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Graduate Catalog | 2023-2024 Previous Edition
Communication Studies, M.A.
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The Master of Arts in Communication Studies is designed to provide advanced study in the communication discipline, particularly in the areas of organizational communication, critical media and rhetorical studies, health communication, and public relations. All studies emphasize the ability to understand and analyze communication practices in different environments in the 21st Century. The curriculum is broad-based and is a balance of theory and application to practice.
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Admission Requirements
At minimum, students must:
- Meet all of the Graduate School requirements
- Submit three letters of recommendation
- Submit a strong personal essay outlining their reasons for pursuing a master’s degree
- Submit an academic writing sample
The department does allow students to take up to six (6) credit hours as a post-baccalaureate student; students must follow the Graduate School guidelines for application for this status. Students are encouraged to meet with the Graduate Program Director as soon as possible after registering as a post-baccalaureate student to discuss application procedures and program options.
GRE Waiver
The GRE score requirement is waived for all applicants to the M.A. in Communication Studies program.
Early Entry Program
Exceptional undergraduate students at UNC Charlotte may apply for the Early Entry Program and begin work toward the graduate degree before completion of the baccalaureate degree. See the Undergraduate Catalog for details and requirements. Also see the Degree Requirements and Academic Policies section of the Graduate Catalog for more information about Early Entry Programs.
Degree Requirements
The Master of Arts degree program requires the completion of thirty-three (33) credit hours of graduate work. All students, regardless of orientation and area of study, must complete four (4) core courses. All students writing a thesis or a directed project earn their final six (6) credit hours with research-based activities. No more than six (6) credit hours may be taken at 5000 level. All courses must be taken within seven years after admission into the Communication Studies master’s program.
Core Courses (12 credit hours)
Interest Area Electives (15-21 credit hours)
The graduate program is a generalist program, in that students don’t specialize in any one area but instead take courses across interest areas in COMM 6000 (Topics in Communication Studies) courses.
All graduate assistants must take COMM 6200 (Communication Pedagogy) as one of their electives.
Students may satisfy three hours of elective credit by taking COMM 6880 (Independent Study) or COMM 6881 (Communication Research Practicum) or COMM 6410 (Professional Communication Studies Internship).
Faculty teach and conduct research across the following interest areas:
Organizational Communication
Organizational communication focuses on the various ways individuals influence and are influenced by organizations and their members. Work in organizational communication is concerned with organizational culture and symbolism, interpersonal and group communication, change communication, globalization, mediated communication, leader communication, structural concerns of organizational communication, and critical analysis of organizational communication.
Rhetoric, Culture, and Social Change
Graduate study in the rhetoric, culture, and social area focuses on how texts shape experience, thought, and social relations in cultural contexts. Our faculty take up issues of historical and contemporary concern typically associated with rhetorical and critical-cultural studies, including influence, power, identity, and social change. Example topics in the rhetorical/cultural studies area include African American oratory, rhetorical criticism, sports communication, and rhetoric of social change.
Health Communication
Health communication is a field of study offering students a better understanding of the communication within a health context. This includes, but is not limited to, provider-patient interaction; the creation, promotion, and influence of health information; social and community health issues; healthcare organizations; media messages about health; and interpersonal health communication.
Public Relations
The focus of public relations is on building and maintaining internal and external relationships with entities essential to an organization’s success, including entities such as media, activist groups, community groups, and regulators. The focus of UNC Charlotte’s program is on public relations management, especially in the areas of issues tracking, corporate communication, crisis communication, not-for-profit communication, and international public relations efforts.
Media and Technology Studies
Graduate study of media and technology studies concentrates on applied and critical research on the organization and effects of media industries and new media technologies. Areas of study include persuasion and popular culture, computer-mediated persuasion, computer-mediated communication, and the rhetoric of spectator sport.
Capstone Experience (0-6 credit hours)
Students choose among three (3) options for their capstone experience: writing a thesis (6 credit hours); designing and conducting a directed project (6 credit hours); or taking the comprehensive examination (0 credit hours).
Thesis
A thesis is a written research document incorporating original research in a student’s area of interest. Students select a thesis committee chair and two committee members and submit a proposal to them. The written thesis is defended before the thesis chair and committee members in the semester the student graduates. A thesis must be written and defended within seven (7) calendar years after admission into the Communication Studies master’s program.
Directed Project
A directed project is an applied research document involving research and application to a real world problem or opportunity. Students select a directed project chair and two committee members and submit a project to them. The completed project is presented to the directed project chair and committee members in the semester the student graduates. A directed project must be successfully completed and presented within seven (7) calendar years after admission into the Communication Studies master’s program.
Comprehensive Examination
The comprehensive examination is a nine-hour, written examination and oral defense covering communication theory, communication research methods, and a third comprehensive area each student designates as their specialty area of study in communication. Students opting to take the comprehensive examination should indicate their intention to the Graduate Program Director in the semester previous to the one in which they plan to sit for the examination. The examination itself carries no credit hours; students selecting this option must take six (6) additional credit hours to reach the thirty (30) hour credit requirement. The comprehensive examination must be successfully completed within the seven (7) year master’s time limit for degree completion.
Degree Total = 33 Credit Hours
Grade Requirements
Successful completion of the degree requires a minimum GPA of 3.0.
Advising
Upon formal acceptance, all graduate students must meet with the Graduate Program Director to file a proposed plan of study in the department and become familiar with the department’s expectations. As students progress through their program of study, the Graduate Program Director will assist them in selecting a suitable advisor and committee members for the thesis, directed project, or comprehensive examination options.
Assistantships
The Department has regular research/teaching assistantships available on a competitive basis to qualified students. Students will automatically be considered for an assistantship as part of the regular application process.
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