Communication, MA

The Communication program offers a graduate MA degree in communication. The program’s areas of specialization reflect the mission of the program: communication policy and planning, global communication, information and communication technologies, intercultural communication, public relations and social media. Both individual faculty members and the program as a whole work within sociocultural and sociotechnical perspectives. The goal of our program in terms of student learning is to help our students build and exchange knowledge in areas relevant to the broad field of communication and to our specific areas of specialization.

Qualified applicants are admitted to the program in the fall semester only. Applicants are not required to have an undergraduate communication degree, but are expected to possess the ability and/or capacity to handle the requirements of the program. All applicants must fulfill the Graduate Division’s admission requirements. Applicants to the program must submit to the program a statement of academic objectives and the planned role of our program in helping meet those objectives. Applicants must also arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent to the program. These letters should be written by persons who are familiar with the student’s academic accomplishments. Letters from former professors are preferred. Students applying from non-English-speaking countries must have a minimum TOEFL score of 80 or 6.5 on the IELTS. Applicants whose academic objectives match our program specializations will be admitted as classified students on a space-available basis.

Each classified student admitted into our program is assigned an interim advisor who assists the student in the initial planning of their degree program. The student may, at any time, change that advisor by informing the program staff of the change. Once the student has selected a thesis or practicum committee chair that faculty member becomes their permanent advisor. Students are best served by selecting their topic of study before settling on a plan (thesis or practicum). The thesis route is generally considered the orthodox option, but there are some instances when it is not the optimal one. Students and their committee chairs should discuss the pros and cons of each plan before settling on one. Students are encouraged to weigh their options carefully and expected to work closely with their committee chair moving forward. It is the committee chair’s obligation to ensure adequate rigor whether it be the thesis or practicum route. The student remains, however, primarily responsible to ascertain that all program requirements are met in a timely fashion.