University of the Philippines Los Banos - Master of Science in Development Communication

The Master of Science in Development Communication programme seeks to respond to evolving development paradigms and communication perspectives.  It is designed to produce graduates whose competencies include the ability to:

1. Compare and contrast theories, schools of thought, principles, and strategies of communication in the context of development;
2. Analyse issues and challenges in development that may be addressed by education and training in development communication;
3. Conduct research and evaluation in development communication; and
4. Apply development communication concepts and skills in the design and management of systems, programs, and projects in development.

The Masters Degree can be completed in 2 years as a full-time student or in 3 years as a part-time student. 

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The following are the core  courses:

• DEVC 202:Communication Theory in Development Communication- Communication theories and their application to development communication study and practice.
• DEVC 205: Communication and Development – Perspectives, theories, principles, and strategies of communication and development.
• DEVC 208: Communication Approaches in Development Programs - Application of communication concepts, principles, strategies, and practices in promoting social ideas towards behavior change and mobilizing people in developmental programmes.
• DEVC 290: Special Problems - Supervised work on selected aspect of student’s chosen research topic (e.g., review of literature, theoretical and conceptual frameworks, methodology)  
• DEVC 291: Special Topics – Methods and tools of quantitative research
• DVC 295: Development Communication Research - Quantitative and qualitative research methods in development communication.
• DEVC 299: Graduate Seminar in Development Communication – Seminar on recent developments in the discipline, presentation and critiquing of students’ research proposals.   
• DEVC 300: Masters Thesis 

The following are the elective courses where students can choose any two:

• DEVC 212: Environmental Communication - Application of environmental communication principles, strategies, and techniques to address risks, controversies, and crises associated with the environment.
• DEVC 215: Communication and Culture - Nature and interrelationships of communication and culture, and their applications to development communication.
• DEVC 230: Educational Communication Systems - Learning theories and approaches in educational communication systems and their application to development. .
• DEVC 231: Educational Communication Systems  Management -Theories, principles, approaches, and tools in managing an educational communication unit.
• DEVC 234: Information and Communication Technologies for Development - Theoretical perspectives, systems and structures, uses, and ethics in using information and communication technologies as tools in development.

In addition to the core and elective courses, the student takes three courses in cognate fields offered by other colleges in the university or other UP campuses such as: community development, development management, governance, extension education, educational management, environmental science, agriculture, forestry, economics, food and nutrition, sociology, anthropology, public health, and agri-business among others.    

To qualify, students much complete as least 33 units of course work.

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The graduate classes are taught primarily through face-to-face lectures and in class discussions, although some sessions may apply principles of blended learning.  Some courses (ex: DEVC 208 Communication Approaches in Development Programs, DEVC 212 Environmental Communication) require students to plan and execute communication projects in partnership with a community or institution. A number of courses have field trips or field visits.

The following are the graduate faculty members for the Masters programme (with areas of specialisation):

• Dr. Ma. Theresa H. Velasco, Professor and Dean - mass communication, science communication, health communication, social marketing
• Dr. Cleofe S. Torres, Professor, Professor and former Dean – environmental communication, communication planning, communication research, organisational communication
• Dr. Benjamina Paula G. Flor, Associate Professor -  community broadcasting, distance education, environmental communication, blended learning 
• Dr. Serlie B. Jamias, Associate Professor –  development journalism, basic and advance communication theories, communication planning, qualitative communication research
• Prof. Ma. Stella C. Tirol, Associate Professor - educational communication, community broadcasting, communication planning, communication research, organisational communication, monitoring and evaluation
• Dr. Pamela A. Custodio, Associate Professor - qualitative research in communication, participatory communication, community communication
• Dr. Edmund G. Centeno – educational communication and technologies, blended learning, ICTs for development
• Dr. Mildred O. Moscoso, Assistant Professor - extension education, educational communication, community broadcasting 
• Prof. Garry Jay S.Montemayor, Assistant Professor – quantitative and qualitative communication research, science communication.