> Courses > 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.

Clear all

COMMLD 512: User Research & UX Strategies

(

Levine

)

- 2019-2020 | Autumn

MCDM Elective | Meets Research Methods Core Requirement
Wednesdays, 9/25-12/4 (no class 11/27) | 6:00-9:50pm | CMU 230

Course Description:

This course focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of user interfaces from a usability perspective. The aim of the class is to study the concepts, methods, and techniques of usability engineering, with a focus on the artifacts where user experience is essential. Historically, usability has covered aspects of efficiency, learnability, and ease of use. Today, a large number of other measures for success rely on elements such as playability, engagement, entertainment, immersion, and aesthetics.

The following concepts will be detailed with the expectation that by the end of the quarter, students will recognize the aspects of each of the following deliverables within Interface Design and User Research. At the completion of this course, students will have portfolio-ready, end-to-end work examples. The work examples are designed for students to demonstrate they can: understand basic principles of user interface design, implementation, and evaluation, design and conduct usability studies, select an appropriate evaluation method and articulating its advantages and disadvantages, establish useful test objectives, and prepare reports and presenting results.

 

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 535: Foundations of Audio Storytelling

(

Partnow

)

- 2019-2020 | Winter

Track Neutral Elective
Thursdays, 1/9-3/12 | 6:00-9:50pm | CMU 302

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.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 512: User Research & UX Strategies

(

Levine

)

- 2019-2020 | Spring

MCDM Elective | Meets Research Methods Core Requirement
Tuesdays, 3/30-6/5 | 6:00 – 9:50pm | CMU 230

Course Description:

This course focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of user interfaces from a usability perspective. The aim of the class is to study the concepts, methods, and techniques of usability engineering, with a focus on the artifacts where user experience is essential. Historically, usability has covered aspects of efficiency, learnability, and ease of use. Today, a large number of other measures for success rely on elements such as playability, engagement, entertainment, immersion, and aesthetics.

The following concepts will be detailed with the expectation that by the end of the quarter, students will recognize the aspects of each of the following deliverables within Interface Design and User Research. At the completion of this course, students will have portfolio-ready, end-to-end work examples. The work examples are designed for students to demonstrate they can: understand basic principles of user interface design, implementation, and evaluation, design and conduct usability studies, select an appropriate evaluation method and articulating its advantages and disadvantages, establish useful test objectives, and prepare reports and presenting results.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 512: User Research and UX Strategies

(

Levine

)

- 2020-2021 | Autumn

MCDM Elective | Meets Research Methods Requirement
Wednesdays 9/30-12/9, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Online

Course Description:

This course focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of user interfaces from a usability perspective. The aim of the class is to study the concepts, methods, and techniques of usability engineering, with a focus on the artifacts where user experience is essential. Historically, usability has covered aspects of efficiency, learnability, and ease of use. Today, a large number of other measures for success rely on elements such as playability, engagement, entertainment, immersion, and aesthetics.

The above concepts will be detailed with the expectation that by the end of the quarter, students will recognize the aspects of each of the following deliverables within Interface Design and User Research. At the completion of this course, students will have portfolio-ready, end-to-end work examples. The work examples are designed for students to demonstrate they can: understand basic principles of user interface design, implementation, and evaluation, design and conduct usability studies, select an appropriate evaluation method and articulate its advantages and disadvantages, establish useful test objectives, and prepare reports and presenting results.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 517: The Psychology of User Experience

(

Evans

)

- 2020-2021 | Winter

MCDM Elective | Meets Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Tuesdays 1/5-3/9 | 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Online

Course Description: 

Designers, product marketers, and entrepreneurs will learn the psychological constrictions of attention, perception, memory, disposition, motivation, and social influence that determine whether or not customers will be receptive to their digital innovations. This will give their innovations an edge on what are increasingly competitive platforms such as apps, bots, in-car apps, augmented reality content). Students will learn…

  • The psychological processes determining users’ perception of, engagement with, and recommendation of digital innovations
  • Examples of interfaces before and after simple psychological alignments that vastly enhanced their effectiveness
  • How to identify, apply theory, and develop consulting or research recommendations based on psychological theory
  • Application to their own business interests. A deeper understanding of common digital interfaces such as conversion funnels, display advertisements, and mobile notifications.
  • A broader understanding of the human context of digital ventures, and the ethical differences between alignment and meeting needs vs. exploitation and unsustainable design approaches

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 503C: Practicum in Storytelling for Organizations

(

Melograna

)

- 2020-2021 | Spring

Track Neutral Elective | 2 Credits
Mondays 3/29 – 5/31, 6:00PM – 8:00PM PST (Note: Instructor and class will determine meeting dates based on project needs) | Online

Course Description:

An “About Us” video is an essential product that organizations of all kinds utilize to introduce who they are to clients and other communities. It’s usually an “evergreen” product that organizations hope to utilize as long as possible. In order to create an effective and useful video you need to understand all their needs for distribution, understand key messaging, find the right spokespeople, and craft the right stories to best connect to target audiences; hence creating assets for this multimedia product is as much or more about analyzing organizational identity and vision as it is about video production skills. During this practicum, with the support of your faculty mentor, you will engage in strategic pre-production of an “About Us” video that will help the organization better understand their goals, reach their audiences, and make their intended impact.

About 503 Communication and Leadership Practicum

Communication and Leadership Practicum was designed as a complement to COMMLD 502, intended to help shape the beginning of the Communication Leadership journey. The course gives students an early 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.

he 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.  

Structure of Class

Class will convene online during the time indicated by section for a minimum of 5 classes led by a faculty mentor. This may occur every other week, or at different intervals that serve the needs of the project. On dates that the faculty mentor is not in attendance, students will have that time together to work with their teams.

During the times that faculty mentors are in attendance, students will report out on the current status of their projects, hear from experts about best practices, receive feedback, and provide feedback to one another. At the end of the quarter, students will present their project deliverables to the client organization, faculty, and their peers. 

In addition to the final presentation, students will plan to meet with the client organizations mid-way through to report out on the current status of their projects and receive important feedback on their developing ideas and processes. Depending on client availability for these two meetings, time may need to be rescheduled from the regular class meeting time, with consideration of faculty mentor and student schedules.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 510: Leveraging Diverse Perspectives for Product Content Strategy

(

Davies

)

- 2021-2022 | Autumn 2021

Track Neutral | 3 Credits
Wednesdays 6:00PM – 8:20PM PDT | CMU 126
Registration SLN: 13053

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.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 511A: Introduction to User Centered Design

(

Gordon

)

- 2021-2022 | Autumn 2021

MCDM Track | Meets Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Mondays 10/04-12/06, 6:00PM – 9:50PM PDT | CMU 302
Registration SLN: 23165

Course Description:

This course focuses on the fundamentals of user experience design, identifying the skills and concepts needed to successfully design products and services for humans. We will learn the principles of design thinking so that students come away from the class with a framework for understanding how to identify real user problems, design solutions for how to solve those problems, and then test those solutions with real people.

Meets Research Methods Requirement.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 515: Advanced User Design: UX Studio

(

Levine, Skillman

)

- 2021-2022 | Winter 2022

MCDM Elective | Meets Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Saturdays 1/8, 1/15, 1/22, 1/29, 2/5, 9:00AM – 5:00PM | CMU 232 | In-Person
Registration SLN: 22029

Course Description

In this class, students will work in small groups to design and prototype innovative user-centered solutions to real-world problems and develop an application. Students will develop their projects from a user experience (UX) design perspective and produce a strong piece for their portfolio.

The course emulates real-life aspects of UX design teams, including in-depth experience with user research, usability testing and iterating on the product with real-life users. By the end of the course, students will construct a map of a product’s full customer journey, develop personas with use cases, design a working prototype, and build a proposal with requirements for the concept.

Since this class takes foundational concepts to the next level, students who register must have either already taken one of our intro courses (511 or 512) or Psychology of UX (517). If you are currently taking 511 or have commensurate work experience, please fill out this form for our review, beginning Friday, November 5, at 6:00am PT. 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 can be found here: https://forms.gle/YGgtXTsumNACAwv86.

This intensive course structure includes lecture, small and large group activities, and extended studio time for hands-on work on the projects. Several guest speakers from the UX design field are planned throughout the quarter.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 503C: Practicum: UX Design in Action

(

Gordon

)

- 2021-2022 | Spring 2022

Track Neutral | 2 Credits
Wednesdays 3/30-6/1 6:00PM – 7:50PM | Online
Registration SLN: 21580 (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 either already taken one of our intro courses (511 or 512) or Psychology of UX (517) or have equivalent UX experience. Please fill out this form 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 can be found here: https://forms.gle/NmB7u9gL1oeafptX8

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.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 520: Creative Branding Intensive

(

Schiller

)

- 2021-2022 | Summer 2022

Track Neutral Elective | 3 Credits
Monday-Friday, 8/1-8/5, 9:00AM – 5:00PM | DEN 210 | In-Person
Registration SLN: 14392

Course Description

In this class, students will have the opportunity to bring a client’s brand story to life in a format that matches a real-world agency setting. Over the week – and with the guidance and feedback of your instructor who is the co-founder and copy chief of Rumble Marketing – you will bring together ad copy and visuals to create a pitch for a potential client. On the final day of this intensive you will deliver your pitch and get the kind of feedback you could expect in a real-world marketing agency environment. You will not only learn the tools of the trade in how to conduct a winning pitch, but create materials to add to your marketing portfolio.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 503C: Practicum in Content Strategy

(

Weaver

)

- 2022-2023 | Spring 2023

Track Neutral | 2 Credits
Mondays 3/27 – 6/5, 5:00PM – 6:50PM | Online
SLN: 12547

Course Description

In this practicum, students will assess content from a real world client using content audits and comparative reviews to make recommendations for a renaming, rebranding, and renewed website. Students will use templates to analyze and assess content against standards. We will look for ways to improve the website through content removal or renewal based on our user experience goals, audience preferences, and user tasks as well as best practices. Your assessments and recommendations will help the client reimagine content topics and connections and prepare for a new information architecture. By the end of this practicum students will develop a list of recommendations for the client for content improvement. 

**Since this class takes foundational concepts to the next level, students who register must have either already taken COMMLD 510: Introduction to Information Architecture, one of our intro courses (511 or 512), or Content Marketing (513) or have equivalent UX experience. Please fill out this form 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 can be found here: https://forms.office.com/r/670K19LaFP

Note: students currently waitlisted for COMMLD 503B have priority for this course.

About Communication and Leadership Practicum:

Communication and Leadership Practicum courses 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. Students can choose their section based on their interests and needs.

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

{ Expand Course Description + }

COM 597: Design + Content: Introduction to UX Content Strategy

(

Holmberg

)

- 2016-2017 | Autumn 2016

MCDM Elective, Meets Research Methods Core Requirement
Mondays, 10/3/16-12/5/16, 6:00-9:50pm | CMU 126

Course Description:

The role of the content strategist requires an understanding of the fundamentals of both traditional UX and content strategy, and this class seeks to build the overlapping skills and concepts needed to succeed in this role, whether as a dedicated content strategist or if it’s just one part of the work. Students will learn the foundations of both UX and content strategy, including user journeys and user research, content hierarchies, basic wireframing, principles of IA, and more, culminating in a creative strategy brief which encompasses both fields. The goal is to come away from the class with a holistic understanding of both UX and content strategy, and their relationship to one another.

Student Testimonial:

“From class activities to assignments to even the class slides, Dave crafts an optimal user experience for the student. He takes the time to provide useful, in-depth feedback on all assignments which enhances the learning experience considerably. The UX Content Strategy Playbook we created was an incredible way to learn the specifics of UX exercises we studied in class; I’m sure I’ll use it for years to come. The books Dave selected for class will serve as excellent resources down the road as well. This was definitely one of the best classes I’ve taken in the Comm Lead program.”

{ Expand Course Description + }

COM 583: Multimedia Storytelling: Digital Distribution and the Story

(

Keller

)

- 2016-2017 | Winter

MCDM Elective
Tuesdays, 6:00-9:50pm | CMU 242

Course Description:

The landscape of web-distributed video can be broadly divided into three motifs: Entertainment, Newsgathering, and Business Communication. From YouTube to Vimeo, Netflix to Hulu, 12seconds.tv to Facebook, online video is a storytelling revolution. Or is it? How do storytelling choices affect message reception? Storytelling has been part of the human experience since the formation of language. Today, the technology that surrounds the “tell” of a story (the modes and channels of communication) directly shape the immersive experience felt by the viewer, while leveraging the lessons of narrative and myth. This course focuses on the decisions we make when we tell our stories. This course is both theoretical and practical. Students will be afforded the skills to create and distribute video stories. Additionally, students will be expected to display critical thinking around point of view, audience targeting, ROI success criteria, methodology, and production standards. Students are expected to exercise the craft of content creation while at the same time critically evaluating and deconstructing content they see in the marketplace.

Student Testimonial:

“Drew Keller’s Multimedia Storytelling class deftly weaves in the interconnected components of effective multimedia communication. Whether you are a novice or expert videographer, this class takes you to the next level by covering video syndication, platform selection, and monetization. In addition to perfectly balancing theory, guest lectures and hands on work, Drew went above and beyond by providing weekend tutorials on video composition, shooting and editing. He even provided 1:1 help during work!”

{ Expand Course Description + }

COM 558: Law of Digital Media, Interactive Media, and Content

(

Baker

)

- 2016-2017 | Spring

MCDM Elective, Meets Law & Ethics Requirement
Thursday, 3/27/17-6/2/17, 6-9:50pm | CMU 302

Course Description:

The law of digital media, interactive media and social media has facilitated the growth of multimedia storytelling, interactivity, and the explosion of collaborative consumption. Understanding when and how one can remix, reuse, republish, and remake content is critical to any organization’s successful advertising, content creation, distribution, and publication. This course will explore the legal issues surrounding free expression, content production and publication, intellectual property (with a special emphasis on copyright and fair use), and advertising. This course is designed both as a stand-alone course to satisfy the law and policy requirement of the program and as a companion to the data security and privacy law course offered in the Fall, which focuses more on data usage, privacy and security, FTC regulatory issues and intellectual property issues around data and analytics.

Student Testimonial:

“Law & Policy is usually among the favorites of each cohort, and I completely understand that! Kraig is an incredibly knowledgeable professor who is detail oriented, and cares deeply about getting his students interested in the material. Law seems like a boring subject at first, but he makes sure that the material is tailored to the interests of each class and gives his students the freedom to adapt the course to their passions and learning styles. Also, this course is incredibly relevant to many questions we always have looming over our heads about copyright and content. This subject will continuously be relevant, and Kraig does a great job at making sure you’re confident in that.”

{ Expand Course Description + }

COM 583: Advanced Narrative Multimedia Storytelling

(

Stonehill

)

- 2017-2018 | Autumn 2017

MCDM Elective
Thursdays, 9/28-12/7, 6:00-9:50pm | CMU 302

Course Description:

From prehistoric cave paintings to Netflix binges, our innate attraction to stories defines us as a species. Yet as professional communication tools and techniques become more sophisticated, there’s a tendency to forget the fundamentals and lose sight of what makes storytelling such a persuasive tool.

This class will explore those fundamentals while practically tackling the relational challenges of storytelling: building trust with subjects and clients, telling the stories of others ethically, capturing authenticity without equipment getting in the way, and crafting a compelling narrative from sometimes messy real-life material. This coursework is designed to support students as they create high-value work in one of the most challenging but powerful modes of storytelling: human-driven documentary film. They’ll conceive of, research, shoot, edit, and create a distribution plan for a short, character-driven documentary on the subject of their choice, in partnership with a client. All the while, they’ll be considering deeply how story functions throughout our media and applying those lessons to their project.

This is an advanced course that will assume a basic knowledge of technical aspects of video production and editing, so a previous foundational MCDM storytelling class or equivalent technical experience is strongly recommended. Given that the emphasis of this course is on the interpersonal aspects of storytelling, that baseline technical familiarity will be vital to your success. While your technical skills will improve through the filmmaking process, this course is not a deep dive into the latest and greatest technology in filmmaking. It is a deep dive into the tried and true pillars of great storytelling. Contact instructor with any questions.

Student Testimonial:

“I can’t say enough good things about this class. [The instructors] are gifted educators and expert storytellers. As educators, I found them open and willing to engage many points of view with equal respect. That’s a rare talent. Their entry in the Seattle International Film Festival 2013 (Barzan) attests to the pedigree of their storytelling. They encouraged me to seek a challenging topic. In the few weeks we had in the class, they were mindful to remind the class to stay on pace. They grounded this advice in real-world experience. A big debt of thanks to Comm Lead for leveraging [the instructor’s] abilities and experience into a rewarding experience; the class was over all too quickly.”

{ Expand Course Description + }

Contact Us

commlead@uw.edu
206.543.6745
4101 E Stevens Way NE, Seattle, WA
Book a Meeting

Privacy Policy

Stay Connected

Apply Now

Get Updates

Subscribe to our newsletter for admissions info, events, and the latest trends in professional communication.

Sign Up

© Copyright 2022 Department of Communication. University of Washington

University of Washington

Department of Communication

© Copyright 2022 Department of Communication. University of Washington