Communication Studies, MA
Advertising, Advocacy, Business Communications, Communication, Community, Community Organizing, Corporate Public Affairs, Journalist, Mass Communication, Politician, Public Relations, Public Speaking, intercultural communication, marketing, media
Advance your career by mastering communication strategies that make an impact. You'll learn to use media effectively, build stronger relationships and advocate for meaningful change. Your ability to ethically influence outcomes through strategic messaging will establish you as a trusted voice in any organization.
If you wish to advance in your existing career or pursue a new career as a communication professional, the Master of Arts program in communication studies is designed for you.
With emphasis on both advocacy and social technologies, the program enables you to tailor the program to your personal goals; you can focus on topics such as interpersonal, family, organizational, sport, environmental, global and intercultural communication; social media and politics; or technology-mediated interaction.
Working closely with faculty, you examine how communication improves the quality of workplaces, personal relationships, digital and face-to-face communities, public dialogues, cross-cultural interactions, and relationships between organizations and those who are influenced by their services, including citizens, customers, patients and fans. You also learn to use media and communication to advocate for yourself and others.
- College/school:
New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
- Location: West Valley
- STEM-OPT extension eligible: No
This program allows students to obtain both a bachelor's and a master's degree in as little as five years. Accelerated bachelor's plus master's degree programs are designed for high-achieving students who want the opportunity to share undergraduate coursework with graduate coursework to accelerate completion of their master's degree. These programs feature the same high quality curriculum taught by ASU's world-renowned faculty.
This program is offered as an accelerated bachelor's plus master's degree with:
Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master's during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.
36 credit hours and a written comprehensive exam, or
36 credit hours including the required applied project course (CMN 593) and a written comprehensive exam, or
36 credit hours, a written comprehensive exam and a thesis
Required Core (12 credit hours) Electives (18-24 credit hours) Culminating Experience Options (0-6 credit hours) Additional Curriculum Information The thesis or applied project must demonstrate intellectual ability, academic ability and professional growth. The thesis is supervised and approved by the student's advisor and committee. An oral defense is required for the thesis. The applied project is supervised by the student's advisor. The achievements or results of the applied project should be made available to the public in the form of a presentation, poster, report or other form negotiated with the faculty advisor.
CMN 502 Theory and Practice in Communication and Persuasion (3)
CMN 505 Methods in Applied Communication Research (3)
CMN 506 Humanistic Inquiry and Field Research in Communication (3)
CMN 522 Argumentation and Advocacy (3)
CMN 593 Applied Project, with written comprehensive exam (3)
CMN 599 Thesis, with written comprehensive exam (6)
written comprehensive examination (0)
Electives with the CMN prefix are selected in consultation with the student's program advisor. When appropriate, students may take up to six credit hours outside the program. All electives must be approved by the student's program advisor.
General university admission requirements:
All students are required to meet general
university admission requirements.
U.S.
applicants | International
applicants | English
proficiency
Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.
To be considered for admission to the program, applicants must have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in any field from a regionally accredited institution.
Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.
All applicants must submit:
- graduate admission application and application fee
- official transcripts
- statement of purpose
- three letters of recommendation
- an academic writing sample (preferred) or professional writing sample
- proof of English proficiency
Additional Application Information
An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.
The statement of purpose should describe the applicant's educational background, scholarly interests, and academic and professional goals.
Letters of recommendation from faculty members who know the applicant's work well are preferred; if faculty members are not available, the applicant may submit letters of recommendation from individuals in supervisory or professional roles.
Submission of a resume or curriculum vitae is optional.
Program learning outcomes identify what a student will learn or be able to do upon completion of their program. This program’s learning outcomes include the following:
- Evaluate core concepts and theories of communication and advocacy.
- Design a research study relevant to communication.
- Construct an original argument about the relationship between communication and advocacy through the integration of disciplinary theories, course concepts, and scholarly literature.
Graduates are prepared for jobs in corporate communication, journalism, mass media, social media, politics and a wide variety of other areas. They are well-positioned to pursue doctoral work or careers in many communication-driven fields, such as digital audience management, public affairs, public relations, science communication, training and employee development, strategic communication, community relations and nonprofit advocacy. Graduates are also prepared to pursue a career in higher education through the tenure track (e.g., instructor or professor at a community college or university) or the non-tenure track (e.g., lecturer, admission director, academic advisor).
Graduates already employed may find that the skills they acquired through the program are helpful for career advancement, given that some leadership positions require a master's degree. Those interested in changing careers may pursue a master's degree in communication studies to align with their particular professional goals.
Career examples include:
- fundraising manager
- human resources manager
- internal communications manager
- journalist
- learning and development analyst
- marketing account executive, consultant or research analyst
- political campaign manager or speechwriter
- sales account executive
- social media manager
- technical communication specialist
- web producer
School of Social and Behavioral Sciences
|
FAB N101
NCGradAdvising@asu.edu
602-543-3000
Admission deadlines
Program term definitions
Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.
Accelerated master's
These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).
Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master's during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.
Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.
Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.
ASU adds new programs to Degree Search frequently. Come back often and look for the "New Programs" option.
ASU Online offers programs in an entirely online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. See https://asuonline.asu.edu/ for more information.
The Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) provides a reduced tuition rate to non-resident graduate students who qualify. Visit the WRGP/WICHE webpage for more information: https://graduate.asu.edu/wiche.
