There are currently five schools in Louisiana that offer a total of six master’s in communication programs. Of these six programs, five are offered on-campus, while one is an online master’s in communication program. Students have the choice to specialize in areas such as communication studies, mass communication, organizational communication, and strategic communication.

All of the schools listed on this page are non-profit educational institutions that have been regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

Campus-Based Master’s in Communication Programs in Louisiana

Schools throughout Louisiana offer master’s in communication degree programs. Grambling State University’s Department of Mass Communication offers a Master of Arts in Mass Communication that is designed to prepare students to engage with journalistic content, mass communications, and public relations writing, and to apply communication skills and strategies to online media production. Core courses in this program cover theories of mass communication, communication and technology, research methods in communication, and communication ethics. Elective courses in this program investigate such topics as media management and public opinion, public affairs communication, issues in radio and television, media systems, intercultural communication, and the history of and current developments in mass media.

Louisiana State University’s (LSU) Manship School of Mass Communication in Baton Rouge has a Master of Mass Communication with two tracks–one for students interested in scholarly work and a doctoral degree, and students who are seeking advanced professional training in mass communication. Within these tracks, students can choose electives that enable them to pursue advanced studies in strategic communication, political communication, or journalism. LSU’s Department of Communication Studies also offers a Master of Arts in Communication Studies, with specialization options in Interpersonal Communication, Performance Studies, and Rhetoric. Students of this program may take classes covering topics such as communication in culture, health communication, political communication, performance art and narrative, argumentation, rhetoric in art, communication in the criminal justice system, and organizational communication.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Department of Communication offers a Master of Science in Communication that trains students to pursue either an academic career in communication at the doctorate level, or a professional path that involves creating content for corporations and/or non-profit or governmental organizations. This program offers two areas of study in Strategic Communication and Mass Communication. After completing core courses in communication theory, communication research design and analysis, communication law and ethics, and the fundamentals of graduate studies, students take electives according to their chosen concentration. Students are also required to complete either a research-based master’s thesis on a topic within their field of specialization, or a professional project.

The University of Louisiana Monroe’s School of Humanities offers a Master of Arts in Communication with focus areas in Media Studies, Communication and Culture, and Performance and Rhetorical Studies. This program emphasizes an interdisciplinary course of study and gives students flexibility in their electives so that they can tailor their program to their interests. Students in this program take core courses in mass communication and communication theory, as well as qualitative and quantitative research methods before progressing to electives that cover topics such as rhetorical theory, semantics, nonverbal communication, health communication, communication and gender, and advanced concepts in persuasive rhetoric.

Online Master’s in Communication Programs in Louisiana

Currently, there is one school in Louisiana that offers an online master’s in communication program. Southeastern Louisiana University offers an online Master of Arts in Strategic Communication that prepares students for digital media production and editing, public relations management, and digital media audience analytics. This fully online program utilizes asynchronous instruction and features courses in integrated marketing communication, strategic visual design, digital communication systems, media entrepreneurship, and strategic non-profit communication.

In addition to Southeastern Louisiana University’s program, there are several out-of-state schools that offer accredited online master’s in communication programs that accept students who reside in Louisiana. Online programs may be good options for students who do not live in or near a city in Louisiana that has a campus-based master’s in communication program. This includes students in New Orleans who do not want to commute to Hammond or Baton Rouge (as The University of New Orleans, Loyola University New Orleans and Tulane University do not offer master’s in communication programs), students in Shreveport who do not want to commute to Grambling (as Louisiana State University Shreveport also does not offer a graduate communication program), and students who live in Lake Charles or Western Louisiana.

Prospective students of online master’s in communication programs should note that not all out-of-state schools providing online programs may accept students from Louisiana. In addition, a limited number of online programs require students to attend one or more events on-campus during their enrollment, and students of these programs are generally responsible for the travel costs associated with attending these events. For more information about online programs, including geographical restrictions, potential campus visit requirements, and online instruction methods, please reference our Online Master’s in Communication Programs resource page.

Directory of Master’s in Communication Programs in Louisiana

All Master’s in Communication Programs in Louisiana

Campus programs, Campus/Hybrid programs, Online programs (fully online to 2 campus visits per year), Hybrid-Online programs (3 to ~5 campus visits per year)

Grambling State University

(Grambling)

Department of Mass Communication

• Master of Arts in Mass Communication

Louisiana State University

(Baton Rouge)

Department of Communication Studies

• Master of Arts in Communication Studies (with Areas of Specialization in Interpersonal Communication, Performance Studies, and Rhetoric)

  Interview with Bryan J. McCann, Ph.D. - Louisiana State University

Manship School of Mass Communication

• Master of Mass Communication (with Specializations in Journalism, Strategic Communication, and Political Communication)

Southeastern Louisiana University

(Hammond)

Department of Communication and Media Studies

• Online Master of Arts in Strategic Communication

  Interview with Elizabeth Robertson Hornsby, Ph.D. - Southeastern Louisiana University

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

(Lafayette)

Department of Communication

• Master of Science in Communication (with Specializations in Strategic Communication, and Mass Communication)

University of Louisiana at Monroe

(Monroe)

School of Humanities

• Master of Arts in Communication (with Areas of Emphasis in Communication and Culture, Communication Science, Media Studies, Digital Media, and Performance and Rhetorical Studies)

  Interview with Mara Loeb, Ph.D. - University of Louisiana at Monroe