Master of Arts in Communication Studies

Program Description

The online graduate program in Communication Studies focuses on advanced topics in the field, including:

• gendered communication
• organizational communication
• health communication
• interpersonal and family communication

These areas of study are important ones in communication research, and the Department of Communication Studies offers a useful and insightful combination of the topics in its online master's degree.

This program is designed for aspiring doctoral students in communication studies as well as professionals wishing to advance their careers. It is also an attractive option for graduate students in Psychology, Education, Sociology, and Criminal Justice who are searching for a complementary minor. For those who aspire to a PhD in one of these fields, an MA emphasizing interpersonal communication could be a useful stepping stone.

Admissions

Students seeking admission to the graduate program in Communication Studies must submit the following documents to the Office of Graduate Admissions:

1. Graduate Application
2. Application fee
3. Official transcripts of all college-level work are required, including the transcript that shows the date the undergraduate degree was conferred. A minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 is required, although this requirement is sometimes waived in cases where the applicant already has a graduate degree.
4. Official GRE or Miller’s Analogy scores
5. Three letters of recommendation that discuss the applicant’s suitability for graduate study
6. Undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher

A holistic review of each student’s application file will be completed, and admission will be granted on a competitive basis.

Degree Requirements

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Communication Studies

Students enrolled in the Master’s Program in Communication Studies must complete 36 hours of coursework. (Please note that there is, currently, no thesis option available in the program.)

Of these hours, at least 30 must be completed within the Department of Communication Studies at Sam Houston State University.

All graduate students are required to take a written comprehensive examination over all coursework taken for the MA degree. Students must be enrolled in the University the semester or summer session in which the comprehensive exam is administered.

Four of the six required courses for the M.A. program are each offered only once every two years.  These courses are COMS 5331 Comm Studies Methods & Resrch, COMS 5332 Statistical Methods For Comm, COMS 5360 Adv Interpersonal Communicatns, and COMS 5380 Advanced Family Communication .  It is absolutely essential, therefore, that when students notice any one of these courses being offered in a given semester, they should register to take the course during that semester.  Otherwise, the student will not be able to graduate on time (in two years) even if he or she takes a full load every semester.  In other words, if students miss any one of these courses when the courses are offered, they will have to wait another two years to take the course in question before they can graduate.