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Communication Master’s Degree (M.A.)

The Master of Arts (M.A.) in communication program is designed to prepare students who want to advance their careers and/or continue their education into a Ph.D. program. We are dedicated to providing a high-quality experience for our students that will help them grow as communication scholars, critical theorists, citizens and professionals. Our graduates are prepared to plan and manage the communication structure of their organization.

Our comprehensive program features course work in:

  • Research methods
  • Communication theory
  • Critical and cultural studies
  • Relational and organizational communication

Degree

Master of Arts in communication

Careers

We train students to excel in:

  • Interpersonal and intercultural communication
  • Gender and organizational communication
  • Non-verbal and small group communication

Program Highlights

  • Students have the opportunity to write papers and present at statewide communication conferences.

  • Small seminar-style classes allow students to connect with professors and their classmates for a more intimate learning environment.

  • Students can join the Communication Graduate Student Association.

Admission Requirements

  • All college and university transcripts
  • Essay

Prerequisites

  • Hold a bachelor’s degree with a GPA of 2.5 or better, including all grades on repeated courses – or hold a bachelor’s degree with a GPA of 3.0 or better in the last 60 hours of undergraduate work.
  • Completion of a minimum of 24 credit hours of undergraduate course work in either communication or journalism, including 12 credit hours of advanced course work (including desktop publishing and graphics, layout and design, or their equivalents).

Application Deadlines

Spring: December 1

Fall: July 15

International Student Spring: November 1

International Student Fall: June 10

Degree Plan

  • The total number of hours required for the program leading to the Master of Arts in communication is 36 for both the thesis and non-thesis options. Students in the program may take only 6000-level course work for their degree plans.

    All degree candidates must take a prescribed core requirement of 12 graduate hours in communication consisting of:

    • COMM 6302 Quantitative Research Methods
    • COMM 6303 Communication Theory
    • COMM 6312 Qualitative Research Methods
    • COMM 6313 Rhetorical Analysis 

    All students enter the program with a non-thesis degree plan. After completing nine semester credit hours (SCH) of communication graduate coursework, students who wish to do so may petition the communication graduate faculty through the graduate advisor to change to a thesis degree plan.

    Thesis students are required to enroll in six hours of thesis work (COMM 6399 Thesis twice, or COMM 6699 Thesis).

    All non-thesis degree candidates are required to pass a comprehensive examination. The exam will include all the communication core courses required on the student’s degree plan (COMM 6302, 6303, 6312 and 6313) in addition to any graduate communication electives completed prior to the semester in which the comprehensive examination is administered. The exam should be administered when the student is in the last semester of his/her program.

    Thesis option students will complete an oral thesis defense that may include questions regarding their course work.

    9-Hour Review: Students will complete a review with department graduate faculty after completing 9 hours of graduate course work.

Assistantships

  • Graduate
  • Teaching

Read this assistantship information to learn more about the availability and the application process.

  • Carr Academic Graduate Scholarships

    Carr Academic Graduate Scholarships are ASU’s premier scholarships for graduate students. Awards are based on undergraduate GPA. Students are considered for the Carr Academic Graduate Scholarship upon their acceptance into the College of Graduate Studies and Research. No application is required.

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