St. Bonaventure University will begin offering a fully online Master of Arts in Communication program in January.

New York state’s Education Department approved the program last week. The university is accepting applications for a spring 2020 start.

Students can typically finish the 33-credit program in two years; a GRE or GMAT isn’t required.

The program expands upon the university’s master’s program in integrated marketing communication, which will be folded into the new program as one of three specializations that students can choose. The other two tracks students can concentrate in are content marketing and public relations.

“The program is designed for people with a desire to master and lead the broad spectrum of contemporary marketing communication,” said Heather Harris, assistant professor and program director.

The program is both a creative and an analytical endeavor that will focus on problem definition, problem solution, and execution, Harris added.

The degree is designed to serve a wide range of communication professionals such as marketing specialists, content creators, and public relation professionals, while also accessible to career changers.

“The new degree program aligns with the most in-demand skills required of communication professionals today such as: content marketing, public relations, experiential marketing, and making meaning from data,” Harris said. “It is a high value, high quality learning experience that instills creative, strategic, and actionable knowledge for today’s vast communication landscape.”

The program's core curriculum offers courses such as branding, audience empathy, strategy, market research and analysis, while the specializations provide the option to tailor professional interests in public relations, integrated marketing communication and content marketing.

St. Bonaventure's Jandoli School of Communication has demonstrated consistent leadership in both the field of communication and online education. In 2004, the university was among the first in the country to offer a degree in integrated marketing communication, and the IMC program has been available online since 2013.

“This new communication degree builds upon that legacy of communication leadership, while also adapting to an ever-evolving communication landscape,” said Aaron Chimbel, dean of the Jandoli School.

The Jandoli School of Communication is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. It’s one of only 19 private university communication schools in the nation with ACEJMC accreditation and one of just three offering accredited online graduate programs.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. In 2020, St. Bonaventure was named the #2 regional university value in New York and #3 in the North by U.S. News and World Report.