GRADUATE PROGRAM AND APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Applications for graduate study may be acquired through the graduate admissions office at 561-297-2618 or gradadm@fau.edu. Deadlines for submitting completed applications are July 15 for Fall admission (April 1 for international applicants), November 15 for Spring admission (October 1 for international applicants), and March 1 for all applicants interested in obtaining a teaching assistantship. Further information about the program and assistantships can be acquired by contacting the M.A. Coordinator, Dr. David Williams, at 561-297-0045 or by e-mail at dcwill@fau.edu.

Availability of Assistantships

Graduate Assistantships are available. Primarily, these involve teaching and/or assisting in such undergraduate courses as Public Speaking, Film Appreciation, Interpersonal Communication, Introduction to Media Studies, and/or Discovering Human Communication and Rhetoric. Applicants interested in an assistantship should indicate their desire and qualifications in their 500-word goal statement and fill out the Graduate Assistantship Application Form.

Master of Arts with Major in Communication

Admission Requirements

1. Applicants should have:

   • A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution.

   • A minimum 3.0 grade point average in the last 60 undergraduate credit hours attempted.

   • A combined score of 1000 or higher on the verbal and quantitative sections of the GRE. Provided the applicant has the minimum 3.0 GPA, the School will accept a combined score of 1000 or higher on the verbal and analytical section of the GRE instead.

2. Applicants must also submit, along with the application, a 500-word typewritten statement of their goals, aspirations and reasons for seeking the M.A. in Communication.

3. Applicants must submit two (2) letters of recommendation.

4. Applicants are encouraged to submit a sample of their scholarly work. This is optional.

5. Each international applicant must also meet the additional requirements listed in the graduate catalog.

6. The student need not have an undergraduate specialization in communication to apply for the M.A. program.

Requirements for Admission to Degree Candidacy

A student may be admitted to candidacy for the degree of Master of Arts in Communication after having satisfied the following requirements:

1. The student must have completed a minimum of 9 credits of graduate course work in Communication with an average of 3.0 or better.

2. The student must demonstrate a reading knowledge of a foreign language, as required by the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters.

3. The student must complete all other college and university requirements for admission to candidacy in the Master of Arts program.

4. The student must be recommended by the School and supervisory committee.

Requirements for Degree—Thesis Option

Minimum of 30 credit hours.

1. 9 credits of required courses:

   • COM 6400 (3 credits) - Introduction to Graduate Studies in Communication

   • Theory (3 credits from the following, as appropriate to generalist program or concentration) - COM 6402, SPC 6232, SPC 6237, SPC 6234, FIL 6807 (cannot be used to fulfill both the theory and methodology requirements), RTV 6006, MMC 6408, SPC 6710

   • Methodology (3 credits from the following, as appropriate to generalist program or concentration) - COM 6340, COM 6316, FIL 6807 (cannot be used to fulfill both the theory and methodology requirements), COM 6341, FIL 6935 (TV Criticism topic), SPC 6682

2. 15 credits of approved electives, of which a minimum of 9 must be in Communication. Any course work in a program other than Communication must be approved in writing by a Communication faculty advisor prior to enrollment.

3. 6 credits of thesis research.

4. Courses taken to satisfy the foreign language requirement cannot be applied to the degree.

5. Submission of an approved thesis.

6. A minimum of 3.0 GPA on all work completed.

7. A grade of B or higher on all credit applied to the degree.

Requirements for Degree—Non-Thesis Option

Minimum of 36 credit hours.

1. 9 credits of required courses:

   • Theory (3 credits from the following, as appropriate to generalist program or concentration) - COM 6402, SPC 6232, SPC 6237, SPC 6234, FIL 6807 (cannot be used to fulfill both the theory and methodology requirements), RTV 6006, MMC 6408, SPC 6710

   • Methodology (3 credits from the following, as appropriate to generalist program or concentration) - COM 6340, COM 6316, FIL 6807 (cannot be used to fulfill both the theory and methodology requirements), COM 6341, FIL 6935 (TV Criticism topic), SPC 6682

2. 27 credits of elective courses, of which a minimum of 21 must be in Communication. Any course work in a program other than Communication must be approved in writing by a Communication faculty advisor prior to enrollment.

3. Satisfactory completion of a comprehensive examination.

4. Courses taken to satisfy the foreign language requirement cannot be applied to the degree.

5. A grade of B or higher on all credits applied to the degree.

6. Additional requirements that the student's advisory committee may prescribe.

M.A. in Communication/Non-Thesis Option: Comprehensive Examination Procedures

In the Fall and Spring terms of each year, the School of Communication & Multimedia Studies will administer the M.A. Comprehensive Examination to students who have elected the non-thesis option. Comprehensive Examinations are given twice a year, in November and April, with specific dates announced at the beginning of each semester.

The examination will be administered by the student’s Graduate Advisory Committee, established at the time of the student’s admission to candidacy. The committee must include a minimum of two faculty members from the School, with three faculty members overall.

The exam will be administered during the semester following the completion of coursework. During the final semester of coursework, the student will work with his/her graduate advisor to develop a bibliography, comprised of three distinct reading lists that correspond to three unique subject areas. Subject areas will be based on the student’s area of emphasis and course of study. Each reading list should include core texts that cover the breadth and depth of the subject area, and the student may be required to read texts not yet considered as part of the graduate course of study.

During the semester of the exam, the members of the student’s graduate advisory committee will develop a list of up to three questions for each subject area. During the week of the exam, the student will select and answer one question from each area.

The exam will be administered across three consecutive days, with one set of subject area questions being handed out each day. Students will have 24 hours to complete the chosen question (questions must be picked up by noon and returned by noon the following day). Responses must be typed and double spaced, and students are responsible for printing 3 copies of each response (one for each committee member). Exams are open note and open book, and may be written on or off campus. Students are reminded that plagiarism is a violation of academic integrity and will result in a failing mark, as well as appropriate academic action.

Exams will be graded by the members of the student’s advisory committee, with all members responding to each question. Each answer will be assigned a grade according to the following scale: P (pass) or NP (no pass). In order to pass the examination, students must receive a P for all questions. When failure occurs, the student will have one opportunity to retake the exam the following semester with a new set of questions from the section(s) he/she failed.

The student must be enrolled in three credit hours in the School during the semester he/she plans to graduate.

An oral defense of the examination will be left to the discretion of the student's committee.

Recommended Areas of Concentration

Students may pursue a generalist program as consistent with requirements of the Thesis or Non-Thesis option above, or may select courses in one of the recommended areas of concentration as consistent with requirements of the Thesis or Non-Thesis option above.