Communication Offers First 'Family-' Oriented MA

Effective communication is essential in every aspect of life, according to Frances Brandau-Brown, graduate adviser for the communication studies department.

Teaching those skills is the goal of the department’s new Master of Arts program, which will be offered beginning in the fall 2008 semester at the University Center in the Woodlands after recently receiving approval from the participating partner schools at the University Center, according to Terry Thibodeaux, associate dean in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The program had earlier received the full approval of both the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas State University System Board of Regents.

The 36-hour thesis and non-thesis track program will have an emphasis on family and interpersonal communication, offering “a better understanding of how communication works in a variety of settings,” Brandau-Brown said.

“There’s a difference between talking to people and being personally effective and socially appropriate,” she said. “Our goal is to help people learn the strategies that will make them more successful in dealing with issues that would crop up in human resources, marketing, teaching or as a doctor, lawyer or politician.

“We teach persuasive strategies, interpersonal strategies, conflict resolution and negotiation,” she said.
The program, the first in the state to offer the family component, will only be offered at the University Center, as it is more conveniently located for the audience being targeted by the department.

“If we were trying to reach former graduates who are working, it would be easier for those people to take classes at the University Center,” she said.

There is a growing demand for communication majors in the job market, according to Brandau-Brown.

In 2003, nearly 70,000 students across the country graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communication, while approximately 6,500 received master’s degrees and 400 received doctorates in the field, according to the National Communication Association.

“The numbers are steadily increasing every year because people recognize that no matter what career you’re in, you have to be effective in communicating with others,” Brandau-Brown said. “This is an underpinning for success in any other career that you would choose. It really runs the gamut.”

There is also more of a demand now for people who are inter-culturally sensitive, which is addressed in a course on intercultural communication.

“As we get to more globalization of the marketplace, you have to understand that different cultures do things in different ways, and if you don’t, it’s to your detriment,” Brandau-Brown said. “That was the whole Firestone/Ford debacle. It’s run by a Japanese company, so they acted in a way that’s appropriate for the Japanese culture but not appropriate for the American culture, and it cost them; it cost them dearly.”

While the program is currently all in-classroom, the communication studies department is looking into adding online components in the future.

Those interested in applying for the program should do so through the Graduate Studies office. The application deadline is Aug. 1 for the fall 2008 semester.

For more information, call the communication studies department at 936.294.1497.

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SHSU Media Contact: Jennifer Gauntt
Dec. 14, 2007
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