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MEET A FEW STUDENTS
PRISCILLA ROMAN
LIFESPAN & DIGITAL COMMUNICATION
Priscilla is a Navy Vet with the Seabees, who drove heavy machinery and road building equipment for Navy construction projects.
RICHARD REYES
LIFESPAN & DIGITAL COMMUNICATION
Richard is a Graduate Teaching Assistant & Transportation Safety Administration worker.
ODU's graduate degree program in Lifespan & Digital Communication is unique in the field of communication. It is one of the few in the U.S. to focus on Lifespan Communication, and the only one in the U.S. that combines relational communication and digital media studies into a comprehensive graduate program focusing on communication development across the generational domains. We'll equip you, the next generation of communication professionals and educators, to innovate, imagine and create the methods and solutions critical for 21st century communication problems utilizing the most up-to-date research tools.
Coursework can be completed On Campus or Online!
Focus Areas include:
- Strategic Communication
- Lifespan Communication: Relationships & Groups
- Media Studies
- Professional Communication
Working with award-winning faculty, our MA graduates gain the critical skills to:
- Improve the quality of communication in personal and social relationships today and for future generations.
- Oversee better quality educational, entertainment, and news media for audiences of all ages.
- Use communication methods to improve the inclusiveness and quality of everyday living for people of all ages.
- Develop innovative social scientific and critical tools to study communication that can effectively manage society's problems.
- Make local-to-global communication inclusive, optimal, and effective for all people of all ages.
Deadlines:
- Summer "Graduate Assistantship" early deadline: March 31
- Summer General Application date: April 15
****NOTE: Currently accepting applications for Fall 2022.****
As of June 1, 2022, admission for Lifespan & Digital Communication will be open until further notice.
Apply for Admission
Join Our Community
TRAVEL ABROAD
OUR ORGANIZATIONS
Lambda Pi Eta
Lambda Pi Eta is the National Communication Association's honor society. Lambda Pi Eta recognizes, fosters, and rewards outstanding scholastic achievement while stimulating interest in the communication discipline.
Communications Club
The Communication Club is a lively forum uniting students and faculty in informal discussions ranging from career goals to projects for community interaction.
Awards & Research
Our MA—LSDC students present papers at the National Communication Association, The Society for Cinema and Media Studies, the Southern States Communication Association, the Virginia Social Science Conference, and more. Joseph Ponthieux (current MA-LSDC student) received two top-paper awards from the Communication Theory Division and the Popular Culture Division of the Southern States Communication Association.
OUR ALUMNI ARE SUCCESSFUL & AWARD-WINNING
Alice Jones (MA- LSDC 2015) received a national "Thesis of the Year Award" from the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language, and Gender for her thesis about lifespan communication and stay-at-home fathers.
LSDC alumni are employed in national organizations like Experient (A Global Events Corporation), the Pew Research Center in Washington, DC., the NCIS, the University of Virginia, ODU, and more.
They are enrolled in PhD programs at major universities (e.g., the University of Wisconsin, Penn State) and have held research fellowships at the National Institutes of Health, as well as presented at the World Health Organization.
Follow LSDC Alumni
MA-LSDC Alumnus, Alfredo Torres, attending & presenting a co-authored paper at the annual National Communication Association conference in Orlando, Florida.
MEET OUR AWARD WINNING FACULTY
Our MA-LSDC faculty are nationally-recognized, award-winning communication and media scholars who regularly publish books, articles and chapters that make a difference.
Lifespan Communication: Children, Families, and Aging is an international scholarly book series that is edited by Dr. Socha whose research has won national awards including the Bernard J. Brommel Award for Outstanding Research in Family Communication from NCA.
ADDITIONAL BOOKS FROM LSDC FACULTY INCLUDE:
Communication, Hope and Resilience across the Lifespan (co-edited by Dr. Gary Beck and Dr. Socha),
Selling the Silver Bullet: The Lone Ranger and Transmedia Brand Advertising by Dr. Avi Santo
Popular Music in a Digital Economy by Dr. Tim Anderson
Faculty Publications
