MASTER'S THESES
Thesis track students complete 24 credits of course work (usually eight courses) and write a master’s thesis worth 6 credits which demonstrates their ability to do original scholarly work and carry out in-depth research on a topic of interest to them.
Recent Professional Projects
2020
Barelli, Ryan “Strange Witness: Again & Again.”
Becerra, Sebastian “Eviction and Housing Lessons Learned- Milwaukee, WI.”
Byrne, Jennifer “Near West Side Partners 2020 Housing Strategy.”
Calvert, Kathryn “Financial Literacy: a Lack of Education and an Opportunity for Growth.”
Duck, Cassandra ”ElKay Interior Systems: Customer Service/Internship Program Initiative.”
Hendricks, Michael “Interrogation of Conceptions of Reality and Self Conducted through Symbolic Interaction Within an Original Fiction Novel.”
Henry, Douglas “A multimedia project consisting of three podcasts and a website detailing the varying expressions of immigrants to the United States.”
Jaeger, Brianna “Marquette Honors Program: Social Media Plan.”
Kowalik, Eric :Measuring Readers Flow State with a High Medium Interactivity Outline News Story.”
Liu, Xiao “Helping develop a healthy rental environment in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood of Milwaukee.”
Mcfaul, Jordan “Living with Invisible Disability: Interability Communication and the Powers of Awareness.”
McLaren, Elizabeth “Comprehensive context marketing strategy and plan for Bridge the City.”
McNett, Erin “Creating a website for a nonprofit organization that focuses on film and video education in Milwaukee.”
Navone, Jaqueline “Refined E-Commerce Website.”
Rosenwald, Faith “Strategic Communication Is Essential to Business Functions.”
Stevens, Benjamin “Internal Audit of Safe & Sound Inc’s training practices for new employees.”
Van Groll, Madeline “Using a donor loyalty program to increase retention rate of annual doors.”
Vineburg, Isaac ”Railroads and the Holocaust: Communication in Museum Settings.”
Vonderhaar, Elizabeth “Multi-media journalism piece about the narratives surrounding mothers as perpetrators and what it says about Feminism.”
Winkler, Mallory “The Art of Exploring.”
2019
Clancy, Victoria “ Hope Center Fundraising Gala.”
Di Giacinto, Robyn “Cura Personalis: A Prom Story.”
Edgin, Kayley “Content Market Strategy Prepared for Wisconsin 4 Troops.”
Lisowski, Mark “Boom or Bust: What lies ahead for Milwaukee Freshwater Management.”
Noonan, Clifford “Ridgewater and Protection Motivation Theory.”
Olson, Laura “An External Communication Audit of Shorewood Public Library.”
Riddle, Malik “Grey Sheep.”
Saunders, Lucy “Digital Communications of Green Infrastructure in Outdoor Dining Design.”
Schram, Robert “Using Comedy to Promote Milwaukee as (a) Tourist Destination.”
Yanke, Colleen “Reading, Writing and Censorship: A Podcast Exploring the Debate on House Bill 989.”
2018
Anjeh, Victoria “POV of POC: Analyzing Inclusion and Diversity Efforts from the Point of View of People of Color.”
Atsalis, Alexandra “The Power of One: An Advertising Campaign Aimed at Encouraging Gen Z to Vote.”
Blashe, Sean “Striving for Stability: How States Report Student Mobility and Its Effects on Learning Environments.”
Dombrowski, Diana “Race in Milwaukee.”
Fischer, Benjamin “Marquette Central Communication Audit.”
Healy, Patricia (Patsy) “Marquette Core Curriculum Mockup Webpage.”
Johnson, Paul “Mt. Bohemia Advertising Campaign.”
Klapps, Alisha “Strategic Communications for Dominican Center.”
Lee, Brynn “Marketing Campaign for Xercor Insurance Services.”
Robinson, Curtesia “Analytics Guidebook: Using Analytics to Communicate Data.”
Schram, Laura “Recruiting the Marquette University Transfer Student Through the Art of Digital Storytelling.”
Theim, Shannon “Annual Event Series Plan to Bolster and Support Strategic Communication.”
2017
Butler, Margaret (Maggie) “Redesign of Marketing and Communication Pages on Children's Connect Intranet.”
Claussen, Allison “Green Marketing and Stakeholder Perception.”
Gorchynsky, Christiana “A Content Marketing Strategy for the O'Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism.”
Habisohn, Angela “From the Newsroom to the Academy: A Guide to Life as an O'Brien Fellow.”
Knoepfle, Tracey “Help the Students by Helping Us: Marquette Career Center Faculty Engagement Event.”
Melendrez, Stephanie “Fulfilling Jesuit Values Through an HSI Initiative.”
Michaelsen, Alyssa “Divided Divisions: The Implementation of Company Intranet to Unify Kohler Company.”
Rosean, Anne “Creating an eBook for Entry-Level Marketing & Communication Associates.”
Torruco, Enrique “Marquette University's Hispanic Initiative.”
Ward, Kevin “Putting the Traveler on the Map: Evaluating Consumer and Industry Trends of the Travel & Tourism Industry.”
Waxman, Naomi “Compassionate Coverage: Reporting on Barriers in Reproductive Health Care for Women of Color.”
Yang, Yiren “ Caring for Older People.”
2016
Baker, Elizabeth “Women of Color and Low Income in Milwaukee Say “Me Too”: A Series of Journalistic Feature Articles About the #MeToo Movement Published by the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service.”
Bevenue, Marlita “Marlita Media Services, Inc. Content Marketing Plan and Business Model.”
Recent Master's Theses
2020
Devereux, Sarah “Not a stranger or friend: the third type of self-disclosure.”
Yang, Yin “Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior with Ego-Network Social Capital to Examine Chinese Women’s Tampon Use Intentions.”
2019
Bouzek, Dalton “Effects of News Consumption on Political Partisanship Identity and Issue Stances.”
Harty, Reece “Faculty & Staff perceptions of inclusive policies around transgender identities (bathrooms, healthcare, etc.) at higher educational institutions.”
Kaupe, Meaghan “Pulling off the mask of loneliness: Examining caregivers experiences with loneliness and communication in computer-mediated forums.”
MacSwain, Chandler “SIDE Effects of Self-Disclosure Discussions: The Impact and Interaction of Deductive and Inductive Routes to Identity.”
Mazzeo, Christina “Neutral Reportage Privileges: The Libel Defense Needed in a Struggling Democracy.”
Peppers, Michael “Fair or Foul in the Baseball Hall of Fame: Analyzing rhetoric of sportswriters.”
Reese, Caroline “Sensemaking and identity in complementary alternative medicine: Communication study on Reiki,”
2018
Cigelske, Tim “The Highest Form of Like: Snapchat, College Students and Hyperpersonal Communication.”
Grace, Julie “ Examining the Political Motivations of Christian Women During the 2016 Presidential Election.”
Italiano, Rachel “The Effects of Spiral of Silence Theory on Perceptions of Police Use of Force.”
Kroll, Carly “ Communicating Augmented Reality Devices Training Electric Utility Field Workers.”
Krysik, Ashley “Crowdfunding and Non-Profit Charities: Crafting legitimate Profiles.”
Kutka, Amy “ An Analysis of the Association Between Dialogue, Rhetoric and Engagement in President Trump’s First 100 Days on Twitter.”
Schneider, Erika “How and Where to Respond? Testing the Effective Use of the Base Crisis Response in the Different Media Contexts.”
Wacker, Mary “The Other Half: Women's Voices in New Journalism: an analysis of three writers Broadening the Focus and the New Journalism.”
Yan, Yumin “Facebook and WeChat: Chinese International student’s social media usage and how it influences their intercultural adaptation.”
2017
Ding, Jieyu (Jade) “Sex Acculturation and Risk Perception.”
Erickson, Daniel “Corporate Social responsibility in Sports: Efforts and Communication.”
Hansen, Matthew “Cultivating Change: A Study Involving the Relationship Between Organizational Culture, Leadership Style and Communication Style with Organizational Change.”
Hutchins, Darvelle “Let My People In: A Comparative Study of Diversity Rhetoric to Reality in Institutions of Higher Education.”
Powers, Courtney “The Impact of Cybervetting on Job Seekers Social Media Use and Identity Creation.”
Reit, Rachel “ The Influence of the Military's Masculine Culture on Service Members' Help Searching Behaviors.”
Sloan, Katie “Sophisticated Approach to Complex Analysis Applied Theory of Planned behavior to New Context.”
Soley, Theresa “Can Big Whales Inspire Big Behaviors? A study of environmental communication and nature immersion.”
Wisla, Matthew “An Investigation into the Teaching of International Public Relations to Undergraduates.”
Yang, Shiyu “Linking Heuristic Systematic Processing in Adoption of Behavior.”
2016
De Rose, Danielle "Baby Dust to All!!!" Identity Construction in the Two-Week Wait Online Discussion Forums.”
Miller, Katharine “Inside the Halls and Walls: Exploring CSR from the Employees Perspective.’
Trisler, Bree “Making an Audience: An Analysis of Making a Murderer.”
2015
Brown, Enrique (Rick): “Slipping into darkness : an ideological critique of racial inequality coverage in Milwaukee newspapers, 2010-2014.”
Li, (Ms) Shiyao: “Risk Information and Processing About HPV Among Chinese Female Students in the United States.”
Michel, Angela (Angie) R.:” Slim truth: a textual and autoethnographic analysis of celebrity eating disorder coverage in People magazine."
Parker, Kayla M.: “Free to inform: a study of influences on newswork at a National Public Radio station.”
Taylor, Andrew G.: “Connecting the dots: issues of organizational identity among training and development professionals.”
Voboril, Alyssa J.: “Motivation MealPrep, Inc. – a start up company to combat the Wisconsin obesity epidemic. A business model, content marketing strategy and meal prep delivery plan.”
2014
Deng, (Mr) Tao (Tony): “Selling "Kawaii" in Advertising: Testing Cross-Cultural Perceptions of Kawaii Appeals.”
Kirton, (Ms) Nkenge: “Improving the Effectiveness of Print Advertising Copy Using the Theory of Planned Behavior as a Guide.”
Torres, David H.: “Identification and identity building in/by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).”
2013
Garbutt, Cassidy F.: “Skinny Secrets: Promoting the "Less Is More" Ideology in Women's Diet Books.”
Henrichs, Barry: “Psychological Safety as a Mediator of Relational Coordination in Interdisciplinary Hospital Care Units.”
Hill, Kyle C.: “Using a Modified Heuristic-Systematic Model to Characterize Information Seeking on the Internet.”
Lu, (Mr) Hang: “Burgers or Tofu? Eating Between Two Worlds: Risk Information Seeking and Processing During Dietary Acculturation.”
Johnson, Patrick R.: “The Impurity Truth: How Popular Media Taught Millennial Males To Get Laid And "Do It" As Early As Possible.”
Swenson, Angela E.: “Follow me: a network analysis of Marquette University's Twitter network."
2012
Berg, Allison C. “How I Was Saved: Christian Conversion Narratives in Contemporary Society.”
Brinker, David L. “Investigating Predictors of Preferences for Deliberative Qualities in Political Conversation.”
Calhoun, Gregory J. “Seeking Safety? Applying the Risk Information Seeking and Processing Model to the Risk of Sexual Aggression on a College Campus.”
Collette, Ashley K. “Reclaiming ‘Victim’ Through Untold Stories: An Analysis of the Personal Stories of Women Who Survived Violence.”
Kempka, Daria L. “Visual Resistance: How do Creative Activists use Visual Rhetoric to Challenge Brand Messages?”
Lavin, Katherine M. “Mothering Wars? Unpacking a Contested Term.”
Moore, Colleen C. “Exploring the Social Entrepreneur’s Impact on Constructing Organizational Identity.”
Moyer, Caitlin M. “Relationship of Facebook Usage to Team Identifications.”
Pilak, Nora B. “Cultivating & Retaining Volunteers: An Analysis of Volunteer Identification in Nonprofit Organizations.”
Reeves, Kira-Lynn “Manna from the Glossy Pulpit: Food Advertising and Editorial Advice in Women’s Magazines.”
2011
Knoespel, Rachel. “How Did Toyota Stay on Top? Revisiting Crisis Communication Discourse.”
Kretz, Valerie. "Perceived Reality of Magazine Images of Women: A New Scale."
Stageman, Amanda. "Consulting Social Media in the College Decision-Making Process: Experiential Accounts of the Class of 2014."
Bao, Jingyu. "Assessing the Potential Effectiveness of Environmental Advertising: the Influence of Ecological Concern and Ad Type on Systematic Information Gathering."
2010
Hansch, Julia A. “Effects of Parental Divorce on Uncertainty Following Initial Communication with a Romantic Partner.”
Valentine, Valerie. “A Narrative Analysis of Climate Change Coverage in the New York Times, 1988-2008: Social Responsibility and Weight of Evidence Reporting.”
Atkinson, Kari R. “Constantly Connected: A Case Study on the Impact of BlackBerry Phones on Corporate Communication.”
Greenwood, Molly. “A Different Kind of Inter-Media Agenda Setting: How Campaign Ads Influenced the Blogosphere in the ’08 Election.”
Thomas, Ruby M. “Magazines and the Internet: Translating Cover Stories from Print to Web.”
2008
Buckley, Tyler J. “Communication That Is Truly Deep:A Rhetorical Discussion of Sailor Jerry’s Tattoo Flash Designs.”
Joseph Antony, Pradeep T. “YouTube Ads: An Issue Ownership Study of the 2008 Presidential Primary Campaign.”
Shebesta, Kristin A. "The Influence of Family Communication on Students’ Communication Apprehension in the Academic Advising Relationship."
Venger, Olesya V. "Advergaming for Social ad Political Causes: Activating the Public Through Online Videogames."
2007
Kennedy, Elizabeth A. "Understanding Media Frames: A Frame Analysis of Rape Coverage in Major Metropolitan Daily Newspapers."
McMillen, Jeanine T. "What Do you Want to Be When You Grow Up? A Discursive Analysis of Career Socialization and Decision Making."
2006
Boerner, Franziska U. "International Students' Risk Perception, Seeking and Processing of Avian Flu Related Information."
Christopher, Stephanie A. "The Impact of Medical Providers' Religiosity on their Willingness to Relinquish Relational Control in Conversations with Patients about End-of-Life Care."
Darrah, Teresa L. "A Secondary Analysis of Renewable Energy Data Using Information and Processing Model and the Knowledge Gap Model."
Ortiz, Sherry L. "Risk Perceptions of Dental Radiation and What Prompts People to Ask About Risks."
2005
Inman, Kenneth (Alex). "The Effect of the Information Sufficiency Gap on Cognitive Work in a Web-Based, Process-Oriented Learning Environment."
Kirk, Andrew J. "An Examination of Message Variation in Cigarette Advertisements Aimed at Caucasian and African-American Women."
Lewander, Nancy K. "A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Intranet Use in a Multinational Organization."
Li, (Ms) Dan. "Why Do You Blog: A Uses-and-Gratification Inquiry into Blogger's Motivations."
Salucka, Jeremy S. "Dancing with Dissonance: Organizational Communication at a Women's Substance-Abuse Treatment Agency."
Sargent, N. Hale. "Asylum and Sexual Orientation: Experiences and Beliefs."
Yang, (Ms) Zheng (Janet). "Effects of Ethnic Communication on Chinese Student's Acculturation Process."
Ye, (Ms) Jianjie (Sarah). "Attitude Accessibility: Moderating Country-of-Origin Effects."
2004
Leick, Jaime. "Where's the Story? An Analysis of Human Service Experience with the Media Towards an Understanding of Social Issue News."
Lor, Mary L. "Hmong Communication Values Scale: Development, Reliability and Validity."
Park, Jin Seong. "Framing Analysis of Pfizer's Strategies to Manage Public Affairs Policy Issues Regarding Direct-to-Consumer Advertising."
Trumble, Amy. "Quality of Newspaper Coverage: A Qualitative Case Study of Competitive vs. Non-competitive Newspaper Coverage."
2003
Groshek, C. Jacob. "Analyzing Media Coverage of the Case for War with Iraq: A Study of News Frames and Indexing from September 27 to October 25, 2002."
McAvoy, Heather. "Empty Words or Inspiring Prose: Exploring Organizational Mission Statements and Organizational Identification."
Okonji, Anthony Obiero. "The Role of Satellite Radio in Bridging the Digital Divide: A Case Study of Worldspace Foundation Projects in Africa."
2002
Ambikar, Rucha. "Negotiating Identity: Exploring Communication and Cultural Values in Mississippi Masala."
Crisp, Elizabeth A. "A Comparative Study of Mother-Daughter Communication in Two Asian Cultures: A Daughter's Perspective."
Seelman, Pamela. "Keeping the Gate: An Evaluation of Agent's Use of Cooperative Extension Press Releases."
2001
Alessi, Simona. "The Treatment by Corriere Della Sera of JFK: An Analysis of an Italian News Media Perspective on the Kennedy Presidency."
Mueller, Tom. "Using the Elaboration Likelihood Model to Assess Retirement Financial Preparation: Public Relations Implications."
Nichols, Mark A. "The Effects of Televised Professional Wrestling on Children's Levels of Aggression."
Penington, Barbara A. "The Mother-Adolescent Daughter Relationship: Experience, Communication, and Ethnicity."
Stockwell, Tracy A. "Decentering Whiteness Within Public Discourse: A Critical Framework."
