Online Bachelor’s in Strategic Communications

Earn Your Newhouse Undergraduate Degree Online 

As a student in the online bachelor’s in strategic communications program, you’ll attend classes from anywhere and on your own timeline. This four-year degree, taught online by the same world-class Newhouse professors who teach on campus, is ideal for those balancing work, family or other commitments. The program will equip you with the skills needed for success in the competitive and ever-changing communications landscape.  

Online Strategic Communications B.S. From Newhouse

This multifaceted program delivers courses rooted in communications, advertising, public relations and visual communications. Classes cover crucial aspects of communications, like data-driven insights, ethics, storytelling and theoretical applications. In addition, you’ll explore the essentials of advertising and PR—campaign research, design and execution. The curriculum offers an interdisciplinary approach to strategic communications. You will graduate prepared to drive positive brand recognition in the forefront of your industry.   

100% Online. 100% Newhouse.

The strategic communications bachelor’s is 100% an online program and 100% a Newhouse education. The coursework was designed by Newhouse professors, based on standards set by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC).  

Your online B.S. in strategic communications diploma will come from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. The diploma will be identical to those earned on campus, carrying the same prestige and recognition as any other undergraduate Newhouse degree. You will be a part of the Newhouse alumni network, which includes some of the most powerful and successful communications professionals in the world. 

Details of the Online B.S. in Strategic Communications

• Bachelor of strategic communications undergraduate degree, 120 credits
• 100% online
• Three start dates a year
• Transfer up to 60 credits
• Study part time
• Eight-week courses
• Take up to four classes within a full 16-week semester
• Blend of asynchronous and synchronous learning

Courses in Strategic Communications

Core courses cover a wide range of foundational communications topics. 

• Fundamentals of Strategic Communications — Strategic communicators work with a toolbox filled with different and complementary tools to do their jobs. Each tool has particular strengths and weaknesses—the key to success is figuring out which tool or combination of tools will more efficiently and effectively accomplish your goal.
• Digital Analytics for Strategic Communications — As the digital media landscape evolves, this course will investigate the evolution of media technologies and explore how digital and social media platforms and strategies drive innovation in communications. The course will focus on how to collect and analyze data on digital platforms and interpret impacts on individual identities and connections between people, society and communications professions.
• Trends and Tech in Media — Students will explore how different areas of technology come together in strategic communications (audio production, artificial intelligence (AI), user experience (UX) design, etc.), and how these components can be used to shape messaging. The course explores how communicators can use AI and other technological advances to develop this messaging without having to learn complex programming.
• Foundations of Media, Content and Planning — A comprehensive study of how brands are managed and grown using multiple media vehicles. Students create media content and plan for the most efficient and effective ways to distribute that content. This course will help students learn the strengths and weaknesses of different media choices as well as the basics of developing and producing these media assets.  
• Multimedia production for communications — A multimedia production class providing students an understanding of the components of storytelling and the technical skills to produce audio and visual content for public relations, advertising, marketing and other communications campaigns. By exploring the production of media, students can make informed decisions on how to develop specific media for a particular platform.

Careers in Strategic Communications

Graduates of the strategic communications program will be prepared to pursue a variety of careers in the communications field including: 

• Advertising Account Management
• Advertising Manager / Director Public Relations Manager
• Advertising Research & Account Planning 
• Brand Management
• Corporate Affairs Manager
• Director of Communications
• Digital Media Strategist
• Internal or External Affairs Manager
• Marketing Communications Director
• Media Director
• Public Affairs Specialist
• Public Relations Manager
• Publicist
• Spokesperson

Contact Us

For more information about the the B.S. in strategic communications, contact the Newhouse online program at nhonline@syr.edu.