Best Online Bachelor’s in Strategic Communications Degree Programs

Best Online Bachelor’s in Strategic Communications Degree Programs

Find top-ranked online bachelor’s in strategic communication degree programs for students to have skills which are transferable to many fields, including politics, healthcare, education, advertising, and public relations.

Key Takeaways

  • Any ordinary degree in communications will teach you a myriad of highly marketable skills. But with an online bachelor’s in strategic communication degree, you can further specialize and hone your communication skills with a greater emphasis on the theories of professional communications.
  • From improving your marketing campaigns to enhancing your internal communication skills, a degree in strategic communication will teach you more about business communication in a new level of depth.
  • If you wish to level up your career in communications to optimize information-delivering activities, an online bachelor’s in strategic communication is perfect for you!

Featured Programs

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A strategic communication program provides students with a more intensive look at how organizations, groups, and people communicate. This also gives the student of any degree in strategic communications with a deeper understanding of public relations: how people use communication to influence and adapt opinion in response to listening to public outreach.

A major in strategic communication is also well-rounded, blending human and professional communications theories. The undergraduate courses cover strategic communication campaigns and apply the principles and approaches of communication research with digital media, as well as other current methods of communication.

Online Bachelor’s in Strategic Communications Courses

The online bachelor of arts in strategic communications dives deep into several disciplines needed for creating and delivering effective content. This usually includes generating a relatable and impactful message, choosing the best channel for communication for efficient message distribution, and assessing corporate communication efforts alongside established benchmarks and goals.

Students who enroll in this online program will have the chance to study:

  • Corporate Communications
  • Statistics
  • Public Relations Techniques
  • Mass Communication
  • Psychology
  • Law
  • Research
  • Digital Marketing

These courses are considered helpful in building a solid foundation for effective communication for any organization or company.

Skills Acquired with a Bachelor’s in Strategic Communications Degree

This is a 120-credit interdisciplinary program that will help you develop and hone your skills to become a strategic communicator. Skills that students develop include:

  • Complex problem-solving
  • Oral, visual, and written communication
  • Goal-setting and evaluation methods
  • Research and analytic techniques
  • Creative thinking
  • Cultural and social awareness

What makes the program stand out is its flexibility and convenience. Students can easily satisfy the core academic curriculum at their convenience and are later free to pursue the in-person internship at their own pace. Although not generally required, most employers prefer to have candidates with field experience. With the internship experience, your chances of getting hired post-graduation are relatively high.

Online Bachelor’s in Strategic Communications Career Paths

Journalists: These professionals perform high-level investigation, research, write, and deliver news pieces and information using a balanced, effective, and straightforward approach.

Journalists are very keen on gathering accurate information. They double-check their resources, verify sources, and publish only newsworthy stories to inform the public about different topics.

Social Media Managers: These strategic communications professionals deliver content and messaging via different channels and platforms in which viewers can engage and interact with brands.

Depending on the role of these managers, they can either handle content creating and publishing activities or check the page’s quality assurance. There are also social media managers that specialize in working exclusively in a certain channel.

Communications Officer: These professionals write, promote, and distribute content about a specific brand, its products/services, and its activities. They also coordinate digital content creation, write press releases, draft social media and blog posts, maintain archives of information, or track campaign metrics.

Communication Consultants: They are the ones that advise organizations on the best practices for content creation, delivering it, and then maintaining the organization’s public image. They can either work as external or internal professionals, although this will depend on their focus. Communication consultants also strategize the many aspects of an effective marketing campaign.

Copywriters: They are strategic communications professionals who strongly focus on creating content using methods made by a brand or organization and targeted information. They write actionable, intelligible, and error-free copy that may appear in publications, advertisements, marketing campaigns, social media, and other communication materials.

Public Relations Directors: These professionals provide leadership, especially in the creation and distribution of the materials for communications that form the organization’s public image. They manage these things to exude a positive image of the organization. Sometimes, they help and supervise other professionals to help them accomplish their goals.

Digital Strategists: Digital strategists manage the creation of digital content. They see that the organization’s content is ready for release and then promote these on digital media platforms like websites or social media channels. Most of the time, they serve as project managers, focusing on the complex goal of improving brand awareness, loyalty, and engagement as part of their duties.

Frequently Asked Questions About Strategic Communications Degrees

When it comes to sharing an organization’s message, choosing the best wording is only one key to success, which is why many companies, brands, and businesses look to strategic communicators.

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While earning a bachelor’s degree in strategic communications, students will learn to evaluate audiences, perceptions of an organization, benchmarks for success, and the best delivery platforms in order to help deliver effective messaging.

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Most programs consist of about 120 credits, which can be taken either online or on campus, over the course of roughly four years.

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Students will study topics such as writing, law, social media, ethics, economics, and research.

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Upon graduation, individuals will have skills which are transferable to many fields, including politics, healthcare, education, advertising, and public relations.

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Learn more about how to major in communication .

Best Online Bachelor's in Strategic Communications Degree Programs
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Best Online Bachelor’s in Strategic Communications Degree Programs

  1. #1

    National University

    La Jolla , CA

    Tuition + fees

    $13K

    Acceptance

    55%

    Graduation

    47%

    Student body

    25K

    Online Degrees

    BA in Strategic Communications
    • Required Credits: 180
    • Completion time: 4.5-5.5 years
    • Format: Online
  2. Tuition + fees

    $7K

    Acceptance

    90%

    Graduation

    53%

    Student body

    15K

    Online Degrees

    BS in Applied Studies

    Concentrations

    • Strategic Communications
    • Required Credits: 120
    • Completion time: 4-5 years
    • Format: Online
  3. Tuition + fees

    $8K

    Graduation

    28%

    Student body

    5K

    Online Degrees

    BA in Strategic Communications
    • Required Credits: 120
    • Completion time: None Reported
    • Format: Online
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Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require a time of adjustment. Although you’ll typically learn the same material and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, going online will require greater independence and responsibility than going in person. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, for harnessing the online educational technology that you’ll need to use, and for completing the course requirements, such as listening to lectures, learning lessons, reading texts, and handing in assignments. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take the initiative in building relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.

No. The only part of online education that’s easier than campus-based education is ease of access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection for online education. But even this seeming advantage of online education can be misleading: what’s easier, studying online with your computer and internet connection from your home where you need to cook, clean, pay rent, and maintain a job? Or studying on campus in a dorm where all your living needs are handled by the school, and college staff are there to help you every step of the way?

If you take the commute to campus out of the equation, campus-based education is easier. All the support structures available on campus for students, especially with real people to help you in person, are not there online. The demands on you as an online student will largely be the same as for your campus-based counterpart, but without the same helps.

In general, your online courses will present the same material and test you in the same way as traditional in-person courses. In many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning with remote educational technology for the first time, online college may be considerably more challenging than campus-based college. For a few insights on how to manage this new online experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.

Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable non-profit institutions on the one end and less-than-reputable for-profit institutions on the other end. Accreditation gives you the power to identify the more reputable actors in online education. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency indicating that a college or university is meeting standards of quality and credibility. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.

Attending a college or university that is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. For students seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that they opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree. For more on this important topic, check out our What is Accreditation and Why Does It Matter? College & University Accreditation Guide.

As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited (see the previous point), you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer of credits. In many cases, you will encounter some bureaucratic haggling in which some of your credits will be transferred and others may be refused. However, provided that you have attended an online school with recognized regional accreditation, you should be in good shape in transferring your credits earned online.

In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript, or resumé differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.

Some employers may express the concern that because you did your degree online, you may need to transition from an online education experience to in-person workplace experience. But in an age of Covid, that concern seems much diminished. The fact is that much employment these days is remote. And collaboration increasingly happens online over Zoom. Many employers will therefore view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.

If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will be less than ideal for you (though depending on your circumstances, it may also be the only viable option).

While there is much in traditional campus-based education that can be substituted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing that can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual in-person classroom setting. As you transition to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face in getting the most out of your online classes is overcoming this difference between “real reality” and “virtual reality.” Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.

The advantages of online classes are many. Above all, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete at your own pace and on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.

Resources for Online College-Bound Students

Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.