Student Learning Outcomes for M.S. Program in Mass Communications
The A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications is dedicated to developing competencies in research and theory, regardless of whether our students seek an academic or applied career focus. Graduates of our Master’s of Science program will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of mass communications concepts and theories.
- Demonstrate the ability to apply knowledge through critical thinking, inquiry, analysis, and communication to solve problems in the form of professional reports (projects and practicums) and to contribute to the body of original research in the form of theses.
- Apply basic quantitative and qualitative research concepts.
- Evaluate research results using relevant methods.
This means that all graduate classes are designed to cover relevant mass communication theories, further develop students’ research competencies, and provide opportunities for evaluating research results. Moreover, classes are dedicated to promoting critical thinking.
Additionally, our objectives meet the learning goals mandated by the K-State Graduate School:
- Provide knowledge.
- Develop skills.
- Teach and reinforce attitudes and professional conduct.
Our graduate faculty has reviewed our program's learning objectives to ensure that we are meeting these University-prescribed goals, as illustrated in this graph:
We routinely review the strengths of our program in meeting these objectives to ensure that a Master’s degree from our program provides grounding that is essential to advancing our students’ careers.
For example, we regularly review the capstone thesis and project reports completed by our graduate students at the end of their programs of study. We recently conducted a thorough review of the capstone work completed by our students since 2013, and we've concluded that we are meeting the goals of our learning objectives, as illustrated in the following graph:
