Strategic communication professionals and students looking to boost their resumes can soon do so from the comfort of their own home with the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication online master’s program, administrators said.

The online master’s degree program for strategic communication will begin in January 2014, said Doug Hindman, an associate professor for the Murrow College and a leader in the committee working to establish the program.

Hindman said students who enroll in the online program will receive a broad education.

To keep up the Murrow tradition, students will be offered a variety of courses in communication practice and theory, he said.

Some of the other courses available in the program will be communication ethics, new media content creation, research method, crisis communication, and persuasion, Hindman said.

Michael Beam, a professor for the multimedia content creation course and program committee member in the Murrow College, said employers are looking for their employees to have experience in several subjects.

“When I’ve talked to employers, it’s almost universal that they want employees to be multi-platform savvy,” Beam said.

An analysis of the job market in Washington state released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Washington State Employment Security Department showed strategic communication as a growing field in the Pacific Northwest.

Rebecca Cooney, a professor for the creative media strategy and techniques course in the Murrow College, said an online master’s program is especially important for working professionals.

“In the U.S., 1-in-6 people employed are working in the media industry business,” she said.

The online program will provide students with an opportunity to get up to speed with new industry standards, Cooney said.

Strategic communication is a growing industry and has a large number of new roles available, Cooney said.

Hindman said the online program will give students an edge over their competition in the business.

“They will not only get a master’s, which give them credentials to compete better, but also updated skills in using media as well as evaluating campaigns,” he said.

Beam said the program will boost skills and provide a record of training from a respective institution.

Students with or without a communication background now have the opportunity to benefit from Murrow’s tradition of preparing professionals, Hindman said.

“Murrow taught us to be able to improve your field,” he said.