The Division of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs (CCPA) is part of the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU. CCPA offers two undergraduate majors, two minors, and two graduate programs.
B.A. in Corporate Communication and Public Affairs
Students choose one of four transcripted specializations:
Nonprofit and Arts Leadership
Director and Advisor: Dr. Doric Earle
For majors interested in leading existing nonprofit and/or artistic organizations that require management of donors, boards, volunteers, fundraising, philanthropy, and community-centered solutions in innovative and sustainable ways.
Organizational Communication
Director and Advisor: Dr. Owen Lynch
For majors interested in leading the effective operation and internal workings of organizations, including design, change management, teamwork, training and development, power/ gender issues, human and social capital, and organizational behavior.
Public Affairs and Political Communication
Director and Advisor: Dr. Chris Salinas
For majors interested in leading public policy initiatives for organizations, lobbying firms, think tanks, government agencies, NGOs, elected officials, or political campaigns, including analysis, issues management, advocacy, and public opinion monitoring.
Social Innovation, Creative, and Arts Entrepreneurship
Director and Advisor: Professor Jim HartFor majors interested in founding for-profit, nonprofit, or hybrid organizations that combine social impact, branding, fundraising, venture capital, and strategic communication in creative, commercial, and/or artistic contexts.
B.A. in Public Relations and Strategic Communication
Director and Advisor: Dr. Sandra Duhé
For majors interested in leading external corporate and public affairs initiatives with a variety of stakeholders, including investors, customers, communities, activists, and media, with an emphasis on data analytics, business objectives, and crisis response.
For detailed information on degrees available, see Undergraduate Studies.
Minor in Corporate Communication and Public Affairs
Director and Advisor: Melissa Keene
For students interested in supplementing their major area of study with courses in theory, rhetoric, research, writing, and CCPA electives open to minors.
Minor in Nonprofit and Arts Leadership (link coming soon!)
Director and Advisor: Melissa Keene
For students interested in supplementing their major course of study with a communication-based foundation for leading, advocating, and promoting nonprofit cultural, creative, artistic, and/or community-based organizations in a variety of mission contexts.
Master of Management in International Arts Management (MMIAM)
A 12-month, 5-country, 3-university intensive course of study and travel that begins at SMU each fall, continues at HEC in Montreal and concludes at Bocconi in Milan. Applicants accepted into the program learn arts and cultural management from leading academics, executives, and institutions around the world to pursue their leadership interests in performing, visual, and/or digital arts organizations.
Master of Arts in Arts and Nonprofit Leadership + MBA (MA/MBA)
A 2-year, dual-degree program with SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts and Cox School of Business that prepares experienced arts and nonprofit leaders for director-level and C-suite positions in established or entrepreneurial organizations focused on social impact, financial and operations management, data analytics, and sustainability in creative, humanitarian, artistic, and/or commercial contexts.
For inquiries about CCPA’s graduate programs, email CCPA Chair Dr. Sandra Duhé at sduhe@smu.edu