Twelve semester hours of advanced course work in communication or related discipline as determined by the graduate advisor.

Demonstration of academic achievement and potential as indicated by the results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and upper level undergraduate and graduate coursework. Applicants are generally expected to have achieved a GPA of 3.0 or higher in upper level course work.

 
A letter of application to the graduate advisor addressing the rationale for advanced study in communication, along with the names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers of two academic references who can comment about the student's ability to do graduate course work.

TOEFL score of at least 550 (paper) or 213 (Computer based) for international students whose first language is not English or who have not completed a university degree in the United States.

Departmental Acceptance

Selection of qualified students for admission into the program is made by the graduate faculty committee based on the demonstration of academic achievement reflected in the above criteria. Students can be given provisional admission when the graduate faculty determines that additional leveling course work may be needed. In all cases, the final recommendation for pursuing the degree rests with the graduate faculty.

Department Academic Standards

In addition to the graduate school requirements of maintaining a 3.0 GPA in all courses counting towards a degree, the department requires students to earn a grade of AB@ or better in all core research methods courses (5100,5310,5311). Students receiving an AC@ or lower will be required to retake the course for a second time. After repeating a core research methods course a second time, and a grade of AB@ is not achieved, the student will be dismissed from the program.

Mandatory Advising Policy

The department has a mandatory advising policy that requires students to be advised before each semester’s registration period. The graduate advisor posts office hours to accommodate meeting with students. Call the graduate advisor or check the posted office hours for specific information.

Leveling Courses

Students whose BA degree is in another academic area other than Communication may be required to take up to 12 hours of undergraduate courses in the department. These students are required to meet with the graduate advisor to review their undergraduate courses and the graduate advisor will determine the courses needed for leveling. Students must maintain a 3.00 GPA in the courses selected.

Periodic Evaluation

Graduate students will be evaluated by the graduate faculty at two points during their program. The first will occur at the filing of the preliminary program of study. The second will occur at filing of the final program of study.