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Master's in Strategic Communication - Social Media Management Online

Arkansas State University’s 100% online M.S. in Strategic Communications – Social Media Management spans 30 credit hours, can be completed in as few as 10 months and costs $10,500 in total tuition ($350 per credit hour). Designed for working social media and communications professionals, it prepares graduates for advancement into roles such as social media manager, digital marketing manager, communications director and other senior positions.

Next Apply Date: 12/28/26
Next Class Start Date: 1/11/27
Apply Now
Next Apply Date: 12/28/26
Next Class Start Date: 1/11/27

Program Overview

What does A-State's online M.S. in Strategic Communications – Social Media Management offer?

Enhance your ability to align social media messaging with integrated marketing strategies with the 100% online Master of Science in Strategic Communications with an Emphasis in Social Media Management program at Arkansas State University. Open career doors and meet your professional goals with capabilities you will have gained in consumer analysis and the delivery of key information to diverse audiences.

This online graduate program provides you the opportunity to further invest in your career and rise as a skilled communicator. You will learn to maximize your social media approach by leveraging consumer analysis with media research, utilizing the appropriate tools, reach diverse audiences with effective data tracking techniques, and align your company’s user engagement goals with effective marketing strategies.

Through the program’s core coursework, you will gain full comprehension of Google Ads and Nielsen as well as a strong grasp of crafting, tracking and measuring the effectiveness of social media messaging.

Graduate career-ready with a deep understanding of appropriate social media tools and how to conduct consumer analysis through research in media industries. This affordable online program is designed for working professionals to further their careers at their own pace and at their own schedule.

What skills does the online master’s in social media management build?

  • Measure and improve social media investment outcomes across advertising, public relations and marketing communications.
  • Apply social media tools within an organization’s overall communication strategy across mass communications, news, advertising and public relations.
  • Integrate social media initiatives into the marketing communications plan, from online display ads to search engine strategy.
  • Deliver key messages to diverse target audiences by integrating communication channels and methods.
  • Analyze audiences and consumers using research methods and data sources such as Nielsen, Arbitron and SRDS.
What skills does the online master’s in social media management build?+
  • Measure and improve social media investment outcomes across advertising, public relations and marketing communications.
  • Apply social media tools within an organization’s overall communication strategy across mass communications, news, advertising and public relations.
  • Integrate social media initiatives into the marketing communications plan, from online display ads to search engine strategy.
  • Deliver key messages to diverse target audiences by integrating communication channels and methods.
  • Analyze audiences and consumers using research methods and data sources such as Nielsen, Arbitron and SRDS.

As a graduate, you will be prepared for career advancement into communication roles including:

  • Social Media Strategist / Social Media Specialist
  • Social Media Manager / Social Media Director
  • Digital Marketing Manager
  • Digital Strategist / Content Strategist
  • Community Manager
  • Brand Manager
  • Content Marketing Manager
  • Communications Manager / Communications Director
  • Public Relations Manager
  • Marketing Manager
As a graduate, you will be prepared for career advancement into communication roles including:+
  • Social Media Strategist / Social Media Specialist
  • Social Media Manager / Social Media Director
  • Digital Marketing Manager
  • Digital Strategist / Content Strategist
  • Community Manager
  • Brand Manager
  • Content Marketing Manager
  • Communications Manager / Communications Director
  • Public Relations Manager
  • Marketing Manager

Also available:

If you’re weighing your options within Strategic Communication tracks or in related degrees, explore the additional programs below:

Total Tuition: $10,500
Program Duration: As few as 10 months
Credit Hours 30
Apply Now

Need More Information?

Call 866-621-8096

Call 866-621-8096

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Tuition

How much does the online M.S. in Strategic Communications – Social Media Management cost?

Our M.S. in Strategic Communications – Social Media Management online program offers the same affordable tuition to in-state and out-of-state students. All fees are included. Tuition may be subject to change on a yearly basis.

Tuition breakdown:

Per Credit Hour: $350
Total Tuition: $10,500

Calendar

When can you start the online M.S. in Strategic Communications – Social Media Management?

Our M.S. in Strategic Communications – Social Media Management online program is designed with flexibility and convenience in mind for working professionals, with accelerated coursework and multiple start date options.

Please note Summer 1 and Summer 2 terms are 5 weeks in duration for this program.

View full calendar +

TermProgram Start DateApplication DeadlineDocument DeadlineRegistration DeadlinePayment DueLast Class Day
Fall 210/12/269/28/269/28/2610/8/2610/9/2612/4/26
Spring 11/11/2712/28/2612/28/261/7/271/8/272/26/27
Spring 23/8/272/22/272/22/273/4/273/5/274/30/27

Now enrolling:

Next Apply Date 12/28/26
Start Class 1/11/27

Have questions or need more information about A‑State online programs?

Ready to take the next step toward earning your degree online from A-State?

Apply Now

Admissions

What are the admission requirements for the online M.S. in Strategic Communications – Social Media Management?

A-State Online offers a streamlined admission process for both new students and transfers. Students who are interested in the M.S. in Strategic Communications – Social Media Management online program must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution. Review full admission requirements below.

Admission Requirements:

  • Bachelor's Degree
  • Official Transcripts
  • 2.5 GPA
View all admission requirements +

  • Complete online application and submit a nonrefundable $30 fee
  • Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university with at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA or a 2.75 in the last 60 hours (undergraduate, graduate or combination thereof) or graduate or post-baccalaureate professional degree from a regionally accredited (U.S.) institution
    Note: If you are admitted and have less than a 2.75 cumulative GPA and less than a 3.0 GPA in the last 60 hours, you must make a grade of B or better in each course during the first 9 hours of graduate work at Arkansas State University as part of a conditional admission status
  • Official transcript(s) sent from the registrar of the college/university attended. Official transcripts are sealed transcripts sent from the granting institutions.

Submit all documents to:

A-State Online
P.O. Box 2520
State University, AR 72467


Fax: 870-972-3548
Email: [email protected]

Amanda Smiley Earns A-State's MS in Strategic Communications
The strategic communications degree program fit the bill in terms of giving me well-rounded writing skills, communication skills, marketing skills.

Amanda Smiley, A-State online M.S. in Strategic Communications – Social Media Management graduate

Courses

What courses are in the online M.S. in Strategic Communications – Social Media Management curriculum?

The M.S. in Strategic Communications – Social Media Management online program requires 30 credit hours of coursework. Students will take five required core courses (15 credit hours), select either STCM 6033 or MDIA 6423 (three credit hours), and four additional STCM courses (12 credit hours).

You can view your schedule of courses for this degree through the Course Smartsheet:

View the AOS Course Smartsheet

How to Use the Course Smartsheet

Expand All

Students must take the following five courses.

Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Study of the tools and techniques of empirical research as they may be applied to mass communications.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Using social scientific research methods for audience/consumer analysis, this course provides a survey of applications of research in media industries. Pragmatic task activities will be conducted via Nielsen, Arbitron, SRDS and related data sources to find audience market insights.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Advanced study of the principles and practice of advertising account management. Includes an in-depth analysis of advantages and disadvantages of multiple media platforms and strategic communication in communicating messages to diverse target audiences and a discussion of effective and ethical client relationships.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The role of strategic communications in and for organizations and brands, including communications objective(s), target audience(s), and key messages. Addresses application of communication theory and research related to public relations, advertising, and social media.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Students will investigate a real-world strategic communication issue, formulating solutions, recommendations and strategies that bridge the gap between theory and practice. Course will be taken the final term of completing degree requirements. Restricted to MS in Strategic Communication students.

Students must select one of the following courses.

Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Current and emerging issues in communications policy and regulation, including privacy, libel, FTC and FCC regulations, First Amendment issues, copyright and trademarks.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Students will focus on development of entrepreneurial products by taking an idea from conception to production completion while practicing aspects of management, financing, and entrepreneurship. Students will address communication industry dilemmas that address creative product development.

Students must take the following four courses.

Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Focuses on the strategic integration of various channels and methods of communication for the purpose of delivering key messages to diverse target audiences in order to elicit responses, create a dialogue and engender relationship-building.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course examines concepts and applications of social media within mass communications, news, advertising, and public relations industries. We will explore and apply social media tools, integrating them into an organization’s overall communication strategy.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
An introduction to the world of online interactive advertising. It surveys a variety of important topics, from integrating social media initiatives into the overall marketing communications plan to online display ads to developing an effective search engine strategy.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Measurement and improvement of investment outcomes from use of social media in advertising, public relations, and marketing communications.

Built for Your Schedule, Not Your Zip Code

Arkansas State University’s M.S. in Strategic Communications – Social Media Management is built for working professionals anywhere in the U.S. who want a graduate credential from a public university without relocating to Jonesboro. Because the program is completed entirely online, and tuition is the same for in-state and out-of-state students ($10,500 total), your location does not limit your access. Students in or near Arkansas can also draw on the state’s employer network, home to the headquarters of Walmart, Tyson Foods, J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Dillard’s. Arkansas National Guard members may qualify for the state’s National Guard Tuition Waiver; see A-State’s military page. For state authorization details, visit the State Authorization & Licensure Disclosures page.

FAQ

Social Media Management Master’s Online FAQs

Intro copy

The two share the same four concentration courses: Integrated Marketing Communications, Social Media in Strategic Communication, Interactive Advertising and Social Media Measurement. They differ in the rest of the degree and in admission. Strategic Communications – Social Media Management has five core courses, including Audience Market Analysis and Advertising Account Management, and can be completed in as few as 10 months. The M.S. in Media Management – Digital Management has six core courses centered on mass communication theory, broadcast management and media management applications, and can be completed in as few as 12 months. Both are 30 credit hours at $10,500.
The degree requires one of the two. Communication Regulation and Policy (STCM 66043) covers privacy, libel, FTC and FCC regulation, First Amendment issues, copyright and trademarks, so it fits students who manage branded content and need to understand its legal limits. Media Entrepreneurship (MCOM 66403) takes an idea from conception to production while practicing management, financing and entrepreneurship, so it fits students building a product or a business. Students who want deeper privacy and data-law coverage can look at the M.S. in Strategic Communications – Information Technology Law & Policy.
All four emphases are 30 credit hours at $10,500 and can be completed in as few as 10 months. Social Media Management features four concentration courses on social media, advertising and measurement. The General emphasis lets students choose four courses from a broader list that includes the same social media courses plus options such as Crisis Communication and Communication Theory. The Global emphasis centers on Global Strategic Communication, Development Communication and Intercultural Communication. The Information Technology Law & Policy emphasis centers on Privacy Law, Information Technology Law and EU and U.S. Data Protection Law.
No specific undergraduate major is required. Admission requires a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, official transcripts, a 2.5 cumulative GPA (or 2.75 in the last 60 hours) and a nonrefundable $30 application fee. Students admitted below a 2.75 cumulative GPA and a 3.0 in the last 60 hours must earn a B or better in each course during their first 9 hours of graduate work. See Tuition section above.

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