, or a Field Experience/Co-Op. The Communication Capstone course features job preparation activities and guides students through their completion of a personalized project that is relevant to their professional interests. The Field Experience/Co-Op is a supervised practicum experience that students can complete at their place of work, or at another site that they have identified as helping them prepare for their desired careers. Students must identify field experience sites independently, but receive program faculty support in their search.

The University of Delaware and Wilmington University are non-profit educational institutions that have received regional accreditation through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

In addition to UD’s Online MA in Strategic Communication, there are several out-of-state schools that enroll students who are residents of Delaware. Individuals in Delaware who are interested in an online master’s in communication program should note that online programs seeking to admit applicants from regions outside of their state boundaries must apply for state authorizations, and due to this mandatory process, some online master’s in communication programs do not accept students from all 50 states. Prospective applicants should check with an admissions advisor before applying to an out-of-state program to ensure that the school accepts students from Delaware.