Class Type: MCDM

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

Track Neutral | Meets Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Thursdays 4/2 – 6/4, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Room on Time Schedule

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

Track Neutral | 5 Credits
Sundays, Dates TBD 9:00am – 5:00pm | Room on Time Schedule

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

Track Neutral | Meets Law & Ethics Requirement | 5 Credits
Mondays 3/30 – 6/8, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Online

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 515: Advanced User Design: Generative AI UX Studio

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

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

Course Description

In the Generative AI UX Studio course, students dive into the dynamic intersection of traditional experience design and artificial intelligence, mastering the tools and frameworks that are reshaping how humans interact with technology. Through intensive hands-on projects, students craft intelligent, adaptive experiences that push beyond conventional interfaces, learning to orchestrate seamless interactions between users and AI agents while maintaining essential human-centered design principles. Students develop expertise in the emerging field of agentic design, creating sophisticated agent personas and behavioral frameworks that define how AI systems perceive, reason, and act on behalf of users – skills that are increasingly crucial in modern digital product development.

Working in collaborative teams that mirror industry practice, students navigate the complex interplay between design, AI capabilities, and user trust, developing working prototypes that demonstrate real-world application of these advanced concepts. Upon completion, students emerge with compelling portfolio pieces that showcase their ability to design next-generation experiences where AI enhances rather than replaces human interaction, positioning them as leaders in this transformative wave of UX innovation.

Meets Research Methods Requirement.

Course Prerequisites: COMMLD 511, 512, or 517.

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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

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

Track Neutral | 5 Credits
Mondays 3/30 – 6/1, 6:00pm – 8:50pm | Room on Time Schedule

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

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 520D: Product Marketing

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

MCDM Elective | 5 Credits
Tuesdays 3/31 – 6/2, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Room on Time Schedule

Course Description:

This course explores how modern organizations bring products to market by connecting customer insight, storytelling, and strategy. Students will learn the core functions of product marketing within technology and SaaS organizations and examine how effective collaboration among product, sales, marketing, and customer success teams drives successful product launches. Through hands-on projects and real-world case studies, students will practice applying research, storytelling, and data-driven decision-making to launch and promote products that resonate with diverse audiences and deliver measurable results.

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COMMLD 523: Foundations of Social Media Communications & Strategy

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

MCDM Elective | 5 Credits
Saturdays 4/11, 4/25, 5/9, 5/23, 6/6, 9:00am – 5:00pm | Online

Course Description

Communication on digital platforms and networks will be the forever norm of our society and human experience. In this course, we will learn, practice and investigate the fundamental principles of communication through social media. We’ll identify strategies used by social media platforms to maximize their key metrics and apply them to business metrics that brands and organizations use to fulfill their objectives and goals. At the end of this course, you’ll be able to identify areas of opportunity on social media platforms to create interesting campaigns, analyze emerging social trends to stay ahead of the curve, and use the tools and best practices of the world’s most powerful brands to engage audiences.

This course is a good match for students who:

• Have a keen interest in social media

• Want to learn about effective social media strategies

• Are using social media for their professional work and personal branding

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COMMLD 560D: Communications & Design for the Environment

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

Track Neutral | Meets Law & Ethics Requirement | 5 Credits
Tuesdays 3/31 – 6/2, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Room on Time Schedule

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 Adrienne Russell and Dominic Muren

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 546A/B: Professional Long-Form Writing

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

Track Neutral | 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

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 534: Visual Storytelling: From Comics to Transmedia

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

MCDM Elective | 5 Credits
Saturdays 4/4, 4/18, 5/2, 5/16, 5/30, 9:00am – 4:50pm | Room on Time Schedule

Course Description

This course will provide you with a solid understanding of the medium of sequential art and visual narrative (aka “comics”) and the practical ability to incorporate visual storytelling into traditional, digital, and transmedia projects in a variety of entertainment, business, education, social and journalistic scenarios.

Why comics? Comics and sequential art have gone from the margins of popular culture to the center of a multi-billion dollar global industry and a respected art-form. Many of the most popular movies, television, video games and transmedia projects are adapted from comics and/or depend heavily on storytelling styles that originated with this unique medium. Issues of digital distribution, adaptation and audience engagement that arise in today’s “comics culture” affect the future of publishing, technology, social media and gaming. Beyond the world of entertainment, the principles of visual narrative are becoming fundamental to all manner of storytelling projects, global initiatives and creative enterprises.

This is one of our long-running classes taught by Rob Salkowitz, who is a bit of a legend among our alumni who cite this class as one of their all-time favorites. Students sometimes overlook this class because it has “comics” in the title and think it can’t possibly relate to their career aspirations. Take advantage of this misperception and sign up for this class! –Gretchen Ludwig, Associate Director

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COMMLD 531: Foundations of Video Storytelling

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- 2025-2026 | Spring 2026

MCDM Elective | 5 Credits
Tuesdays 3/31 – 6/2, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Room on Time Schedule

Course Description

Approximately 183 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube every minute. Video isn’t the future of marketing, the revolution is already here and how brands leverage that storytelling capability sets them apart from the competition.

Whether you want to create video content as a full time job or you want to have the skill set in your back pocket as you navigate your communications career, this class will provide a strong foundation for maximizing video content in your marketing endeavors.

We will go over basics of how to use cameras but we will also talk about why content is successful and how we can best emulate those formulas. You are expected to exercise the craft of content creation while at the same time critically evaluating and deconstructing content you see in the marketplace.

This class is a good match for students who:

• want to work in marketing and a foundational knowledge of how compelling video content is created;

• want to specialize in video content creation long term;

• are prepared for a time-consuming and rigorous learning experience.

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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

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 a future date.

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

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 510: 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 an upcoming date and will 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 510: 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 pre-requisites 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 570D: Online Community Data Research

COMMLD 581: Communications in the Age of AI

COMMLD 541: Crisis Communication

COMMLD 515: Advanced User Design: Generative AI UX Studio

COMMLD 504: Capstone

COMMLD 570F: Collaboration Strategies for Social Change

COMMLD 535: Foundations of Audio Storytelling

COMMLD 520D: Product Marketing

COMMLD 523: Foundations of Social Media Communications & Strategy

COMMLD 560D: Communications & Design for the Environment

COMMLD 546A/B: Professional Long-Form Writing

COMMLD 534: Visual Storytelling: From Comics to Transmedia

COMMLD 531: Foundations of Video Storytelling

COMMLD 525: Brand Values

COMMLD 520B: Advanced Marketing

COMMLD 503B: Practicum: UX Design in Action

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