Accelerated Online Bachelor’s in Communications, BA

Essential Skills & Insights

Coursework in this online bachelor’s in communications program builds the foundation for success in media, marketing, corporate communication, and beyond. You’ll develop the skills to craft messages that resonate, connect with diverse audiences, and adapt to the fast-changing digital landscape.

• Strategic Communication: Learn how to plan, deliver, and evaluate messages that align with organizational goals and influence audiences effectively.
• Professional Writing & Presentation Skills: Strengthen your ability to write persuasively, speak with confidence, and create content tailored for multiple platforms and contexts.
• Digital & Media Literacy: Gain expertise in social media, multimedia storytelling, and emerging communication technologies that drive engagement in today’s digital-first world.
• Interpersonal & Cross-Cultural Communication: Build the skills to collaborate, negotiate, and connect with diverse groups, fostering inclusivity and mutual understanding

AI-Powered Learning, Real-World Impact

Our accelerated online programs integrate opportunities to engage with Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a powerful tool for learning and career preparation. Students apply AI in ways that build authentic skills and mirror how businesses are leveraging it across industries. We emphasize ethical and responsible use, ensuring that students develop the judgment to apply AI appropriately. This approach helps graduates enter the workforce with both technical knowledge and a clear understanding of AI’s role in their discipline.

Careers in Communication

Communication is at the heart of every industry, from business and media to nonprofits and public service. A Bachelor’s in Communications equips graduates with skills in writing, public speaking, digital media, and strategic messaging—opening doors to diverse career paths that rely on clear, persuasive, and impactful communication.

• Public Relations Specialist — Median salary: $67,440
  Shape public perception by crafting press releases, managing media relationships, and guiding crisis communication strategies. PR specialists help organizations build trust and credibility with their audiences.
• Marketing Coordinator — Median salary: $63,920
  Support marketing campaigns through content creation, social media strategy, and market research. Coordinators bridge creativity with data to connect products and services to the right audiences.
• Corporate Communications Manager — Median salary: $126,640
  Oversee internal and external communication strategies, including employee engagement initiatives, executive messaging, and brand storytelling. Managers ensure consistent and effective communication across the organization.
• Broadcast or Digital Media Producer — Median salary: $79,000
  Plan, edit, and produce media content for television, radio, podcasts, or digital platforms. Producers use creativity and technical expertise to tell stories that capture audience attention.

Admissions Requirements

For admission to your accelerated online MS Criminal Justice degree, simply complete the 2 step application process. transcripts.

1. Step 1: Complete the Online Application
   Visit apply.lindenwood.edu and submit your undergraduate application.
   
2. Step 2: Submit Official Transcripts:
   Request your official high school transcripts to be sent directly to Lindenwood Online at the email or mail address below.
   
   If you have completed any college coursework, request official transcripts from those institutions as well.
   
   Transcripts may be submitted:
   • Electronically to: [email protected]
   • By Mail to:
     Office of Admissions
     Lindenwood University
     8205 S Priest Dr #11480 Tempe, AZ 85284
3. Step 3: Complete SmarterMeasure
   The SmarterMeasure Learning Readiness assessment measures student readiness and learning preferences and helps us identify how we can best support you during your program of study. The assessment has three sections: Technical Competency, Technical Knowledge, and Learning Styles. Students who receive a score below 60% on the Technical Competency content are required to take the SmarterMeasure Technology for Success (ORN001) orientation.

Curriculum Overview

Our accelerated online Bachelor of Arts in Communications program at Lindenwood University offers a diverse curriculum that combines theory with practical skills essential for effective communication in various contexts. You will explore communication theory, law, ethics, and media literacy. With the guidance of our expert faculty, you will be prepared for a wide variety of careers in advertising, journalism, corporate communications, and more.

Major Coursework – 24 Credit Hours

Foundation courses are provided to support student readiness for MBA coursework and are required if students have not taken prior undergraduate courses:

Introduction to Communication

This course will provide you the tools to consider, discuss, and put into practice the basic elements of how we communicate in interpersonal, group, public, intercultural and mass communication situations. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to explain and describe the basic forms and purpose of human communication.

Public Speaking

This course is an introduction of theories and techniques of non-written communication in business and society. Topics include the nature of human communication, listening skills, interpersonal communication, nonverbal communication, small group communication, and public speaking. Students will participate in communication activities, as well as research, organize and present formal speeches.

Organizational Communication

This course explores the role of organizations in society, including how they achieve their goals, how members of organizations accomplish their goals via the ongoing, through communication. Organizations play an important and significant role in our everyday lives. Communication within and around organizations can promote, uphold, change, reimagine, or break down organizations in a variety of ways. This class will help you understand the role of communication in organizations and organizing so that you may develop tools to help you improve and change the organizations in your life in meaningful and positive ways through communication.

Interpersonal Communication

In this course you will learn how communication plays a vital role in building, maintaining, and ending relationships in our everyday lives. Along the way, we will explore such topics as self-concept, emotions, language, nonverbal communication, listening, and conflict management. We will also consider how factors such as sex, gender, and culture impact those concepts.

Media Literacy

In this course, students will focus on the cognitive, emotional, moral, and aesthetic influences of the media. (Radio, Film, TV, Multimedia, and the Internet). Higher levels of media literacy can give students more options and control over their beliefs and behaviors. Prerequisite: ENGL 17000

Communications Law & Ethics

Students investigate the study of laws which affect and regulate the mass media. This course includes a study of constitutional, statutory, and administrative laws.
Prerequisite: 12 credit hours in Communication (COM).

Communication Theory and Research

A focused historical investigation of mass communication theories and ethical considerations, as they have evolved in response to developments in mass communication technology. Discussion will emphasize developments since the mid-19th Century. Theories will include political, sociological, and cultural models constructed to explain phenomena, both real and imagined, perceived to be characteristic of audiences’ behavioral responses to increasingly rapid technological advances in, and consequent dependence on, mass communication media. Students will be expected to be able to distinguish among theories, placing them in specific historical and social contexts. Assignments will include opportunities for students to demonstrate basic capabilities in secondary research. Prerequisite: Senior standing.

Communications Capstone

This practical course will provide a framework for you to complete a Communications-related capstone project. That project should relate to your chosen field – communication studies, journalism, broadcast, or media production. The goal is for you to generate work that can serve as the cornerstone of your academic or creative portfolio. Prerequisite: Junior standing.

Production Coursework – 3 Credit Hours

Podcasting Production

Students will learn the components of radio and podcast production including interviewing, story development, script writing, interview techniques, remote recording and digital audio recording, editing of sound, mixing, and final production for broadcast. Students will critically analyze the components of radio/podcast features. In addition, the students will gain an understanding of the basic components of the physics of sound.

Elective Coursework – 9 Credit Hours

Introduction to Mass Communication

This course is an introduction to the study of mass communication, explored through the history of mass media and the role of the media in society. This course will cover the development of newspapers, radio, television, books, and social media in order to provide a thorough background of varying forms of mass communication while examining the role that mass media plays in our everyday lives and the legal, societal, and cultural impact of various media.

Business Communications

This course introduces concepts of workplace communication pertinent to the twenty-first-century global professional environment. Practice is provided in researching, designing, and composing common workplace documents and correspondence, in creating communications with a team, and in presenting communications orally and with the use of technology. Prerequisite: ENGL 15000

Program Length Details

Lindenwood University’s (LU) Accelerated Online programs offer you choice and flexibility to support your education journey. Time to complete a bachelor’s degree can vary based on course load, transfer credits, and individual pacing. You will tailor a course schedule that keeps you in the driver’s seat.

• Traditional Timeline: A bachelor’s degree, typically 120 credit hours, can be completed in about four years by taking a full time course load.
• Transfer Credit: LU allows 90 transfer credits toward a bachelor’s degree and students can complete their degree in as few as 30 credits.
• Accelerated Courses: LU’s accelerated online programs offer 10 5-week terms per year. By enrolling in two courses per term, you can potentially complete your bachelor’s degree in two years.
• Frequent Start Dates: LU offers multiple start dates throughout the year so you can begin your studies when you are ready allowing you to graduate sooner.
• Personalized Degree Plan: LU academic advisors will work with you to tailor your degree plan to support your education goals while balancing your personal and professional responsibilities.