Course Requirements
Thirty-three credit hours of approved graduate courses are required for the Master of Arts in Communication. The student and faculty advisor design a program of study that includes
- CMM 650 - Seminar in Communication and CMM 655 - Communication Research Methods , to be taken as early as possible in the degree program [6 credits]
- Courses agreed upon by student and faculty advisor [21 credits], up to 12 credits of which may be taken outside the department
- CMM 790 - Thesis Preparation and CMM 791 - Thesis , or two additional graduate courses [6 credits]
- Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA in order to graduate with the master’s degree.
CMM 650 and CMM 655 are the only two required courses in the program. The remaining courses are electives that are selected in consultation with the student’s advisor. These elective courses are in three main areas: media, integrated communication, and human communication. Courses in the media area examine the structure of media industries, content produced by media outlets, and the influence of media on audiences. Courses in integrated communication, which is a blend of advertising and public relations, provide both grounding in theory in this area and projects in which students use these theories to create effective presentations in professional settings. The human communication area analyzes communication between people in various social contexts, including organizational, small-group, and interpersonal communication.
Based on these discussions with the advisor about one’s professional and intellectual goals, a student may decide to take courses primarily in one of these three areas, or select courses from multiple areas of interest.
For those students who wish to develop an unofficial area of specialization (which will not appear on students’ transcripts as such) in one of the three main areas, the list of recommended courses for each area is as follows:
Special-Topics Courses
Students can further develop a specialization by taking special-topics courses under the designations CMM 591 , CMM 592 , CMM 593 , and CMM 595 that are offered in each of these three areas that provide a timely focus on current topics and issues. Recent special-topics courses in these areas include the following:
Media
Popular Culture, Gender in Communication and Culture, Visual Literacy for Communication Professionals
Integrated Communication
Creating a Positive Brand Image; Corporate Communication: Writing for Impact; Science-Based Communication
Human Communication
Computer-Mediated Communication and Relationships, Teams and Team Work, Persuasion
Students are expected to complete all requirements for the master’s degree within five calendar years of the date of matriculation. In extenuating circumstances, this time limit may be extended by one year by the school’s graduate program director. Up to 6 credits may be transferred from an accredited communication graduate program.
Comprehensive Examination
Students in the graduate program who do not complete a thesis must pass a comprehensive exam in which they answer questions related to their area of specialization. Two full-time faculty members from the School of Communication who have agreed to be exam readers for a student prepare questions for the exam. One question addresses a content area that is the student’s area of specialization, and the second question may address either a second content area or methodology that is related to the student’s area of specialization.
The graduate director administers the exam on one designated day; students type their responses on a computer on campus. Comprehensive exams may only be scheduled between October 1 and December 1, and February 1 and April 15 of any academic year. The exams are not normally scheduled during the summer.
The program director designates where the examination will take place and provides the computer. Students have a total of four hours to compose answers for questions from both faculty readers. Students are allowed to use notes and other materials such as books and journals when composing the exam answers, but they are not allowed access to the Internet.
The student must attend an oral defense session at which faculty members question the student about the submitted answers. Both faculty readers review both answers and the student’s performance at the oral defense, and jointly decide if a student passes or fails. In the event that the readers cannot reach consensus, the graduate program director casts the deciding vote. If the graduate program director is one of the exam readers, the director of the School of Communication casts this vote instead.
In cases in which the student fails the exam, the student has only one opportunity to retake the exam, no later than the end of the following semester. The student must respond to new questions from two readers, who may be either the same people who were readers for the initial exam or different faculty members. If the readers are satisfied with the responses, the student passes the comprehensive exam. If the student does not pass the exam on the second try, the student is dismissed from the graduate program.
Students who fail the exam on the first attempt are encouraged to meet with the graduate director for advice and guidance on taking the exam the second time. Students who fail the exam on the second attempt can request that the decision be reviewed by the director of the School of Communication. If the director is one of the faculty readers, another faculty member in the school is selected to review the decision.
The comprehensive examination may not be taken before the student has completed 24 credit hours of graduate-level course work. Students who elect to complete a thesis are exempt from the comprehensive-exam process.
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