Master of Arts in Communication Studies

The Department of Communication Studies offers the M.A. degree in two areas of concentration:

• Interpersonal, Family, & Health Communication
• Rhetoric & Public Culture

The M.A. program is designed to prepare students for doctoral education. It:

• provides an advanced understanding of the scholarly traditions in communication studies
• trains students in social-scientific and/or humanistic research approaches in order to create proficiency in historical/critical, quantitative, or interpretive/qualitative methods
• develops competent investigators capable of producing communication scholarship of the highest quality
• fosters the creation of teacher-scholars and practitioner-researchers who respect the discipline's pluralism and follow the highest standards of ethical conduct

Students pursuing masters degrees with a major in communication studies must have completed an undergraduate major of at least 30 hours in communication studies or equivalent preparation.

There are thesis and non-thesis options for the two-year Masters program (see Graduate Handbook). There are substantive differences between these various options for the program, which should be chosen to meet the student's professional goals. Each option provides different opportunities and carries different requirements.

Discuss these options with the Director of Graduate Studies and your advisor before making a choice. The choice of option must be approved by the student's adviser and Supervisory Committee.

Approved Specializations

• Ethnic Studies
• Great Plains Studies
• Women's and Gender Studies

More information about the Masters program is available in the Graduate Handbook.