Mass Communication


St. Patrick’s Building 310
Telephone: 520-7408
Fax: 520-6690

The Program


Associate Director:
Paul Attallah
Supervisor of Graduate Studies:
Vincent Mosco

The Mass Communication program of the School of Journalism and Communication offers a program of studies leading to a Master of Arts degree in Communication. Courses covering four areas of concentration are offered:

Additional information may be obtained by consulting the supervisor of graduate studies.

Qualifying–Year Program

Applicants who lack an honours degree, but have a pass degree with honours standing (a minimum B standing overall) may be considered for admission to a qualifying-year program. Students who complete the qualifying year with high honours standing may be considered for admission to the master’s program in the following year. Refer to the General Regulations section of this Calendar for regulations governing the qualifying year.

Master of Arts

Admission Requirements

The minimum requirement for admission to the master’s program is an honours bachelor’s degree or the equivalent, with high honours standing in communication or a related discipline. Related disciplines may include sociology, political science, film studies, and Canadian studies.

Applicants without a background in communication studies may be required to take certain designated courses from the undergraduate mass communication program in addition to their regular program.

Possession of the minimum entrance standing is not in itself, however, an assurance of admission into the program.

Program Requirements

Each student, in consultation with the supervisor of graduate studies, will be required to follow a thesis or a non-thesis program for a total of 5.0 credits. Two of the four areas of concentration must be chosen.

In selecting their program of studies, all students will be required to take Communication 27.511: Foundations of Communication Studies. Students may take one optional course (1.0 credit) outside the program, with permission of the supervisor of graduate studies.

All master’s students are required to complete:

Optional Courses

Note: Students may take up to 1.0 credit outside the program with permission of the supervisor of graduate studies.

Academic Standing

A standing of B– or better must be obtained in each credit counted towards the master’s degree.

Graduate Courses*

The following is a list of all courses in mass communication at the graduate level. Please note that not all courses are offered every year. Students should consult the University and School timetables published early in July.

  • Communication 27.511T2
    Foundations of Communication Studies
    This course undertakes an examination of the historical emergence of communication studies in North America. It examines specific problematics and theoretical paradigms as they relate to their contexts of emergence and their underlying logics. It deals with the methodological debates which have occurred between various schools over the competing definitions of communication, and over the broader question of the centrality of communication to society.

  • Communication 27.521F1 or W1
    History of Social Communication
    An examination of how major changes in the institutions and technologies of communication have affected the development of western society from the medieval period to the present day. Consideration is given to relevant theoretical studies on communication as well as to selected works on social and cultural history.

  • Communication 27.523F1 or W1
    Communication Technology and Society
    The course examines the social and cultural significance of communication and information technology (e.g., computers, television, telecommunication). It examines how these technologies influence and are influenced by major social institutions (e.g., business, government, entertainment) and by cultural practices.

  • Communication 27.525F1 or W1
    Communication and Social Relations
    The course provides a detailed analysis of communication processes and practices and the way in which they produce and reproduce the social contexts and relations of gender, age, ethnicity, and political and other socio-cultural attachments. The course explores major theoretical contributions to the understanding of this relationship and considers a number of specific case studies and empirical research findings.

  • Communication 27.531F1 or W1
    Communication Institutions, Cultural Industries and State Policy
    The course examines the economic and industrial organization of communication and cultural production in Canada. It introduces students to political economy analysis and institutional analysis of the communication and cultural industries. The course covers the historical development of communication institutions and enterprises, the governing logics and mechanisms of operation, and the role of state agencies in this sector. The course will, among other things, study the notions of market and mandate, labour and leisure, and consumption and choice. The course also considers the state, both as an actor and as a field of intervention in the socio-economic development of communication, and the processes of policy making as they concern contemporary Canadian debates.

  • Communication 27.555F1 or W1
    Communication Media
    A research seminar which focuses critically upon one of the communication media (such as radio, television, film, telecommunications, publishing, etc.) with a view to understanding its history, forms and genres, and social uses.

  • Communication 27.556F1 or W1
    International Communication
    This course addresses the institutions, processes, and policies in international communication. It does so by discussing the development of global news, mass entertainment, advertising, and telecommunication systems. The course examines public and private international organizations that create media and make international communication policy. It addresses critical issues including the relationship between the freedom to communicate and national sovereignty, the role of international media coverage in world politics, and the impact of global media technologies on traditional cultures.

  • Communication 27.557F1 or W1
    History of Canadian Broadcasting
    An examination of the development of public and private radio and television broadcasting in Canada in both English and French from the 1920s to the present day. Consideration will be given to changes in the structure and regulation of the Canadian broadcasting system; the evolution of broadcast technology; developments within areas of programming such as news, public affairs, drama, women’s interests, and children’s programs; the role of special services such as the CBC Northern Service and Radio Canada International; and controversies such as the debate over Canadian content regulations. Each student will be expected to write a seminar paper based in part on original research using primary source materials such as archival documents, oral history interviews, and extant program tapes.

  • Communication 27.558F1 or W1
    Mass, Public, Audience
    This course examines the emergence and evolution of conceptions of modern social organization through the key concepts of mass, public, and audience. It looks at how and why shifts in the understanding of social organization occur, how and why these shifts are theorized, and the implications for communication study.

  • Communication 27.559F1 or W1
    Media, Culture and Gender
    This course examines the various theoretical positions which underlie the debates on the production and reproduction of gender relations through communication processes and communication institutions. It addresses current research issues in the feminist debates on culture and communication and explores the possibilities for a feminist politics of communication.

  • Communication 27.565F1 or W1
    Special Topics in Communication Research
    The course considers a variety of research protocols and procedures which may include: research organization; documentary research techniques; strategies in textual analysis, including content analysis and thematic analysis; qualitative techniques, including interviewing, observation, and ethnography; quantitative methods, including questionnaires, coding procedures, and statistical analysis; and writing organization and style.

  • Communication 27.589F1, W1, S1
    Directed Research
    The student, working under faculty direction, will develop and undertake a research project in order to study a particular subject area.

  • Communication 27.590F1, W1, S1
    Directed Studies
    Tutorials or directed readings in selected areas of communication. The student will present papers as the basis for discussion with the tutor.

  • Communication 27.598F2, W2, S2
    Research Essay

  • Communication 27.599F4, W4, S4
    M.A. Thesis

    Selection of Courses in Related
    Disciplines

    In addition to courses offered by the Mass Communication program, the following courses may, with the prior approval of the supervisor of graduate studies, be used to complete program requirements. This list is not exclusive and is subject to change. Students should be aware that enrolment in these courses may be limited and that registration may be conditional upon obtaining prior approval of the department concerned. Note: It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that permission is obtained from the appropriate department prior to registering in any of the department’s courses.

    Canadian Studies

    12.510 Northern and Native Issues

    12.520 Women’s Studies

    12.530 Canadian Culture and Cultural Policy

    Economics

    43.533 Regulation and Public Enterprise

    Geography

    45.543 Selected Concepts in Cultural Geography

    Journalism and Communication

    28.500 Journalism and Society I

    28.560 Journalism and Society II

    Political Economy

    44.500 Theories of Political Economy

    44.501 The Methodology of Political Economy

    Political Science

    47.403 Politics and the Media

    47.504 Policy Making in Canada

    47.541 Canadian Public Administration and Policy Analysis

    Sociology

    53.525 Canadian Society

    53.536 Cultural Studies

    53.538 Feminist Analyses

    53.539 Cultural Theory  

    53.554 Selected Problems in Political Economy I

    53.555 Selected Problems in Political Economy II