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Communication Studies (MA)

Communication Studies (MA)

Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, Faculty of Arts

Waterloo

In Person

Co‑op

Our Master of Arts (MA) in Communication Studies program seeks students with open minds to explore new approaches to media, communication and culture in a challenging, rewarding and supportive environment.

Exploring the interplay of power and communication, our program provides advanced training in core theories and methodologies in communication studies and critically engages contemporary research themes in the discipline.

Program Highlights

Our program is animated by interdisciplinary faculty with expertise in areas such as alternative media, cultural and creative industries, digital cultures, global media, health communication, media history, mobilities, popular music, social media, visual communication, and beyond.
We offer small class sizes, passionate teachers, careful mentors, competitive funding, and excellent professional development opportunities, including a co-op option.
Our graduates are our program’s success stories. They pursue doctoral degrees and launch meaningful professional communication careers in a variety of public-sector, non-profit, and private-sector organizations.

Program Details

Research and Theory in Communication Studies

Our program is a critical “Communication Studies” one, in contrast to a business/administrative “Communications” one. The courses and structure of the program focus on learning academic research skills and critical theory, rather than on business aspects such as learning the skills of marketing and public relations.

While critical theory can, and does, inform numerous diverse career paths, including those in business/administrative communications, please read prospective course descriptions and Major Research Paper / Thesis titles to better understand our program’s approach to analyzing the important role of communication in society.

Program Structure

The MA in Communication Studies offers three options of study: major research paper and coursework; thesis and coursework; and coursework only. A co-operative education (co-op) program, with limited enrolment, is open to full-time students in any of the three options. The program is normally completed in 12 months (16 months with co-op) and must be completed within 24 months for full-time students. Applications for part-time study will also be considered.

The Major Research Paper (MRP) option is the default for admission. All students are accepted to this option and may apply to change to the thesis or coursework option after consultation with the graduate coordinator.

All students must complete two required courses: CS600: Graduate Seminar in Communication Studies and CS601: Communication Studies Research Methods.

The MA in Communication Studies program offers a Co-operative Education option. Co-op students have the unique opportunity to obtain paid employment and professional communication experience in non-profit organizations, the public sector, community groups, and organizations in creative industries. Co-op students are encouraged to pursue work terms in sectors and roles that align with their research interests.

The co-op option is a competitive entry and a limited enrolment option available to full-time students. Students in the co-op option complete their coursework in the fall and winter terms (September to April), have their co-op work term in the spring/summer (May to August), and write their major research paper or thesis in the subsequent fall semester (September to December), typically completing all MA program requirements in approximately 16 months.

How to Apply

Applicants indicate their interest in being considered for co-op when they apply to the MA program. Admission to the co-op option is not guaranteed by admission to the MA program in Communication Studies. Laurier’s Co-op Office may conduct interviews with shortlisted applicants and makes co-op option admission decisions.

Students who apply to the co-op option should not apply to the regular stream separately. If the co-op application is not recommended by Laurier’s Co-op Office, the application will be moved to the regular stream by the department.

Work Term Process

The Co-op Office administers the work term application process. Students are required to apply to job postings and interview with prospective employers. While employment cannot be guaranteed, every effort is made to ensure that suitable employment is available for students admitted to the option. Students are welcome to seek out employment positions independently; however, these positions must be approved by the Co-op Office in order to be designated as co-op work terms.

Co-op students are required to pay co-op fees. Following their work term, co-op students are also required to submit to the graduate coordinator a short paper about their employment experience in relation to their coursework and/or research project. Co-op students must be registered in at least one elective course, CS695: Major Research Paper or CS699: Thesis in their final semester in the program.

Additional information and regulations are available on the Co-op website.

Research

Recent Papers

Here’s a small sample of MA Theses and Major Research Papers (MRPs) completed by our graduates:

Beauty Boys: The Aesthetic Labour of Transformation
The Appification of Work
vitaminwater® Uncapped: Better Lives through Better Self-Regulation
The Commercialization of Facebook: The Exploitation of Free Labour and the Commodification of Sociability
WikiLeaks: A Vehicle for Pursuing Accountability for Public Bodies, Transparency, and Fact?
Facebook Me! Corporeality, Identity, and Gender on Facebook
Reveling in Urban Transformation: Toronto’s Scotiabank Nuit Blanche
Multiculturalism in the Canadian News Media: Analyzing the Shariah Law Debate in Ontario
Nonverbal Communication in Disney Pixar Films
Exploring the Threshold: Investigating Space and Place in Toronto’s Doors Open Event
Policy Communication and Zoning Processes: A Case Study of the City of Kitchener’s Warehouse District
Being International: Cosmopolitan Identities and International Students at a Canadian University
Getting Lost En Route to Adulthood: Problematizing and Reinventing the Millennial Generation in Quarterlife Crisis Self-Help Literature
Discourses of Liminality in Afrofuturist Hip-Hop Albums of MF Doom, Dr. Octagon, and Deltron Zero
Positions on Anonymous: Tricksterism, Autonomist Marxism, and Online Dissent
Click, Converse, Consume: How Corporate Fans are Produced at the Click of a Button
Assessing Unpaid Internships in Canada’s Magazine Industry

Course Offerings

Required Courses

We offer six courses each year. CS600 and CS601 are required courses. You must also register for CS695 or CS699 while working on your major research paper or thesis.

You are allowed to take up to 1.0 credit from other graduate programs with approval from the graduate coordinator. In the past, Communication Studies MA students have taken graduate courses in programs such as Cultural Analysis and Social Theory, English and Film Studies, and Applied Politics.

2025/26 Course Offerings

CS600: Graduate Seminar in Communication Studies
CS601: Communication Studies Research Methods
CS640i Platform Studies
CS640k Sound, Aurality and Power
CS640w Mapping Communication Studies
CS640x Decolonizing Feminism

If you would like to learn more, full course descriptions are available.

"Through the program, I was able to refine my research, analytical and communications skills while developing collegial relationships with faculty and classmates, that helped secure my current position as a doctoral candidate in the Social and Behaviour Health Sciences Program at the University of Toronto."

Laura Neil (MA '17)

Admissions

Take the first step in your graduate education and apply to one of our graduate programs. Follow our three-step admission process — we’ll walk you through how to apply and prepare for your first day as a graduate student.

Start: Fall (September)
Format: Full-time
Application opens: Oct. 1 (domestic and international applicants)
Application deadline:
- Co-op Option: Jan. 15 (first consideration) or Mar. 30 (both domestic and international applicants)
- Major Research Paper or Thesis: Jan. 15 (first consideration), Mar. 30 (international applicants) or May 30 (domestic applicants)

Your Next Steps

Questions? Contact Jonathan Finn, graduate coordinator, at csgrad@wlu.ca.

Explore Our Graduate Faculty Tuition and Funding Apply Now

"The MA program in Communication Studies at Laurier helped prepare me for my academic and professional goals in numerous ways, thanks to immensely supportive faculty who contributed to my learning and development."

Kathy Dobson

Waterloo Campus

This program is available on Laurier's Waterloo campus.

Laurier Waterloo is where tradition, innovation and incredible school spirit collide.

The Waterloo campus spans one large city block, ensuring you’re close to your classes, favourite study spots, student services and favourite coffee shops. Laurier is a leading force in research among Canadian universities, and many of our research centres and institutes are housed in Waterloo.

We offer the guidance and support you need to thrive academically and personally throughout your degree.

Discover Laurier Waterloo for yourself:

Tuition and Funding

Winners of major external awards (OGS and Tri-Council) may be eligible for top-up funding which includes the Dean’s Graduate Scholarship (total value exceeds $10,000).

Eligible domestic students admitted to study on a full-time basis are entitled to one year of funding totalling, on average, $15,000. This support may be made up of teaching assistantships, internal/external scholarships, and/or faculty-funded studentships or research assistantships.

Domestic applicants are also encouraged to submit applications for the Canada Graduate Scholarships – Masters category (CGS-M) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

While we cannot offer guaranteed funding to international students at this time, all international and domestic applicants are encouraged to apply for the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) by Jan. 31, 2024.

A list of all funding opportunities available to Laurier graduate students is available on our graduate funding webpage.

Careers

Our graduates have gone on to work in education, public relations and communications. Examples of jobs held by our graduates include:

national social media specialist for a cancer charity
journalist for national newspapers and television
social and digital strategist for an advertising agency
strategic communication
product content copywriter
communication and education manager
magazine editor
professor of communication studies (university and college)
marketing and communications coordinator
concert booker for event planning and talent agency

Your Path to Post-Degree Success

ASPIRE is Laurier's professional skills development training program for graduate students. The program helps you craft an individualized, extracurricular learning plan tailored to your professional journey and entry to the workplace.

Research Chat Podcast Showcasing Graduate Students

ASPIRE: Graduate Student Support, Skills and Training

Laurier Off-Campus Housing Resources and Initiatives

Faculty

Learn about the interests of our faculty members. If you are looking for more information about this program, have questions, or want to set up a meeting, contact a member of our team.

Alexandra Boutros
Associate Professor

Diaspora and globalization
Critical cultural theory
Religion and media
Digital, social, alternative media studies
Social movements
Popular culture
Popular music
Critical race theory

Shaunasea Brown
Assistant Professor

Black (Canadian) Studies
Black Feminism and Womanism
Arts Praxis
Black Women’s Hair Politics
African Diasporic Aesthetics
Radical Care Ethics

Check out Shaunasea Brown's podcast episode on building collective classroom care.

Colleen Kim Daniher
Assistant Professor

Communication Arts
Feminist and decolonial media studies
Theatre and performance studies
Critical race and critical ethnic studies
Race and visual culture
Perception, Sensorium, and Embodiment
Cultural memory, history, historiography
Popular culture (including food, fashion, and dance)
Nationalism and Imperialism
Regional foci: transnational Americas, global Asias

Greig de Peuter
Associate Professor

Political economy of communication
Cultural and creative industries
Cultural work
Digital labour
Collective organizing
Co-operatives

Jonathan Finn
Professor, Graduate Coordinator

Sport and media
Self-tracking
Surveillance
History and theory of photography
Visual communication and culture

Jenna Hennebry
Professor
Director, International Migration Research Centre

International migration
Mobility, transnationalism
Labour migration and temporary foreign worker programs
Immigration policies and migration governance
Migration flows and trends
Migrant rights, health and social protection
Remittances, ICTs and development
Political economy of migration
Regional expertise: Canada, Mexico, Morocco, Spain

Andrew Herman
Associate Professor

Social theory/media theory/cultural theory
Qualitative research methodologies of the Internet and digital media
Sound Studies
Radio Studies
Materialist media studies
Critical Internet studies
Cultures of production, creativity, and innovation in the digital economy

Jeremy Hunsinger
Associate Professor

Cultural politics and cultural theory
Internet politics and policy
Internet theory and culture
Infrastructures and their governance
Interpretive methods
Social media, social software and virtual worlds

Penelope Ironstone
Associate Professor

Health, science, and risk communication
Cultural studies of science and medicine
Pandemics and culture
Social, cultural, and political theory
Queer and feminist media studies
Biopolitics, communication, and culture

Barbara Jenkins
Professor

Cultural economy
The Creative City
Smart Cities
NFTs and CryptoArt
Cultural policy
Critical museum studies
Psychoanalytic theory

Jordan Kinder
Assistant Professor

Environmental media and communication
Energy and environmental humanities
Infrastructure studies
Critical Indigenous studies
Resource extraction
Energy justice
Architecture and design
Critical theory

Sara Matthews
Associate Professor

Critical security studies
War, memory and visual culture
Museum studies
Public pedagogy
Critical race theory
Psychoanalysis
Dystopias/utopias and social futurities

Check out Sara Matthews' digital Canadian Cold War propaganda exihibit.

Jade Miller
Associate Professor

Global media flows
Media industries
Media capitals
Global cities
Urban and regional agglomeration in creative production
Global networks in media industries
Distribution studies

Judith Nicholson
Associate Professor
Chair, Communication Studies

Mediated mobilities
Smart mobbing
Flash mobbing
Lynching imagery

Hillary Pimlott
Associate Professor

Democracy and communication (language, media)
Public advocacy
Culture wars
'Cultural Marxism'
Free speech and moral panics
Inequality, social movements and communication
Alternative media
Political and economic rhetoric

Nathan Rambukkana
Associate Professor

Digital and platform intimacies
Hybrid and mixed identities
Robotic and AI intimacies
Haptics and digital touch
Hashtags and hashtag publics
Socio-political aspects of videogames, VR and AR worlds
Representation of non-monogamies (e.g., polyamory, polygamy, adultery)
Discourse analysis
Queer theory
Cultural studies
Critical intimacy theory
Public sphere theory

Ian Roderick
Associate Professor

Technology and society
Visual discourse analysis
Visual communication and disciplinary vision
Multimodal discourse analysis
Critical military studies

Karen Stote
Assistant Professor

Intersectional feminism(s)
Reproductive rights and justice
Coerced sterilization
Colonialism, Indigenous-settler relations and decolonization
Environmental (in) justice
Genocide studies and eugenics in Canada

Peter Urquhart
Associate Professor 

Canadian film and television industries
Documentary film and television
Cultural policy
Contemporary Canadian, British and American popular culture
Media history
Visual communication and culture