Admission Requirements

The number of students admitted to the program annually is limited.  Applicants will be evaluated according to the criteria listed in numbers 1-7 below.  If the number of qualified applicants exceeds the number of available openings, those applicants with the highest ratings will be given first consideration for admission to the program.  Applicants who do not meet the admission requirements in a given year may be considered for probationary admission.  Please see the Department Chairperson for further information.

1. A bachelor of arts or science in communication or related discipline with significant coursework in communication.
2. An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 (on a 4 point scale) or higher.
3. GRE test.  Other tests may be accepted with prior approval of the department.  A minimum score of 3.5 (a 4.0 is preferred) on the writing portion of the GRE and a strong verbal score consistent with the standards of a writing-intensive graduate program are required.
4. Three letters of reference, with at least one from an academic source.
5. A completed Graduate Studies Admissions Form.
6. A letter of application stating the applicant’s purpose for pursuing a graduate degree in public relations.
7. A current resume or curriculum vitae (CV).

Student Learning Outcomes

• Successful graduates of this program will be able to:
• Locate, read and evaluate professional and academic literature.
• Develop, design and execute independent research projects.
• Disseminate research findings to different types of audiences.
• Integrate communication theory and research into professional and academic settings.

Required Courses

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
COMT 501	Communication Law and Ethics	3
COMT 502	Research Methods	3
COMT 514	Issues in Org Comm	3
COMT 522	Issues in Public Relations	3
COMT 525	Media Criticism	3
COMT 565	Communication Theory	3
COMT 581	Campaign Planning	3
COMT 595	Comprehensive Exams	3
Select two courses from the following:		6
COMT 510	Adv Interpersonal Comm
COMT 516	Leadership & Communication
COMT 521	New Media Skills
COMT 524	Risk Crisis & Comm
COMT 526	Case Studies in PR
COMT 530	Public Influence
COMT 531	Political Communication
COMT 540	Pop Culture & Cultural Studies
COMT 561	Multicultural Mass Comm
COMT 570	Applied Communication Studies
COMT 580	Health Communication
COMT 582	Gender, Media, and Society
COMT 590	Internship
COMT 592	Seminar
Total Minimum Credits		30