Communication Studies
- Master of Arts
- Doctor of Philosophy
Facilities for Graduate Work
Facilities available in the Department of Communication Studies include computers with full statistics packages, and ethnographic coding, transcription coding, authoring, editing, and Web design software; these computers also have access to Web survey software. Four carrels are available for confidential data viewing, and are equipped with high-quality Web cams, headphones, and digital transcription machines. The College of Communication’s Digital Media Labs provide access to world-class nonlinear audio and video workstations. The college’s Instructional Media Center has a library of more than two thousand audio- and videotapes and a conversation library of about two hundred hours of interpersonal interaction, both audiotaped and transcribed.
Areas of Study
The master’s and doctoral degree programs in communication studies provide training in the following areas: interpersonal communication, organizational communication, and rhetoric and language studies.
The Doctor of Philosophy degree with a major in communication studies is a research degree; doctoral students can expect opportunities to work closely with the faculty on research and to participate in the publication of research findings. All doctoral students are expected to achieve mastery of research design principles and methods appropriate to their program of study.
Graduate Studies Committee
The following faculty members served on the Graduate Studies Committee in the spring semester 2006–2007.
- Dawna I. Ballard
- Larry D. Browning
- Barry Brummett
- Richard A. Cherwitz
- Dana L. Cloud
- Rene M. Dailey
- John Daly
- Loril M. Gossett
- Joshua G. Gunn
- Roderick P. Hart
- Sharon E. Jarvis
- Mark L. Knapp
- Madeline Maxwell
- Matthew McGlone
- Rachel Smith
- Jürgen K. Streeck
- Natalie J. Stroud
- Anita L. Vangelisti
Admission Requirements
Entering students must have a bachelor’s degree (or the equivalent) from an accredited institution, and their undergraduate preparation should include at least nine semester hours of upper-division coursework in communication studies. All applicants must meet the requirements for admission to the Graduate School given in chapter 2.
Satisfying these minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. Each applicant’s credentials are scrutinized by each faculty member in the program. No single criterion, such as grade point average or GRE score, is given undue weight in the decision process; every attempt is made to assess the special strengths that the applicant might bring to the program.
Degree Requirements
With the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee and the graduate dean, work toward the major may be divided among two or more areas in communication. To be counted toward the degree, all coursework in the major must be at the graduate level and must be completed with a grade of at least B. Students in the master’s degree program must complete a minimum of thirty semester hours of coursework, including a thesis, or a minimum of thirty-three semester hours, including a report. Doctoral students normally complete all requirements in four or five years of graduate study. Individual study programs must be arranged in consultation with the graduate adviser.
Dual Degree Programs
Master of Arts/Master of Arts with a Major in Latin American Studies
This dual degree program allows students to study the relationships between the theories and processes of communication and issues pertinent to an understanding of the histories and current policies of the societies and cultures of Latin America. It is designed to meet the need for specialists with multidisciplinary knowledge of Latin American affairs and mastery of the principles and techniques of communication.
The student must complete thirty-three semester hours of coursework in communication studies and thirty hours of coursework in Latin American studies, including a summer internship and a thesis on a topic involving both fields. The communication studies program may require additional background work.
To be admitted to the dual degree program, the student must pass a language proficiency examination in either Spanish or Portuguese. A joint committee composed of faculty members from the Department of Communication Studies and the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies selects students for admission. Students must be accepted by both programs before admission to the dual program.
Master of Arts/Master of Business Administration
This dual degree program is designed to develop leaders for an increasingly complex world. The program exposes students both to the issues and principles involved in communication and business and to the skills and techniques needed for efficient and effective management. The student must complete a total of seventy-eight to eighty-one semester hours of coursework in the Department of Communication Studies and the McCombs School of Business. The communication studies program may require additional hours of background work.
A joint committee composed of faculty members from both the Department of Communication Studies and the McCombs School of Business selects students for admission. Students must be accepted by both programs before admission to the dual program.
Upon admission to the dual degree program, the student must pay a nonrefundable enrollment deposit to indicate that he or she accepts the offer of admission. The deposit serves to confirm the student’s intention of enrolling in both programs and is applied to the payment of fees when the student enrolls. Students who demonstrate financial need may qualify for assistance to cover the deposit.
Master of Arts/Master of Public Affairs
The purpose of this dual degree program is to allow students to study the relationships among the theories and processes of communication and a variety of public policy issues. It is designed to meet the need for public policy analysts with an understanding of the principles and techniques of communication and to equip communication specialists with an understanding of the public policy process. Students are expected to complete a total of sixty-nine semester hours of coursework in the Department of Communication Studies and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, including a master’s report and a summer internship.
Admission to the public affairs program is considered by an Admissions Committee made up of faculty members and second-year students. Admission to the communication studies program is considered by the program’s Graduate Studies Committee. After the student has been admitted to each program, a decision on his or her application to the dual program is made by consultation between the two programs.
For More Information
Campus address: Jesse H. Jones Communication Center (Academic) (CMA) A7.114, phone (512) 471-1942, fax (512) 471-3504; campus mail code: A1105
Mailing address: The University of Texas at Austin, Graduate Program, Department of Communication Studies, 1 University Station A1105, Austin TX 78712
E-mail: lbrowning@mail.utexas.edu