> Courses

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 560 B: Communication for Change Management

(

Hall

)

- 2021-2022 | Winter 2022

Track Neutral Elective | 3 Credits
Mondays 1/3 – 3/7, 6:00PM – 8:50PM | CMU 242 | Hybrid
Registration SLN: 22073

Course Description:

The world we live in continues to change at an intense rate. In order to succeed in this uncertain future, organizations must adapt to tough market conditions by changing their strategies, their structures and infrastructures, their boundaries, their mindsets, their leadership behaviors and of course their expectations of the people who work within them. The COVID-19 pandemic has shocked the global health care system and the global economy. The Seattle Times reported in April 2020 that the global economy will suffer the worst year since the Great Depression of 1930.  There could not be a more critical time to take a course on change management. Key skills taught in this course will prepare a professional for the shifting workforce.  Upon completing the course, students will be able to guide organizations to implement change management programs that support employees and reflect organizational culture.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 530A: Advanced Podcasting

(

Partnow

)

- 2021-2022 | Spring 2022

Track Neutral | 5 Credits
Wednesdays 3/30 – 6/1 6:00PM – 9:50PM | CMU 302 | Partially In-Person
Registration SLN: 12606 (application required)

Course Description

This is a project-centered class for students with audio storytelling skills. Class time will focus on story/project development, visits with guest speakers, and skill building geared towards designing and implementing a large audio story project, such as a new podcast, audio mini series, or audio-driven multimedia project. Students will consider target audience and create an audience engagement plan, develop an editorial mission and focus, explore funding options and production needs, create an outline of the full project or first season of a new podcast, and produce an initial pilot episode. Students should come to the class comfortable with recording and editing audio. COMMLD 535: Foundations of Audio Storytelling or equivalent experience in nonfiction audio or video storytelling required.

*Students must prove their proficiency in audio or video production to register for this course by meeting the minimum qualifications:

1. Proficient experience in editing audio or video programs

Please fill this form to the best of your ability. You may be reached out with further clarifications. If your form is approved, you will receive an add code to register for the course.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 517: The Psychology of User Experience

(

Haverly

)

- 2022-2023 | Autumn 2022

MCDM Elective | Meets Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Mondays 10/03-12/05 6:00PM – 9:50PM | Online
Registration SLN: 23514

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 515: Advanced User Design: UX Studio

(

Levine

)

- 2022-2023 | Winter 2023

MCDM Elective | Meets Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Wednesdays 1/4 – 3/8, 6:00PM – 9:50PM | CMU 104
Registration SLN: 12777

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). To apply to take this class based on completed or in progress prerequisites, or equivalent work experience, please complete the form here starting at Noon (12:00pm PDT) on Friday, November 4: https://forms.office.com/r/1fvMGGAVCG.

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.

Meets Research Methods Requirement.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 515: Advanced User Design: UX Studio

(

Levine

)

- 2022-2023 | Spring 2023

MCDM Elective | Meets Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Tuesdays 3/28 – 5/30, 6:00PM – 9:50PM | CMU 104
SLN: 12553

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.

Meets Research Methods Requirement.

Course Prerequisites: COMMLD 511, 512, or 517.

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 517: The Psychology of User Experience

(

Haverly

)

- 2023-2024 | Autumn 2023

MCDM Elective | Meets Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Wednesdays 9/27-12/6, 6:00PM – 9:50PM | Online
Registration SLN: 13003

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

Meets Research Methods Requirement.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 510A: Introduction to UX Writing and Content Design

(

Romero

)

- 2023-2024 | Spring 2024

Track Neutral | Meets Professional Writing Requirement | 3 Credits
Tuesdays 3/26 – 5/28, 6:00pm – 8:20pm | CMU 230
Registration SLN: 21555

Course Description

User Experience (UX) Writing involves the words used in a website, app, or other digital experience flow. The job of UX Writing is to make sure those words help make that experience simple, conversational, and easy to use. This course will use design thinking to guide you through solving complex UX issues using workshops, real-world examples, emerging AI tools and techniques, and creating your own unique UX writing flows and portfolio.

Meets Professional Writing Requirement.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 515: Advanced User Design

(

Levine

)

- 2024-2025 | Winter 2025

MCDM Elective | Meets Research Methods Requirement | 5 Credits
Wednesdays 1/8 – 3/12, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | CMU 104
Registration SLN: 12707

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.

Prerequisite: COMMLD 511, 512, or 517.

Meets Research Methods Requirement.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 530B: Ethics of Storytelling

(

Graney-Saucke

)

- Current Quarter | 2024-2025 | Summer 2025

Track Neutral | Meets Law & Ethics Requirement | 5 Credits
Thursdays 6/26-8/21, 6:00pm – 9:50pm | CMU 126
SLN: 10756

Course Description

Ethics plays a critical role in how we tell stories. What values are behind the story? Who is telling the story, and for whom? What is the intended outcome, and what could the potential impact be? What are the ethics around new media technology like deep fake as we continue to take stories at face value?

Ethics and subjective bias in storytelling can also be complex, and thus they require our attention and reflection in responsible and responsive creative communications. This course will address various storytelling mediums and scenarios where ethics in storytelling are actively at play. Students will engage in critical discourse and assignments to assess values that impact ethical decisions personally and professionally. Assigned media and reading material as well as student sourced case studies will be used in order to ensure diverse and current content. As a conclusion to the class, students will create a final video, audio, web or UX project that engages an ethical challenge.

Meets Law & Ethics requirement.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 560: Communication for Change Management

(

Hall

)

- 2020-2021 | Autumn

Track Neutral | 3 Credits
Mondays 10/5-12/7, 6:00pm – 8:20pm | Online

Course Description:

The world we live in continues to change at an intense rate. In order to succeed in this uncertain future, organizations must adapt to tough market conditions by changing their strategies, their structures and infrastructures, their boundaries, their mindsets, their leadership behaviors and of course their expectations of the people who work within them. The COVID-19 pandemic has shocked the global health care system and the global economy. The Seattle Times reported in April 2020 that the global economy will suffer the worst year since the Great Depression of 1930.  There could not be a more critical time to take a course on change management. Key skills taught in this course will prepare a professional for the shifting workforce.  Upon completing the course, students will be able to guide organizations to implement change management programs that support employees and reflect organizational culture.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 562: Communication for Advocacy

(

Parikh

)

- 2020-2021 | Winter

MCCN Elective | Meets Law & Ethics Requirement | 5 Credits
Thursdays 1/7-3/11 | 6:00pm – 9:50pm | Online

Course Description:

This course is focused on”integrated advocacy,” which is a strategy of communicating one’s advocacy efforts through multiple channels – like the marriage equality movement, net neutrality efforts by Google, Facebook and Netflix, and the passage of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. You will develop part of an integrated advocacy campaign working for a client in this class. Real-life challenges and advocacy needs of our clients will allow us to use integrated advocacy model in an applied sense. We will build stories around goals and solutions. We will come up with advocacy tactics and create an advocacy campaign that will ignite change. This is a hands-on course. The course will help you develop immersive storytelling skills, and practice community organizing. You will learn persuasive communication and engagement methods, and how to pack a punch with a campaign aimed at making change. Guest speakers and mentors with experience spearheading campaigns will serve as guides throughout the quarter. The course will culminate with a short advocacy pitch session.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 542: Distributed and Diverse Teams

(

Chang

)

- 2020-2021 | Spring

Track Neutral Elective | 5 Credits
Saturdays/Sundays 4/10, 4/11, 4/24, 5/23, 9:00AM PST – 5:00PM PST | Online

Course Description:

Through this practical and applied course, students will build their leadership and communication effectiveness to work in distributed teams at the global, national, or local levels. With increasing interconnectedness that builds larger and more complex teams and also reduces face/face time of those teams, competencies in distributed leadership are a rapidly evolving must-have set in any professional context but especially in the field of communications. And yet opportunities to sharpen those nuanced skills remain less than optimal. Students will embark on a full-immersion experience by working in distributed teams using a combination of relevant practical materials and readings, ongoing team and individual assignments, personal self-reflection and improved self-awareness and the planning and execution of a class-wise exercise such as a strategy retreat or other learning event. Topics covered will include project planning, goal setting, managing through direct and indirect influence and communicating with impact over the e-highways. Distributed team technology will anchor the students together as they move through coursework that will help them to stretch, struggle, and succeed. By the end of the course, students will be able to not only recognize their progression but will also be able to more effectively articulate the related competencies using terminology and language relevant for professional pursuits. Please note that this course models distributed team leadership in that students will have a weekly distributed leadership team call and work in addition to the 4 on-site classes; this applied approach to the course offers deeper leadership transformation as well as practical skill development.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 540: Crisis and Risk Communication in Public Health Contexts

(

Wang

)

- 2021-2022 | Summer

MCCN Elective | Meets Law & Ethics Requirement | 5 Credits
Thursdays 6/24-8/19, 6:00PM – 9:50PM PDT | Online

Course Description:

 More than any other public health crises in recent memory, the COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes the necessity of effective health, risk and crisis communication. With the pandemic reaching all corners of the globe, no population or industry has been untouched, resulting in many swift and powerful narratives about the consequences of COVID-19. Whether in the midst of a global crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic or enduring more localized health impacts, every day public health information is generated and made available to the public about diseases, public policies, new products, and corporate behavior. People are accessing this information in real time by means of traditional news, online media, social media and word of mouth. The public’s near-instant access to this unfiltered information presents significant new risks, particularly surrounding misinformation, drawing conclusions from wrong or impartial information, and disinformation, deliberately spreading falsehoods to further an agenda. Additional risks include reputation damage for organizations and leaders that are not responding effectively to COVID-19, have negative impacts on health or the environment, or ineffective policy outcomes when health-related guidance is misunderstood or ignored. During times of crisis messaging can be lost in the noise, resulting in unintended consequences, rejected messages, or public fear and confusion.

In this course students will learn about risk communication in public health. Risk communication, a field that emerged in the 1980’s, has been used for both strategic and unplanned communications linked to the introduction of new technologies and products, environmental contamination, disease outbreaks, disasters, consumer products, drug and food safety, safety measures and devices, and new breakthroughs. Events linked to terrorism as well as a number of major natural disasters over the past few years have increased attention to this area. While during non-crisis periods, ineffective risk communication can result in low-impact, wasted resources, and other undesirable outcomes. When deployed effectively, risk communication is an invaluable tool for engendering trust, protecting organizational value, and helping the public make informed decisions. Emphasis in the course is on research and professional practices especially in regards to how to communicate with the general public, special populations, and the news media. The purpose of this course is to provide students with a variety of knowledge and skills they need to interpret risk and crisis communication in public health contexts, develop critical and rigorous thinking capabilities, and design productive and effective risk communication messages that improve communication outcomes, reduce public anxiety, increase trust in organizations and leadership, and help key stakeholders make better decisions.

Meets Law & Ethics requirement.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 558: Law and Policy

(

Baker

)

- 2021-2022 | Autumn 2021

MCDM Track | Meets Law & Ethics Requirement | 5 Credits
Tuesdays 10/05-12/07, 6:00PM – 9:50PM PDT | CMU 230
Registration SLN: 23205

Course Description:

This course looks at how 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.

Meets Law & Ethics Requirement.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 560 C: Designing Inclusive Workplace Culture

(

Williams

)

- 2021-2022 | Winter 2022

MCCN Elective | 5 Credits
Thursdays 1/6 – 3/10, 6:00PM – 9:50PM | Online
Registration SLN: 22074

Course Description:

Workplace culture is dynamic. It’s not about ping-pong tables and unlimited time off. Inclusive and effective culture is critical to how we design the future of work. How we connect and work together impacts everything from how we feel, to our ability to meet the mission of our work. Communication leaders are uniquely situated to effect positive cultural change, no matter the role or the organization. In this course students will learn the “5 components of Inclusive Culture,” a signature framework developed over 15 years of experience helping organizations, startups, small businesses, and emerging companies build inclusive workplaces. Students will learn and apply this step-by-step methodology to build a culture plan for a company of their choice.

{ Expand Course Description + }

COMMLD 530B: Ethics of Storytelling

(

Graney-Saucke

)

- 2021-2022 | Spring 2022

Track Neutral | Meets Law & Ethics Requirement | 5 Credits
Wednesdays 6:00PM – 9:50PM, 3/30-6/1 | DEN 111 | Partially In-Person
Registration SLN: 21729

Course Description:

Ethics plays a critical role in how we tell stories. What values are behind the story? Who is telling the story, and for whom? What is the intended outcome, and what could the potential impact be? What are the ethics around new media technology like deep fake as we continue to take stories at face value?

Ethics and subjective bias in storytelling can also be complex, and thus they require our attention and reflection in responsible and responsive creative communications. This course will address various storytelling mediums and scenarios where ethics in storytelling are actively at play. Students will engage in critical discourse and assignments to assess values that impact ethical decisions personally and professionally. Assigned media and reading material as well as student sourced case studies will be used in order to ensure diverse and current content. As a conclusion to the class, students will create a final video, audio, web or UX project that engages an ethical challenge.

Instructor: Elliat Graney-Saucke
elliatgs@uw.edu

Elliat Graney-Saucke (she/they) is a white queer femme documentary director/producer, creative sector consultant, industry curator, and educator. While producing media in the US, Germany, Denmark, England, Poland, Serbia, Italy, Spain, Canada, and Israel/Palestine over the span of 20 years, Elliat’s work has focused on marginalized cultural identities. Upon returning from spending the majority of ten years in Berlin, Germany, Elliat served as the first Executive Director of Seattle Documentary Association, organizing industry gatherings involving partnerships with the Wenatchi Tribe and the Washington Film Commission. Seasoned in working with communities and organizational stakeholders internationally, Elliat has produced and curated over 10 culturally specific creative arts festivals and conferences encompassing over 45 nationalities, leading to additional projects like editing the international anthology Innovate Heritage – A Time-Lapse: Contemporary Arts and Heritage in Today’s Society (Springer). Industry and research focus areas include: documentary film industry, storytelling ethics, intangible/tangible and uncomfortable heritage, international diplomacy (UNESCO), creative economy and policy, incarceration, decolonizing the mind, queer/lgbtqai culture and theory, oral history and intergenerational knowledge exchange, and embodied cultural, racial, and geographic equity/justice. Current documentary productions include Boys on the Inside, about three Latinx ‘boys’ who have experienced incarceration in women’s prisons, and Safta, about a holocaust survivor and her close yet complex relationship to her activist granddaughter.

{ Expand Course Description + }

Contact Us

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

Comm Lead Student Handbook
Privacy Policy

Stay Connected

Apply Now

Get Updates on Admissions

University of Washington

Department of Communication

© Copyright 2025 Department of Communication. University of Washington

© Copyright 2025 Department of Communication. University of Washington