University Catalog

Objective

Admission Standards

Prospective students must apply for admission through, and supply all information required by the Graduate School. In addition, the following information will be considered in determining admission status into the program: undergraduate GPA, GRE scores, letters of recommendation and an essay. All criteria are considered together; no single factor will eliminate a prospective student from consideration.

The following table outlines specific requirements for unconditional and probationary admission.

GRADUATE ADMISSION STANDARDS

4col Admissions Criteria

Admissions Criteria	Unconditional	Probationary
GPA on last 60 hours of Undergraduate Program (as calculated by Graduate School of UT Arlington)	3.3	3.01	2.8-2.99
GRE	Evaluated	Evaluated	Evaluated
3 letters of recommendation	Evaluated	Evaluated	Evaluated
Essay	Evaluated	Evaluated	Evaluated

1	Minimum undergraduate GPA requirement for unconditional admission is a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

Students not meeting unconditional criteria will be reviewed by a committee of Chair of the Department of Communication, Graduate Advisor, and Graduate Program Committee. The committee will review the following: a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.8 (in last 60 hours of undergraduate work); GRE scores (verbal, analytical and quantitative); letters of recommendation; and essay. An applicant who performs successfully on a majority of these criteria may be admitted on probation. The committee will make a final admission decision and document that decision for the student record.

UNCONDITIONAL ADMISSION

Criteria for unconditional admission status are designated in the previous table. Decisions on unconditional admission are made after considering the minimum GPA noted in the graduate admission standards and all other criteria noted in the preceding paragraph.

PROBATIONARY ADMISSION

Criteria for probationary admission status are designated in the previous table. When on probation, students can make no grade lower than a 3.0 in their first 12 semester hours of graduate coursework.

PROVISIONAL ADMISSION

An applicant unable to supply all required documentation prior to the admission deadline but who otherwise appears to meet admission requirements.

DEFERRED STATUS

Deferred decision is granted when a file is incomplete or when a denied decision is not appropriate.

DENIAL OF ADMISSION

An applicant will be denied admission if he or she has less than satisfactory performance on a majority of admission criteria listed in the previous table.

FELLOWSHIP CRITERIA

Fellowship selection will be based on the highest GPA in the last 60 hours of the bachelor’s degree program. Candidates for fellowships must meet the following criteria:

1. New students coming to UT Arlington in the fall of each semester.
2. Have a GPA of at least 3.0 in their last 60 hours of their bachelor’s degree program.
3. Minimum 3.0 GPA in graduate credit hours.
4. Enrolled in a minimum of 6 semester hours in the long semesters.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Arts in Communication degree offers non-thesis/coursework and thesis options. The non-thesis/coursework option will require 36 hours of coursework. The thesis option will require 30 hours that will include 24 credit hours of coursework and a 6-credit-hour thesis. A final comprehensive examination will be required of students in all options.

Courses required of all students in the program in the first semester:		6
COMM 5300	ADVANCED THEORIES IN COMMUNICATION
COMM 5305	COMMUNICATION RESEARCH METHODS
Course required of all students in the program in the second semester:		3
COMM 5306	QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS 1
Courses students may elect to take:		6-18
Thesis Option: Select at least two of the following communication electives:
Non-Thesis/coursework Option: Select at least six of the following communication electives:
COMM 5307	HISTORICAL RESEARCH METHODS IN COMMUNICATION
COMM 5310	THEORIES IN PERSUASION
COMM 5316	CORPORATION COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
COMM 5320	ADVANCED VISUAL COMMUNICATION
COMM 5321	ADVANCED INTERNET MARKETING COMMUNICATION
COMM 5323	COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION
COMM 5332	ADVANCED PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
COMM 5335	GLOBAL COMMUNICATION
COMM 5341	MEDIA MANAGEMENT
COMM 5345	COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNS
COMM 5346	MEDIA AND PUBLIC POLICY
COMM 5347	CRISIS COMMUNICATION
COMM 5349	COMMUNICATION IN VIRTUAL ORGANIZATIONS
COMM 5350	HEALTH COMMUNICATION
COMM 5351	POLITICAL COMMUNICATION
COMM 5391	CONFERENCE COURSE
COMM 5392	SEMINAR
COMM 5399	GRADUATE COMMUNICATION INTERNSHIP
The following three courses are not electives
COMM 5398	THESIS
COMM 5698	THESIS
COMM 5301	SUPERVISED TEACHING
Total Hours		15-27

1	An advanced quantitative research methods course from another department may be substituted for this course with the permission of the communication graduate advisor.

Graduate courses outside the department may be taken with the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee. Students should submit a letter to the graduate advisor including course title, course description, and statement of value to the program of study.

Non-Thesis Option. (36 semester hours total) 36 semester credit hours of coursework are given. The final comprehensive examination will consist of a written and oral exam covering the coursework. Additional remedial work may be required if deemed necessary by the student’s committee. Students failing the examination will not be allowed to test again.

Thesis Option. (30 semester hours total) 24 semester credit hours of coursework and a thesis, for which 6 semester hours are given. The final comprehensive examination will consist of an oral defense of the thesis prospectus and an oral defense of the thesis. Additional remedial work may be required if deemed necessary by the student’s committee.