The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications opened enrollment Tuesday for its first online master’s degree.

The program, called Communications@Syracuse, emphasizes digital trends and innovation with the communications industry, according to a press release.

The Master of Science program will operate on a schedule that is different from most courses. The shortened online course schedule will be implemented in three month interims instead of the standard 15-week semester, which will allow students to finish within two years. In addition, the curriculum will focus on recent digital trends and innovation in the media industry.

Syracuse alumnus and Newhouse Professor Anthony Rotolo has been named the program director, and said he is excited for what the degree’s existence means for Newhouse as a communications innovator.

“I am really optimistic about the success about the program,” he said. “Creating this program is the reason I went from the iSchool to Newhouse to continue all the work that I was doing with social media.”

The curriculum includes courses in social media, concept production and immerging media technologies, which are designed to address how communications are currently done.

“The program looks at the fact that in the digital media world all sorts of jobs have to do communications work,” Rotolo said. “This is not just for people who work in PR agencies, or have advertising in their title. It’s for people and companies everywhere who have to do communications.”

The online graduate experience allows students from across the country and around the world to have the chance to do something from wherever they are to enhance skills in this field, and one of the highlights, Rotolo said, “is being able to do Syracuse without the snow.”

Offering such a program opens new doors for Newhouse, which has long been a pioneer in the communications field.

Lorraine Branham, dean of the Newhouse School, said the program “embraces the power of digital media and responds to the changing nature of the communications professions,” in the release.

The program was created via a partnership between Newhouse and an educational technology company called 2U.

According to its website, 2U specializes in a “no back row” approach, which includes immersive course content, live face-to-face classes, real-world learning experiences, social engagement and dedicated student services.

 

Published on January 27, 2015 at 12:20 am

Contact Lauren: [email protected]