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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.

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COMMLD 525: Brand Values and Creativity

(

Howard

)

- 2020-2021 | Autumn

Track Neutral
Tuesdays 10/6-12/8, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Online

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 comprised 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 525: Brand Values and Creativity

(

Howard

)

- 2020-2021 | Spring

Track Neutral Elective | 5 Credits
Mondays 3/29-6/7, 6:00PM PST – 9:50PM PST | Online

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 513: Content Marketing

(

Weaver

)

- 2021-2022 | Spring 2022

MCCN Elective | Meets Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Saturdays 4/2, 4/16, 4/30, 5/14, 5/28, 9:00AM – 5:00PM | Online
Registration SLN: 12604

Course Description

This course focuses on the approach and implementation of marketing programs that encourage community building and engagement. Content marketing is a special kind of content that you can use to build relationships with audiences, drawing new audiences or rewarding loyal fans. Our focus will be on how to give freely of our knowledge. We will explore a research-backed method for how to make content that educates and supports audiences, that complements advertising, mission-driven, or task-based content.

To do so, we will learn the basics of a content strategy process. Our 6 part data-driven methodology includes working with secondary research: stakeholder goals and audiences. Conducting our own primary research in comparative and content review. Building from research, we’ll explore best practices and tactics for messaging, content planning, and delivering strategy concepts to clients or coworkers. Our final product focuses on building brand storytelling, effective messaging, and planning adaptable content for multichannel (physical or digital) environments. Final materials can be useful for portfolios.

Meets Research Methods Requirement.

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COMMLD 504: Capstone

(

MacLaren

)

- 2022-2023 | Spring 2023

Track Neutral | 2 Credits
Thursdays 3/30 – 6/1, 5:00PM – 6:50PM | PCAR 297
Registration SLN: 12550

Course Description:

The COMMLD504 Capstone class offers MCCL students the chance to demonstrate their learning and build a 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.

In this class, students will  finish and refine their capstone project, curate and design elements for their portfolio, reflect on work throughout their Comm Lead journey, and refine their  professional self-narrative. Students will think, reflect, respond, and provide/receive feedback throughout the course as they refine their presentation and professional narrative for a particular audience.

(Note–this class is only available to MCCL students in the last quarter of their Comm Lead journey.)

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COM 597: Community and Media: Storytelling and Audience Engagement

(

Banel

)

- 2017-2018 | Winter

MCCN Elective
Thursdays, Jan 11th-March 8th, 6:00-9:50pm | CMU 242 (January 4th class has been cancelled, a makeup class is TBD)

Course Description:

This class is about putting smart, strategic and soulful storytelling to work to rise above the roar of everyday digital media. As professionals honing messages, sharing stories and conducting outreach to 21st century audiences, the ability to craft meaningful narratives that engage audiences and create real connections is more important than ever.  A deep understanding of the transformative power of engagement and connection throughout recent history is critical to mastering the skills necessary to become communications leaders in digital media. “Community and Media: Storytelling and Audience Engagement” is a hands-on, practical course designed to teach students storytelling skills, along with a fundamental strategic underpinning, to help create deep connections between storytellers and audiences.  Along the way, we’ll examine the history and context of 20th century media storytelling, and mine award-winning radio and TV programs for timeless audience engagement techniques and methods that worked in previous eras, but that are still relevant and effective in the digital era. We’ll also learn practical strategies from contemporary media professionals who are constantly navigating profound changes to the technology, economics, architecture and even the social consciousness of the modern media landscape. Through case studies and hands-on exercises with communications professionals, we’ll learn how to create engaging interactions with audiences, and powerful connections with each other and our communities.

Student Testimonial:

“The class was driven by conversational discussion of contemporary news as relative to media history, and as intersections with the readings assigned. Lengthy interviews with local-legend media producers brought venerable views and opinions of contemporary community media outlets–their struggles and successes. The final projects were explorations and research of media effects, students had wide leeway in choosing their content and presentation style.”

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COMMLD 520: Brand Matters

(

Captain

)

- 2018-2019 | Autumn 2018

MCCN Elective
Thursdays, 9/27-12/6 | 6:00-9:50pm | CMU 126
Registration SLN: 23687

This course would bring brand into focus and answer questions such as what is brand and why does it matter? How does an idea become a brand? How can a brand motivate a community or group to take action? How do you create a brand that triggers desired behaviors? Is a person a brand? How do brands stand out in this age of message inundation? What vehicles best communicate brand? What are the most popular brands on the planet and why? This is a timely topic because the media and messaging landscape is morphing so fast. In the era of skeptical consumers, today’s communicators must be savvy thinkers and shrewd creators of future brands.

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COMMLD 513: Content Marketing

(

Weaver

)

- 2019-2020 | Spring

MCCN Elective
Saturdays: 4/11, 4/25, 5/9, 5/23, 6/6 | 9:00-5:00pm | CMU 232

*This course was previously Autumn 2019’s COMMLD 510: Content Marketing and Strategy for Communities

Course Description:

This course focuses on the approach and implementation of marketing programs that encourage community building and engagement. The course starts with how to build a content strategy that supports the organization and its audiences as a foundation for content marketing. Building from strategy, we’ll explore best practices and tactics to create impactful campaigns and adaptable content for a variety of channels and platforms. Class work focuses on building brand storytelling, effective messaging, and models for optimizing and measuring digital marketing.

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COMMLD 550: The Law and Ethics of Community Building in Private, Public, and Nonprofit Entities

(

Tausch Lapora

)

- 2018-2019 | Spring

MCCN Elective, Meets Law and Ethics Core Requirement
Wednesdays, 4/3/19-6/5/19 | 6:00-9:50pm | Room CMU 242
Registration SLN: 12432

Course Description:

All organizations — private, public and non-profit — 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 issues such as how legal relationships are created and to whom legal and ethical duties are owed. They must also grapple with challenges such as how to balance privacy concerns with building an organization’s base, who owns specific content or ideas, and what advocacy strategies to employ when defining deliverables and implementing initiatives. This course considers and juxtaposes the legal and ethical realities of community building through a cross-sector approach. We will survey a wide array of case studies in which law and ethics may overlap, conflict, or be silent. We will engage in practical story exercises that maximize understanding of how law and ethics impact how organizations communicate to clients, customers, and constituencies. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to bring in legal and ethical issues from their professional experiences to enrich discussion of course topics such as legal relationships and duties, privacy, ownership, and making advocacy choices.

Student Testimonial:

“This course helped me to build a basic understanding of legal and ethical issues related to business and companies. I am very interested in intellectual property and how to protect trademarks and copyright. Thanks to this the class, I have developed a habit of checking every contract from digital services. Before the class, I just clicked “Agree.” I have developed the habit of asking for permission when I record interviewee’s for video or podcast production. Brenda is passionate and informed. She reads business news every day and researched about issues of ethics and law from the news and brought them to class as timely examples. You can feel her enthusiasm from her voice.I was so inspired by her that I even thought about getting a law degree!”

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COMMLD 535: Foundations of Audio Storytelling

(

Partnow

)

- 2020-2021 | Winter

Track Neutral Elective | 5 Credits
Tuesdays 1/5-3/9 | 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Online

Course Description: 

Whether gathered around a radio in a living room or walking plugged in with headphones, the medium of audio storytelling has always offered the opportunity to build mindset-shifting community around content. This course traces the evolution of audio storytelling from radio to podcasting that links to communities for various purposes: to educate, to entertain, and to inspire action — and the new golden age of podcasting that we find ourselves in means that audio storytelling has the potential for broad reach and powerful impact. Consideration is given to the core characteristics of strong storytelling, observed through an auditory filter. Class materials are twinned with a selection of cross-sector guest speakers who bring their own craft perspective. Students will experiment with designing their own short audio pieces.

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COMMLD 535: Foundations of Audio Storytelling

(

Warga

)

- 2021-2022 | Winter 2022

Track Neutral Elective | 5 Credits
Tuesdays 1/4 – 3/8, 6:00PM – 9:50PM | Online
Registration SLN: 22037

Course Description:

Whether gathered around a radio in a living room or walking plugged in with headphones, the medium of audio storytelling has always offered the opportunity to build a mindset-shifting community around content. This course traces the evolution of audio storytelling from radio to podcasting that links to communities for various purposes: to educate, to entertain, and to inspire action — and the new golden age of podcasting that we find ourselves in means that audio storytelling has the potential for broad reach and powerful impact. Consideration is given to the core characteristics of strong storytelling, observed through an auditory filter. Class materials are twinned with a selection of cross-sector guest speakers who bring their own craft perspective. Students will experiment with designing their own short audio pieces.

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COMMLD 510: Leveraging Diverse Perspectives in Product Content Design

(

Davies

)

- 2022-2023 | Autumn 2022

Track Neutral | 3 Credits
Wednesdays 09/28-12/07, 6:00PM – 8:20PM | DEN 212
Registration SLN: 13012

Course Description:

This course will guide students through a variety of techniques and processes to building experiences that are inclusive, and designed to directly serve their intended audience. This includes a lightweight look at understanding and defining your audience, testing for a variety of accessibility challenges, designing for inclusion, and an overview of ways to get feedback from your audience.Students will then be able to leverage these techniques to evaluate experiences to identify opportunities to improve.

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COMMLD 503A: Practicum—Building Community through Live Streaming

(

McLean

)

- 2023-2024 | Winter 2024

Track Neutral | 2 Credits
Mondays 1/8 – 3/11, 6:00pm – 8:20pm | CMU 126
Registration SLN: 22268

Note: Students enrolled in this practicum must be available all day Tuesday, February 13, 2024 to help produce a live stream of the annual Comm Lead Connects event.

Bridging the gap between brands and their audiences, interactive live streaming offers a transformative approach to deepening community ties and enhancing brand narrative. In this course, we focus on shifting from one-way broadcasts to immersive community-building experiences. Through hands-on experience with producing a live stream for the annual Comm Lead Connects event, students will experience the nuances of crafting a project that aligns with brand mission, values, and goals.

Drawing insights from seminal works like “Media Events” by Dayan and Katz and “Watch Me Play” by T.L. Taylor, we’ll understand the evolving dynamics of digital broadcasts and their potential for storytelling. Guided by principles from Charles Vogl’s “The Art of Community” and Priya Parker’s “The Art of Gathering”, we will emphasize the importance of purposeful engagement in virtual spaces.

By the course’s end, students will have a deep understanding of how live stream production can forge genuine community bonds. Leaving with a detailed guidebook, they’ll be ready to lead their own projects with confidence.

About Communication and Leadership Practicum:
Communication and Leadership Practicum courses can be taken at any time in your Comm Lead Journey. They give you the opportunity to engage in contemporary professional practice by addressing the challenges of real-life organizations. Each section is matched with a client organization or group of client organizations, and focuses on a distinct professional skill or practice that is deemed essential across a variety of professional fields. 

Designed to mirror a professional setting, our Practicum offer you the opportunity to work at a higher level and with greater responsibility than what you might encounter in an internship or in entry-level work. In the span of a quarter, you will enhance highly-desirable professional skills, produce work that you can include in your own professional portfolios, and most importantly, leave with a story–your story – of what you did in this project to create value for your client.

Credit/No Credit Only

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COMMLD 503 A/B: Practicum in Immersive Experience Design

(

Cioffi

)

- 2023-2024 | Summer 2024

Track Neutral | 2 or 3 credits
Thursdays 6/20 – 8/15, 6:00pm – 8:20pm | CMU 302
2-credit 503A Registration SLN: 10828
3-credit 503B Registration SLN: 14193

Course Description

In this practicum course, students will collaborate with Mental Health Over Dinner and the Seattle Chamber of Connection to advance storytelling projects across various platforms. Through event design, user-generated content strategies, and immersive technologies like XR, students will develop comprehensive story plans to drive client missions forward. They will learn essential skills such as navigating ambiguity, deep listening, and delivering tangible outcomes like storyboards, slide presentations, and execution plans. By the course’s end, students will have honed their storytelling abilities and gained practical experience in real-world project development and collaboration.

Section A will be 2 credits. Section B will be 3 credits.

Credit / No Credit Only.

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 570: Communicating Ideas: Strategies and Theories of Communities and Networks

(

Yasin

)

- 2018-2019 | Autumn 2018

MCCN Elective | Meets Research Methods Core Requirement
Wednesdays, 9/26-12/5 | 6:00-9:50pm | CMU 126
Registration SLN: 23672

Course Description:

Thought leaders such as founders of organizations, researchers and journalists produce ideas that help shape critical conversations. This course examines how ideas produced by thought leaders and public intellectuals in different fields are structured, and what makes these ideas resonate–or not resonate–with audiences. What type of communication techniques these thought leaders develop that result in the impact of their ideas in public discussion? In doing so, the course hopes to train the students as thought leaders by introducing students to both practical and analytical skills necessary to become such a figure.  Throughout the quarter, each student, at least once, will facilitate a conversation in class about an idea produced by a key thought leader or public intellectual – designing an activity to engage crowds. Each student will also prepare a short public talk on a topic related to the class theme of communities and networks. In addition to preparing the talk, students will prepare written proposal for an article or a book based on their idea and will conduct research on the topic of their presentation.

This quarter we will survey key discussions about communities and networks. Today, both organizations and political actors are thinking deeply about the structure and value of contemporary communities and the power of online and offline networks both locally and globally. In order to determine key texts and ideas about this topic, I distributed a survey to key thought leaders, professionals and scholars in my own network soliciting their recommendations of recent discussions on this topic. The ideas we examine in class will be partly based on these recommendations and will include key books, popular and academic articles and talks on this subject by leading thought leaders and public scholars.

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COMMLD 543: Leadership Approaches to Equity Initiatives in Organizations

(

Ross

)

- 2018-2019 | Winter

MCCN Elective
Tuesdays, 1/8-3/12 | 6:00-9:50pm | CMU 242
Registration SLN: 22055

Course Description: 

This course challenges and supports students to develop deeper self-awareness, hone stronger skills for learning across difference, and prepare themselves as organizational change-makers for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

For better or worse, organizational change initiatives impact individuals, groups, organizations, and ultimately societies. Thus, courageous leaders throughout organizations must learn how to improve their relevant knowledge, skills, and awareness iteratively, in order to contribute effectively to genuine change-making. The course is designed to meet students where they are and coach them toward significant growth in self-awareness, skills, and understanding. Students learn collaboratively together in order to explore interconnections among the dimensions of our intersectional identities. Those who complete this course gain confidence in their ability to learn about uncomfortable topics and expand their understanding of the roles of individuals, groups, organizations, and societal structures in making real system change.

Student Testimonial:

This was THE BEST class! It was a complete eye-opener. We discussed some of the issues that are so prevalent in our daily lives but we choose to stay quiet and not discuss. Sarah pushes students to think deeper about our own behaviors towards self as well as others. Most of us found ourselves open up so much that by the end of the class, we were always longing for more discussions. The quarter went by too fast but did leave us with lot of learnings.

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COMMLD 513: Content Marketing

(

Weaver

)

- 2018-2019 | Spring

MCCN Elective
Autumn 2019: Saturdays 10/5, 10/19, 11/2, 11/16, 12/7 | 9:00 – 5:00pm | CMU 302
Registration SLN: 23276

Course Description:

This course focuses on the approach and implementation of marketing programs that encourage community building and engagement. The course starts with how to build a content strategy that supports the organization and its audiences as a foundation for content marketing. Building from strategy, we’ll explore best practices and tactics to create impactful campaigns and adaptable content for a variety of channels and platforms. Class work focuses on building brand storytelling, effective messaging, and models for optimizing and measuring digital marketing.

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© Copyright 2025 Department of Communication. University of Washington

© Copyright 2025 Department of Communication. University of Washington