Class Type: MCCN

Classes

Classes are designed to challenge your thinking and develop your professional skills. You’ll leave each class with a unique set of tools to approach new communications challenges.

Tailor your experience to your career goals by focusing on one of eight areas of specialization. Use the search widget below to sort classes by quarter, specialization, instructor and degree track for each quarter. Get a comprehensive view of the full academic year in our Course Guide.

View the University of Washington Academic Calendar for important dates, including quarter start and end dates, registration dates and deadlines, and campus holidays.

Registration numbers (SLNs) are located on the Time Schedule. Please read the Department’s statement on internet resource requirements for access to courses.

COMMLD 570D: Online Community Data Research

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

Open Elective | Meets Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Thursdays 4/2 – 6/4, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Room on Time Schedule
Registration SLN: 12422

Course Description:

Navigating online communities constitutes a large portion of what we experience as “the internet,” and yet understanding these communities is not always a straightforward or easy task. This course will explore the nature of online communities, different ways we can come to learn about them, and how we should think about handling the data we collect (and indeed, whether to collect it at all). Students will gain a basic social scientific foundation for thinking about communities and the affordances of computer mediated communication before surveying several established approaches to collecting and analyzing data produced by and about specific communities, including surveys, web scraping, and social listening/monitoring.

Throughout, we will consider the ethical implications and demands of our work as researchers and professionals, emphasizing such values as respect for persons, prevention of harm, and beneficence. Students will conclude the course by developing group research projects using one or more of the methods we’ve learned together to answer a clearly defined research question and presenting their findings within a professional context.

Meets Research Methods Requirement.

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COMMLD 581: Communications in the Age of AI

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

Open Elective | 5 Credits
Sundays, 4/12, 4/19, 4/26, 5/3, 5/17, 9:00am – 5:00pm | Room on Time Schedule
Registration SLN: 21461

Course Description:

AI is transforming how organizations communicate, and the skill gap is real. The 2025 World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report states that “On average, workers can expect that two-fifths (39%) of their existing skill sets will be transformed or become outdated over the 2025-2030 period.” AI and information processing technologies tops the list as the core drivers of this change.

This intensive class is about getting out in front. We’ll dive into the questions communication leaders are wrestling with right now: When should you use AI for comms and who should be empowered to use it? What are the risks if your team is unprepared, if you are too slow in adapting, or if you use it in inappropriate or ineffective ways? And how do you build policies and strategies that allow AI to accelerate work responsibly and ethically?

Students should come prepared for an intensive experience, with a full quarter’s work conducted over a 6-week time period. Class sessions will be fast-paced, hands-on, and grounded in real-world challenges. You’ll use multiple AI tools in class and for homework, debate outputs and scenarios, discuss best practices for decision-making, and hear from industry experts already implementing AI inside their organizations. The goal is to give you the tools and judgment to help you and your future employer navigate fast-evolving AI with confidence.

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COMMLD 541: Crisis Communication

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

Open Elective | Meets Law & Ethics Requirement | 5 Credits
Mondays 3/30 – 6/8, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Online
Registration SLN: 21442

Course Description:

Nothing is more dramatic than a crisis. When an organization, company, industry, or individual in the public eye is in a crisis, communication is one of the crucial routes back to normalcy. Oftentimes, organizations find themselves unprepared when a crisis hits and only then think “Oh goodness, we should get a crisis communications plan in place!” Trying to “spin” a bad situation can both be unethical, and ineffective, damaging reputation, and subsequently business.

This course will teach you how to be rapidly responsive, responsible, and to avoid common pitfalls in crisis comms. We will examine how organizations attempt to anticipate and recover from crises, how the broadcast and print media cover different types of crises, how crisis communications fails, and how it succeeds.

Meets Law and Ethics Requirement.

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COMMLD 504: Capstone

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

Open Elective | 2 Credits
Thursdays 4/2 – 6/4, 6:00pm – 7:50pm | Room on Time Schedule
Application Required

Course Description:

In the COMMLD 504 Capstone class for MCCL students, you will refine and finalize your near complete capstone project, develop professional presentation skills, and hone your professional narrative prior to graduation. This course will help you learn how to target your audience, effectively support your ideas, and select and organize materials to prepare for a presentation or portfolio using multimedia tools. Students will think, reflect, respond, and provide/receive feedback throughout the course. Your interactions will be a learning experience as you engage with each other’s work, diverse perspectives, and presentation styles.

Note: Registration for this class is add-code only after submission of an application.

More about the 504 Capstone

The Communication and Leadership Capstone project is the culmination of your MCCL journey in the Communication Leadership Program. Before graduation, students work to complete a project that responds to professional communities’ needs, using communication and leadership tools.

Capstones are a chance to demonstrate your learning and build your portfolio through an in-depth, independent project done under the guidance of faculty and staff advisors. It’s also a chance to impact the world and help address the needs of real-life organizations.

Completing your capstone and the accompanying credits is a multi-quarter process, usually done during the student’s second year in the program. Projects can be research-based, work done in a class, for a client organization, or even for your current job.

Credit/No Credit Only.

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COMMLD 570F: Collaboration Strategies for Social Change

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

Open Elective | 5 Credits
Mondays 3/30 – 6/1, 6:00pm – 8:50pm | Room on Time Schedule
Registration SLN: 12424

Course Description

Social change requires organizations in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors to collaborate well. However, organizational leaders face many challenges in doing so. Cross-sector collaboration is a complex communicative process that underlies every aspect of societal change, at multiple levels and across many kinds of difference. In this course, students will employ concepts from several fields to analyze and practice real-world instances of cross-sector collaboration, and develop the communication skills essential for interorganizational interactions that foster social change.

The centerpiece of the course is a 5-week simulation of collaborative decision-making conducted during class sessions. In the simulation, each student has a role in a (mock) multi-sector task force– situated in a fictional mountain town– that negotiates the creation of a wildfire mitigation safety plan. Through the simulation, students will apply knowledge gained from course readings, and develop skills in assessing other stakeholders’ needs and motives, building alliances, communicating constructively through disagreements, and negotiating multilateral agreements for the collective good.

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COMMLD 535: Foundations of Audio Storytelling

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

Open Elective | 5 Credits
Wednesdays 4/1 – 6/3, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Room on Time Schedule
Registration SLN: 21458

Course Description

The podcasting industry has surged in recent years, with podcasts also becoming an increasingly important part of marketing and communication campaigns. Since it is the only medium that audiences can consume while engaged in a multitude of other activities, audio storytelling has a unique advantage to inform, entertain and call to action.

This course will teach you how to use audio to tell a powerful story. You will learn how to create your own short sound-rich, nonfiction audio story driven by characters and scenes. You will move through the process of research, reporting, interviewing, writing, editing, and mixing an audio story, as well as pitching a story for radio or podcast. By the end of the class you will have a working knowledge of the basics of audio storytelling and production. You will feel more confident about how to support visual storytelling with audio, as well as how to work with a larger production team on audio projects.

This course is a good match for students who:

• Are seeking an individualized, project-based course

• Want foundational storytelling and editing skills that can translate into any medium

• Would like to learn how audio can elevate and transform storytelling

This class greatly elevated my ability to concisely tell stories!—Jacob Christensen, Foundations of Video and Advanced Video Practicum Instructor, and MCDM cohort ‘15 alumni

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COMMLD 570E: Community & Engagement

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

MCCN Elective | 5 Credits
Wednesdays 4/1 – 6/3, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Room on Time Schedule
Registration SLN: 12423

Course Description

Our lives are defined by the communities we keep. So are organizations. To understand a company, audit the communities that faithfully buy their products. To understand a nonprofit organization, see who comes to their fundraisers or who relies on their services. To understand a public institution, observe their consistent user base. This can more broadly be understood as the culture of an institution: what it communicates by how it communicates.. Leadership—at all levels, across all sectors—involves informed and open engagement informed by that culture with the broader publics you serve. So designing meaningful community engagement that highlights organization culture is a crucial leadership skill.

This course will challenge you to reimagine community engagement practices and develop inventive strategies for bringing together stakeholders, constituents and audiences. You’ll learn time-tested frameworks that strive to build a sense of belonging and purpose, thus deepening alignment between leadership, organizational culture, and the communities they serve.

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COMMLD 560D: Communications & Design for the Environment

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

Open Elective | Meets Law & Ethics Requirement | 5 Credits
Tuesdays 3/31 – 6/2, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Room on Time Schedule
Registration SLN: 12421

Course Description:

The climate crisis and other environmental problems are not strictly scientific issues, they are also design and communication issues. This course teaches students to look at the environment from the perspectives of communication (for example, which topics are resonant with audiences, whose views get amplified and whose get shut down, which ideas are backed by money and which are people-powered) and design (for example, our public space, our stuff, how we get around, what we wear and the structures we live in.) These perspectives can empower us–no matter our profession, background or political affiliation–to see and respond to the climate and other environmental crises in more creative and impactful ways.

This course is co-taught by faculty in Communication and Design

Meets Law and Ethics Requirement.

This course is a good match if you are:

• Passionate about the environment and social change;

• Interested in understanding the challenges and opportunities faced by environmental groups, journalists and scientists;

• Curious about how design can be applied for environmental impact

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COMMLD 551: The Law & Ethics of Community Building

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

MCCN Elective | Meets Law & Ethics OR Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Thursdays 4/2 – 6/4, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Room on Time Schedule
Registration SLN: 12419

Course Description

All organizations — private, public and nonprofit — inevitably encounter legal and ethical challenges when building and engaging with their communities and networks. Leaders must be able to identify, anticipate, and problem solve how to legally and ethically create, grow, and maintain organizations. This course examines the legal and ethical realities of leadership through a cross-sector approach, particularly by utilizing racial equity and anti-oppression frameworks and grounding in behavioral ethics (decision-making and heuristics). We will survey a wide array of case studies, many with a social justice backdrop, in which law and ethics may overlap, conflict, or contain gaps. We will engage in simulations and consider real-world scenarios to maximize understanding of the impact of law and ethics on organizational communications to clients, customers and constituencies. Throughout the course, you are encouraged to bring in legal and ethical issues from your professional experiences to enrich discussion of course topics. No prior experience in law is required.

Meets Law & Ethics Requirement OR Research Methods Requirement

There’s a reason that final projects from this course consistently are nominated for the Comm Lead Department of Communication Research Award (one of B. Tausch’s students won in 2023), and it has all to do with the superb design of the course and how students are motivated by B.’s committed and thoughtful instruction to produce award-winning work. Legal studies can feel like another language, but not in this class: B. makes great use of real world scenarios to bring law and ethics alive in a professional communication context. — Anita Verna Crofts, Comm Lead Artist in Residence

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COMMLD 546A/B: Professional Long-Form Writing

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

Open Elective | Meets Professional Writing Requirement (3 or 5 credit) or Research Methods Requirement (5 Credit) | 3 or 5 Credits
Sundays 4/5, 4/19, 5/3, 5/17, 5/31, 9:00am – 5:00pm | Room on Time Schedule
3-credit 546A Registration SLN: 12416
5-credit 546B Registration SLN: 12417

Please note: 546A is 3 credits, and 546B is 5 credits. These courses will run concurrently. Students registered for 546A (3 credits) will attend the first three dates, and students registered for 546B (5 credits) will attend all five dates.

Course Description:

Have you ever read an in-depth piece online that so moved you or shifted your thinking that you immediately sent it on to a friend or colleague? The “long-form” medium offers the writer ample space for synthesis, critique, and personal stories to capture the imagination, change the conversation, and inspire action. With a broad selection of writers, leaders, and cultural commentators as curricular guides, this course invites each student to hone their long-form professional writing skills (>1000 words) and deepen their understanding of the current professional communication long-form landscape.

With scaffolded steps to refine their writing voice and scope, this course serves both students with writing experience, as well as those keen to develop this foundational skill. All students are invited to submit their final piece for inclusion in the Summer 2026 volume of the online journal Mind Shift.

Anita teaches invaluable research and writing skills that pushed me to become a more curious thinker. She encourages her students to dive into multifaceted research on your choice of subject and produce a polished long-form piece. As a brand marketing professional, I’ve applied what I learned in Anita’s class by practicing clear written communication and empathetic collaboration. —Amanda Chou, MCCN cohort ‘22 alumni

3-credit class Meets Professional Writing Requirement.

5-credit class meets either Research Methods or Professional Writing requirement. Class cannot be used to meet both requirements.

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COMMLD 525: Brand Values

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

Open Elective | 5 Credits
Thursdays 4/2 – 6/4, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Room on Time Schedule
Registration SLN: 12411

Course Description:

This course will take a close up look at corporate brand values in marketing communications today. Brand values should be timeless and unchanging, but in a constantly fluctuating business environment, is this goal even possible? While high volume video advertising and A/B testing is exploding, paradoxically, messaging of corporate brand values is oftentimes minimized. Marketing today is composed of ever-changing algorithms, transactional communications, and confusing narratives. Should creativity play a bigger role in storytelling in today’s marketplace? Do customers even know what the companies they make purchases from actually stand for values-wise? Does it matter? How can companies still connect emotionally with consumers? Students will ideate a marketing film for a company or nonprofit of their choice. All the while, they’ll be considering deeply how emotion, story, and marketing message function in a project that resonates with the consumer while also reinforcing an organization’s belief system.

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COMMLD 520B: Advanced Marketing

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

Open Elective | 5 Credits
Mondays 3/30 – 6/1, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Room on Time Schedule
Application Required

Course Description

This advanced course explores the evolving challenges and opportunities in marketing management, equipping students with the tools and strategies to excel in today’s dynamic marketplace. Through a combination of case studies, group projects, and industry experts, students will delve into topics such as AI in marketing, customer insights, digital transformation, omni-channel strategies, and new revenue models. Designed for graduate-level students, Advanced Marketing emphasizes practical application of marketing strategy and execution.

By the end of this class, students will be able to:

• Analyze the challenges and opportunities marketing leaders face in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

• Apply advanced marketing strategies, including AI, personalization, and omni-channel integration, to real-world scenarios.

• Develop and present a comprehensive marketing plan, incorporating insights from customer data.

• Evaluate and implement customer-centric approaches to improve customer experience and drive business growth.

*Asynchronous work will be added to make up for Memorial Day.

**Since this class takes foundational concepts to the next level, students who register must have already taken any of the following courses:

COMMLD 520: Principles of Marketing
COMMLD 520: Strategic Communications
COMMLD 521: Digital Marketing
COMMLD 522: Future of Marketing

Or have equivalent Marketing experience.

Please fill out the form below to the best of your ability. If your form is approved, you will receive an add code to register for the course. (Note: applications will be time stamped, and qualified applicants will be added to remaining class spots on an equitable basis determined by time of application and remaining time in the program.)

The application will go live on Tuesday, February 17, at 6:15am, and can be found here.

Here are the questions to the form to help you prepare before it goes live:

Full Name
UW Email

Have you taken or are currently taking any of the following courses:

COMMLD 520: Principles of Marketing (Meyer)
COMMLD 520: Strategic Communications (Keyes/Ramos)
COMMLD 521: Digital Marketing (Mottola)
COMMLD 522: Future of Marketing (Salkowitz)

(If you have not taken any prerequisite) You have stated that you have not taken the prerequisites for this course. You may still be qualified if you have previous experience. Please describe your marketing experience.

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COMMLD 503B: Practicum: UX Design in Action

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

Open Elective | 3 Credits
Mondays 3/30 – 6/1, 6:00pm – 8:20pm | Room on Time Schedule
Application Required

Course Description

In this practicum, students will work on a real-world design problem—forming a partnership among design students, instructor, and a client. Students will work in a team-based context and apply their design-thinking skills to improve a business’ website by reducing user frustrations and helping the business reach its goals.

The final deliverable will be a client presentation highlighting what frustrations were discovered through research and testing, how the design thinking process was applied to maximize user and business needs, and will include a prototype to visually express the proposed solution incorporating the totality of the evaluation.

Credit/No Credit Only.

**Since this class takes foundational concepts to the next level, students who register must have already taken any of the following courses:

COMMLD 518: Introduction to Information Architecture

COMMLD 510: User Interface and Visual Design

COMMLD 511: Introduction to User Centered Design

COMMLD 512: User Research and UX Strategies

COMMLD 513: Content Marketing

COMMLD 515: Advanced User Design: UX Studio

Or have equivalent UX experience.

The application will go live on Tuesday, February 17, at 6:15am, and can be found here.

Here are the questions on the form to help you prepare before it goes live:

Full Name
UW Email

Have you taken (or are currently taking) COMMLD 518: Intro to Info Architecture, COMMLD 510: User Interface and Visual Design, COMMLD 511: Introduction to User Centered Design, COMMLD 512: User Research and UX Strategies, COMMLD 513: Content Marketing, or COMMLD 515: Advanced UX Studio?

(If you have not taken the courses above) You have stated that you have not taken the prerequisites for this course. You may still be qualified if you have previous experience. Please describe your UX experience.

About 503 Communication and Leadership Practicum

Communication and Leadership Practicum courses give students an opportunity to engage with and understand the uses of course concepts in contemporary professional practice by addressing the challenges of real-life organizations.

Each section of the Comm Lead Practicum focuses on a distinct professional skill or practice that is deemed essential across a variety of professional fields. Students can choose their section based on their interests and needs. Each section is matched with a client organization or group of client organizations who are interested in partnering with Communication Leadership students.

In the span of a quarter, students analyze the issues faced by the client organization(s), collaborate and brainstorm collectively in small teams, and with the support of their faculty mentor create a deliverable for the client organization(s) that relates to the specific practice. Students may also create creative samples as part of the project. In doing so, students can develop and enhance skills, build foundations of practice, and produce work that they can include in their own professional portfolios.

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COMMLD 503A: Practicum: Impact Storytelling Lab: Marketing a Documentary

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

Open Elective | 2 Credits
Tuesdays 3/31 – 6/2, 6:00pm – 7:50pm | Room on Time Schedule
Registration SLN: 12402

Course Description

Partner with the feature documentary Boys on the Inside to design real-world marketing, outreach, and impact strategies that advance stories of queer / trans life, addiction recovery, and prison justice with care and intention. In this practicum, you will act as a creative marketing consultant to the director, researching audiences and crafting ethical, community-centered storytelling across web, social media, and video. Students will develop website redesign concepts, social content and campaign plans, and an impact strategy for events and partnerships, all grounded in inclusive, empathetic communication and advocacy for good. By the end of the quarter, you will leave with a client-ready deliverable package, experience navigating sensitive cultural and institutional contexts, and a portfolio project that demonstrates compassionate leadership and impactful storytelling for social change.

Credit/No Credit Only.

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COMMLD 581: Leadership in Emerging Technologies & Trends: Communications in the Age of AI

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- 2025-2026 | Current Quarter | Winter 2026

Open Elective | 5 Credits
Sundays 1/11 (online), 1/18, 1/25, 2/1, 2/15, 9:00am – 5:00pm | Room on Time Schedule
Registration SLN: 12664

Course Description:

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COMMLD 570E: Culture Design for Communication Leaders

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- 2025-2026 | Current Quarter | Winter 2026

MCCN Elective | 5 Credits
Thursdays, 1/8 – 3/12, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Room on Time Schedule
Registration SLN: 22135

Course Description

As organizations navigate unprecedented changes driven by technology, shifting expectations, and global challenges, the need for culture-centered leadership has become paramount. This is especially true for communication leaders who will continue to shape how work is understood and practiced.

During this course, students will explore the key aspects of culture design, co-creation, and leadership for the future of work. Students will identify their own co-creation and leadership style within the context of an organization, and learn to leverage these strengths in coordination with others. They will also design specific elements of culture including working agreements, collaborative work environments, and steps for fostering autonomy within the workplace.

At the end of this course students will be able to answer the question – How do communication leaders build/support organizational culture to create environments that support psychological safety, collaboration, and drive innovation?

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COMMLD 570D: Online Community Data Research

COMMLD 581: Communications in the Age of AI

COMMLD 541: Crisis Communication

COMMLD 504: Capstone

COMMLD 570F: Collaboration Strategies for Social Change

COMMLD 535: Foundations of Audio Storytelling

COMMLD 570E: Community & Engagement

COMMLD 560D: Communications & Design for the Environment

COMMLD 551: The Law & Ethics of Community Building

COMMLD 546A/B: Professional Long-Form Writing

COMMLD 525: Brand Values

COMMLD 520B: Advanced Marketing

COMMLD 503B: Practicum: UX Design in Action

COMMLD 503A: Practicum: Impact Storytelling Lab: Marketing a Documentary

COMMLD 581: Leadership in Emerging Technologies & Trends: Communications in the Age of AI

COMMLD 570E: Culture Design for Communication Leaders

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