Current Graduate Students

graduate handbook: procedures for completing the
m. a. degree

Our general requirements are posted below. Please consult the graduate handbook, Procedures for Completing the MA Degree: 2009-2010, for detailed information.

general requirements

Students enrolled in the Master's program can select from one of two options: Take fewer courses and write a thesis, or take more coursework and write a professional paper. Regardless of the option chosen, all students must meet the requirements outlined below.

  1. Students must complete four required courses:
    1. COMM 460: Communication Research Methods (offered every semester)
    2. COMM 461: Research Seminar (offered every semester - 1 credit course to accompany 460)
    3. COMM 561: Qualitative Methods
  2. Students must enroll in at least one of the following three courses:
    1. COMM 555: Rhetorical Criticism and Theory
    2. COMM 520: Survey of Organizational Communication
    3. COMM 511: Survey of Interpersonal Communication
  3. Other course requirements include:
    1. In addition to the above courses, students must enroll for a minimum of 9 hours in other COMM courses at either the 400 or 500 level.
    2. TA's and those wishing to teach are strongly encouraged to take COMM 540, Seminar in Instructional Communication.
  4. An undergraduate statistics course is required.
    1. Students are encouraged to take a statistics course prior to entering graduate school.
    2. Those without an undergraduate statistics course will be required to enroll in one during their first year of graduate study, and preferably prior to enrolling in COMM 460/461.
    3. Attendance in Proseminar is expected of all graduate students, particularly in the first year. As of April. 2009, proseminar is no longer offered for credit.
  5. Students without undergraduate majors in communication may have additional requirements.
    1. Some students may be required to take more than the minimum number of hours required for a Master's degree to ensure a sufficient background in the discipline is attained.
    2. A minimum of 20 hours of COMM credits will be required for students without a strong background in communication studies.
  6. Co-curricular courses are available.
    1. Independent study credits are available to students working on specialized projects with faculty members or participating in internships. Independent Study (COMM 596) is offered for either CR/NCR or traditional letter grade, and is repeatable for a maximum of 6 credits, including a graduate-level internship (optional). Students enrolling in COMM 596 are expected to do graduate-level work.
    2. Students also have the option of enrolling in COMM 541 (Teaching the Basic Course) to meet the Graduate School requirement of 9 semester hours. You may take as many credits of COMM 541 during your residency as necessary, but these credits may not be applied toward your M.A. degree. This course is also CR/NCR only.
  7. Students should keep in mind the Graduate School requirements, which are in addition to departmental requirements (for detailed information see the UM Graduate School):
    1. A full 50% or more of the student's required course work (excluding research and thesis credits) must be at the 500-600 level.
    2. To be considered full time, graduate students must enroll in 9 credits per semester.
  8. Upon completion of 18 credits, students must choose a permanent advisor and select the thesis or no-thesis option.
    1. To begin this process, students must prepare an Academic and Professional Identity Statement. This requirement is to aid you in examining your own interests as well as in making career plans. This one-to-three page statement will serve as the cover letter for your Program of Study and should contain the following elements:
      1. A statement of your primary scholarly interest (e.g., conflict), any secondary areas (e.g., feminist rhetoric, family communication), and an explanation of how the various areas cohere as a set;
      2. A brief description of your anticipated professional paper or thesis project, including theoretical and methodological approaches;
      3. An explanation of how your proposed program of study provides the best possible preparation for you to pursue your interests and your project/thesis, with special attention to any anomalies or unusual pursuits (e.g., why you are not taking a directly related course or why you did take a course that, at first glance, does not seem to fit).
      4. A statement of your career goals insofar as you know them, professional or personal experiences that have shaped those goals, and a discussion of how your scholarly interests and practical projects relate to your future plans.
      5. Your plan for making the best use of the summer of your first year; perhaps by doing a graduate internship or independent study (if relevant), supplementing your coursework here with classes at other institutions (if needed), doing bibliographic work on topics of interest, gathering preliminary data for a thesis prospectus or professional paper proposal (if called for), or drafting a prospectus/proposal.
      6. Your choice of culminating project. You can complete your degree by doing either a Thesis or Professional Paper. Each option has specific requirements.