About the Program of Study
The MCM curriculum provides students with leading-edge education in communications theory and practice. The MCM curriculum is based on exhaustive research, including a thorough literature review of professional communication and communications management scholarship, interviews with top communications managers worldwide, a national survey and focus groups of professional communication practitioners.
Click here for a quick summary of the McMaster University MCM program and its offerings.
MCM +APR
The Canadian Public Relations society allows MCM students and alumni to submit capstone or major research projects in lieu of a work sample for the Accredited in Public Relations (APR) designation. To learn more about the APR designation and submitting MCM coursework, please visit their website and review page 34 of the Accreditation Handbook.
A unique program for creative leaders
The MCM program is Canada’s leading master’s degree for creative professionals, executives, entrepreneurs and researchers in the many fields related to communications management: marketing, fund-raising, digital and social media, public affairs, investor relations, and many others.
You can do the MCM while you work full-time. The program has been designed for working professionals who have active professional and personal lives. The MCM faculty and administrators understand your many commitments and are flexible to enable you to work, live and study in harmony.
The MCM was created in 2007 to answer a need in the Canadian marketplace. Professionals in the fields of communications, marketing, government relations, investor relations, brand management, social and digital media, fundraising/advancement, and many others didn’t have a professional master’s degree that brings together core MBA courses and strategic communications and market research courses to give them the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to take their careers to the next level.
In the past few years, we have added digital strategy to each of our courses, as well as a solid set of electives in artificial intelligence, data science and analytics for communications managers.
The Master of Communications Management (MCM) program was established through a collaboration between McMaster University’s Department of Communication Studies and Media Arts (CSMA), the Degroote School of Business (DSB) and Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. In 2011, the MCM moved to its permanent home in the Faculty of Humanities at McMaster, in the Department of Communication Studies and Media Arts.
Accepting its first intake in October 2007, the MCM program with its learning community of students, faculty and alumni has become an international leader in enhancing the bodying of knowledge with its professional practice of communications management across Canada and the world.
Our Alumni - A Community of Leaders
The alumni community of the MCM is one of its greatest assets. The program now has over 150 alumni, who work in every province and territory across Canada except Nunavut (we are working on that!), as well as the United States and Latin America.
Most of our alumni are leaders in their fields, occupying executive and managerial roles in their organizations. Several have become CEO, executive director or president of major organizations. Many have launched startups, some of which have been remarkably successful.
Click here to learn more about the McMaster University Master of Communications Management Community of Leaders.
Admission Requirements & Fees
On-campus Residency
Students in the MCM Program will attend three six-day on-campus residencies per year (mid-October, February, and June). Each residency period runs from Saturday to Thursday with classes held between 8:00 am – 5:00 pm.
Capstone Research
During the final lap of the MCM masters program, students complete a professional capstone project that is equivalent to one course (3-units).
