Admission to the Program
Applicants must meet the minimum university requirements for graduate study. Admission to the program requires a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with at least a 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) grade point average in last 60 hours of undergraduate course work. International students whose first language is not English should take the TOEFL examination to demonstrate proficiency in written as well as spoken English. All applicants must earn a satisfactory score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General (verbal, quantitative, and analytical).
Previous academic or professional work in public communication is not required, but all applicants must demonstrate a serious commitment to a career in this field. The ability to speak and write English well is essential. Official transcripts, two letters of recommendation, and a 1,000-word essay on the applicant’s commitment to pursuing graduate study in the program are submitted with the application. Interviews are not required, but may be recommended by the school.
Admission is open to both full-time and part-time students for the fall semester. Full-time students are generally expected to complete the program in ten months. Part-time students are expected to take a minimum of two courses each semester and complete their program in two years. The program is also available in a weekend format which takes twenty months to complete (see below).
Qualified undergraduate students may apply to a combined bachelor’s/M.A. program and use up to 6 credit hours of 500-level courses to satisfy the requirements of both degrees.
Degree Requirements
- 30 credit hours of approved graduate work
- A graduate project with a grade of B or better is required of all students. This project, which fulfills the university research requirement, is in lieu of a thesis.
The project work must be focused in a particular communication area, such as: arts communication; government and political communication; international public relations; public interest communication; or corporate public relations (elective options in business administration are limited). The project should be selected to provide an important credential for future employment as well as a focus for learning. It should reflect the student’s career direction within the broad field of public communication.
- A grade point average of 3.00 maintained during all work toward the degree
- Comprehensive examination in public communication
Course Requirements
- COMM-640 Principles of Strategic Communication (3)
- COMM-642 Public Communication Management (3)
or
COMM-646 Public Communication Practicum (3)
- COMM-644 Public Communication Writing (3)
- COMM-735 Communication Theory (3) (with a grade of B or better)
- COMM-738 Research Methods in Communication (3) (with a grade of B or better)
- COMM-744 Public Communication Seminar (3) (with a grade of B or better)
- 12 credit hours in elective courses:
Students may take an internship as one of the elective courses. Other elective courses may be taken in communication or in other fields such as sociology, business, performing arts, education, government, justice, international service, psychology, anthropology, art history, literature, economics, or statistics.
Weekend Graduate Program in Communication: Public Communication
With its emphasis on public relations, this program, conducted on Saturdays, is for experienced professionals who wish to enhance their skills in conducting and managing strategic communication campaigns, yet their schedules won't allow a full-time or even a part-time graduate program during the week. Admission requirements are the same as for the full-time program with the additional prerequisite of at least three years of work experience, and the program starts in the fall semester only. Students are expected to complete the program within a twenty-month period.
Combined Bachelor’s Degree and M.A. in Communication: Public Communication
American University offers students the opportunity to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees through its accelerated bachelor’s/master’s programs. Undergraduate students may complete up to 3 credits for every 9 credits required for the graduate degree that may be applied to the requirements for both degree programs. The department that oversees the graduate program the student enters will determine if the courses the undergraduate student completes will satisfy master’s degree requirements. Bachelor’s/master’s students must complete at least 18 in-residence credit hours at the graduate level after the bachelor’s degree is earned and maintain continuous, sequential enrollment in the two programs.
This program enables highly qualified students to earn a B.A. or B.S. in any discipline and an M.A. in Communication: Public Communication.
Requirements
- Admission to the combined program requires second semester junior or senior standing, a cumulative grade point average of 3.5, a formal application, two written faculty recommendations, a statement of purpose, and a positive review by the faculty admissions committee. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required unless applying for School of Communication Merit Awards.
- All requirements for a bachelor’s degree in the student’s major at American University
Undergraduate students may apply up to 9 credit hours of approved graduate-level course work to satisfy the requirements for both degrees.
All requirements for the M.A. in Communication: Public Communication, including a minimum of 18 credit hours completed in residence in graduate status after the undergraduate degree has been awarded. Students must finish the master’s degree requirements within three years from the date of first enrollment in the master’s program.
