Web Design & Online Communication
The College of Journalism and Communications offers an online Master of Arts in Mass Communication with a specialization in Web Design & Online Communication. This program is designed working professionals advance and enrich their careers by earning a graduate degree. Taught by the top instructors in their field, this program provides students the skill sets that are necessary to compete in today's job market. This program is online, so students can achieve their education and career goals without having to compromise their family and work commitments.
About
The Web Design and Online Communication program is a professionally focused master's program designed to prepare students for career advancement and development. Creative courses emphasize both the skills needed to create Web sites and the design principles needed to make them effective, attractive, and useful.
Among our program's many benefits:
-
Our instructors are an exciting mix of Web-savvy professionals and educators who know the latest ideas and trends in Web design.
-
Learning online means there is no need for you to relocate to Gainesville. Take classes at night while you continue to work anywhere in the world.
-
No thesis. Instead, you will create an online portfolio of Web work that shows the world your skills as a Web designer.
-
Creative classes that are taught live. You'll see your teacher and your classmates right on your computer. Ask questions, offer comments and show your most recent work to your classmates. It all will be possible in our exciting Adobe Connect learning environment.
Click on the video for a demonstration of the online classroom
Courses
Design and Management Courses
MMC 5xxx Web Design Principles (4 credits)
By the end of this course you will be comfortable creating, coding and posting basic HTML and CSS files to the Internet. Equipped with a historical understanding of the web's evolution and key industry-standard design guidelines to ensure strong online presentation, you will have a foundational knowledge of website creation and apply it to the planning, design and development of your own web page over the course of the semester. Critical thinking will be encouraged through your class interactions, projects, and online postings.
Meet the instructor: Rebecca Rolfe
VIC 5325 Digital Imagery in Web Design (4 credits)
This course will familiarize students with the development and impact of imagery in interactive media. Students will learn how visual 'language' is the basis for developing contextual symbolic meanings that are shared throughout a culture. Semiotics, information design and persuasive communication will be explored in this course. Students will develop communicative images using their knowledge gained through lectures, discussions and Photoshop training.
Meet the instructor: Helena Angell
VIC5315 Corporate and Brand Identity on the Web (3 credits)
This course synthesizes two different but complementary tools of communication: graphic design and assembly (both print and electronic). You will learn the fundamental design principles and techniques for effective visual communication. These principles and techniques are applied, through projects, to achieve a communication objective across different platforms. Students can expect a practical, hands-on experience. A key tool for creating your digital work in this course is Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator is an effective tool for creating original artwork, designing logos, banners, icons and navigational elements for online and print. The artwork can then easily be exported to the Web or imported into other programs.
Meet the Instructor: Lianne Jepson
VIC 5326 Digital Media Layout and Design (3 credits)
There is little doubt that the effectiveness of a mediated message is, in part, determined by its design and execution. For this reason, layout principles are as important in digital media as they are in the world of print. This course introduces you to the skills and concepts that will help you create documents for both print and interactivity. Using Adobe InDesign, you will apply your understanding of color, type, layout, and design to create a portfolio project. While InDesign permits several possible workflows, this course will focus on those that most readily translate into digital design.
Meet the instructor: Christine Simon
MMC 5xxx Web Interactivity and Engagement (3 credits)
This course will provide insight to the effective use of interactive design. Through the discussion of ideas and concepts, you will learn how to engage the user while using interactivity in applicable and creative ways. You will learn to understand the functionalities behind interactive elements and use them effectively, develop/improve the application of interactive technologies (Flash, CSS), embrace the demands of adaptive and responsive design: to cater to computers/tablets/smartphones, discover the importance of knowing and understanding the user and content, view the whole picture: navigation, structure, data, functionality, hierarchy, and interactivity as one.
MMC 5xxx Advanced Web Topics 1: Advanced Design (4 credits)
In this course, students will delve more deeply into the processes of website design. Students may expect to come away from the course with a thorough understanding of issues specific to web-based presentations such as accessibility standards, insight into working with clients and site management techniques.
Meet the instructor: Peggi Rodgers
MMC 5xxx Advanced Web Topics 2: Programming and Specialized Topics (4 credits)
Students will be introduced to basic programming concepts utilizing JavaScript. The class will give hands-on experience in writing small programs, programming terminology, concepts, and best practices. Students will learn to write programs using such constructs as loops, statements, variables, and functions. Good programming habits will be covered, as well as program design, flow charting and architecture, and debugging techniques. The second half of the class will introduce students to basic JavaScript constructs and methodologies. Students will learn to script forms, work with rollovers and other interactive web page functionality. This portion of the course will utilize concepts learned in the first half and apply them to JavaScript in order to write programs for use in a web environment.
Meet the instructor: Peggi Rodgers
Core Theory and Methods Courses
MMC 6xxx Digital Communication Theory (3 credits)
The purpose of this course is to explore the theoretical foundations of new media communication. We will trace the development of communication theories. We will also look at how the communication theories apply to new media research. In this course, you will: develop a working knowledge of theories that explain the world of mass media and users of the media, develop a working knowledge of theories that explain digital media communications, critically evaluate theories as applied to digital media communication problems, and develop a detailed understanding of a particular theoretical approach.
MMC 5427 Research Methods in Digital Communications (3 credits)
This course is designed to make you think strategically about how, why and with whom you interact via digital media. By the end of the course you should have fundamental understanding of research tools that will help you both plan for and evaluate the effectiveness of online communication methods including a multitude of social media and web tools. You will understand Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and the consequences – costs and benefits - of local and global messaging and interactivity.
MMC 5xxx Strategic Communication: Ethics and Concepts (3 credits)
This course introduces you to the discipline of strategic communications and the ethical issues that can arise from its practice. Students are given a background in important concepts in strategic communication, including branding, target audiences, technologies of strategic communication, the history and evolution of strategic communication, and other topics. Armed with this knowledge, students are introduced to the schools of ethical thought, and apply these to real-world strategic communications contexts.
MMC 5xxx Capstone (3 credits)
Your final course in the program will require you demonstrate what you can integrate and apply all important facets of what you've learned in your courses. Students will identify a real non-profit organization that requires a Web Designer. During the semester, you will create a strategic plan for using design to solve an important problem for the non-profit organization. You will then execute a Web project that helps the non-profit to achieve its strategic communications objectives.
Course Sequence
Part-time students
| Semester 1 | Semester 2 | Semester 3 |
|---|
| Web Design Principles |
Corporate and Brand Identity on the Web |
Advanced Web Topics 1 |
| Digital Imagery in Web Design |
Digital Media Layout and Design |
Research Methods in Digital Communication |
| Semester 4 | Semester 5 | Semester 6 |
|---|
| Web Interactivity and Engagement |
Digital Communication Theory |
Capstone Class |
| Advanced Web Topics 2 |
Strategic Communication |
|
Full-time students
| Semester 1 | Semester 2 | Semester 3 |
|---|
| Web Design Principles |
Advanced Web Topics 1 |
Digital Communication Theory |
| Digital Imagery in Web Design |
Research Methods in Digital Communication |
Strategic Communication |
| Corporate and Brand Identity on the Web |
Web Interactivity and Engagement |
Capstone Class |
| Digital Media Layout and Design |
Advanced Web Topics 2 |
|
More Information
Degree Plan Document
Computer Requirements
Several of the online courses use Adobe Connect to deliver state-of-the-art lessons in design for the Web. Students must have access to an internet-connected computer and a Web cam. Students will be required to have two monitors for their live classes. All students must have a copy of the Adobe CS5 suite of software tools.
-
Suggested web cam: Logitech Webcam Pro 9000
-
Academic priced Adobe CS5
Students residing in the U.S. will be mailed a microphone/headset combo for no additional cost.
Tuition
All students, whether a Florida resident or if you reside out-of-state, pay $550 per credit.
Apply
Minimum Requirements for Acceptance
-
Applicants must have a baccalaureate degree
-
2 years of relevant professional communications experience
-
A undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better
The Graduate School, University of Florida, requires both a minimum grade average of B for all upper-division undergraduate work and a minimum verbal-quantitative total score on the General Test of the Graduate Record Examination. Applicants are expected to have received a minimum grade average of B for all core courses within the Journalism and Mass Communications area and their area of special interest.
Admission is determined by several factors beyond the application material including space availability, and supervisory availability particularly in specialized areas. Meeting the minimum application requirements does not guarantee acceptance.
Direct admission to the Graduate School is dependent upon presentation of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university. Two copies of the official undergraduate transcript should accompany all applications—one for the department and one for the Registrar. These transcripts must be received directly from the registrar of the institution in which the work was done. Official supplementary transcripts are required as soon as they are available for any work completed after application for admission has been made.
Test Score Requirements: The program typically admits students with a 550 / 156 verbal and 550 / 146 quantitative GRE score.
Begin your application here →
More Information