Program Overview for Prospective Graduate Students

The Department of Communication at the University of Maryland awards the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. M.A. students may select a thesis or non-thesis option. The graduate program offers historical/critical, qualitative, and empirical approaches to analyzing the strategic use of discourse in the public sphere and provides specialized training in four areas of communication:

 

Intercultural Communication investigates how people in different cultures make decisions, resist or support persuasive messages, evaluate arguments, and manage conflicts based in the cultural roots of logic and human cognitive and emotional processes.

Persuasion & Social Influence focuses on building theories of persuasion and social influence and contributing directly to advance our understanding of cognitive processes. Our department and university provide resources for studying research methods that are among the richest of any Communication department in the country.
   

Public Relations faculty and graduate students specialize in areas of health campaigns, risk communication, gender and diversity in public relations, the study of publics, public relations management, and global public relations.

Rhetoric & Political Culture scholars critically and historically analyze rhetorical artifacts and focus on the intersections between rhetoric and politics, broadly understood. Students generally focus on rhetorical theory, U.S. public address, political communication, and/or the rhetoric of social change.

Within and across these specialties, faculty and graduate students research and teach among the following: argumentation, conflict and negotiation, feminist analysis of discourse, media, and culture, health communication, the history of rhetoric, listening, media studies, organizational communication, public address, political communication, and risk communication.

For a slide show of books authored by UM faculty members and graduate student alumni, as well as journals edited in the Department, click here. To read about recent accomplishments of department graduate students, click here.

Both the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees are research-oriented rather than applied. The graduate curriculum treats disciplinary methods of inquiry, communication concepts and theories, and specialized research problems, and all graduate students engage in independent research projects, including a capstone seminar paper or thesis at the M.A. level and dissertation at the Ph.D. level. Currently, nearly all of the students admitted into the Ph.D. program aspire to academic careers as scholars and teachers. Students admitted into the M.A. program may pursue doctoral work and subsequent academic careers or professional careers in government, non-profit organizations, or the private sector. With rare exemptions, the program currently admits only full-time students who are funded by teaching assistantships, administrative assistantships, and/or university fellowships.

Communication faculty and graduate students at Maryland enjoy unique research opportunities. The department houses two research centers: The Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership and The Center for Risk Communication Research. The Washington D. C. metropolitan area also provides rich resources including Congress, the Supreme Court, the White House, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the Smithsonian, the national monuments, Embassies, media outlets, and the headquarters of major foundations and public granting agencies such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Science Foundation. Private collections include the George Meany Labor Archives, the National Women's Party Archives at the Belmont-Sewell House, and holdings at the Folger Shakespeare Library and various universities. The nation's capital also is a magnet for political activism, public relations and political consulting firms, and advocacy groups. It is also among the most culturally diverse cities in the world.

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II. Rankings

For more information, see Department Rankings.

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III. Student Placement

Students who earn the M.A. and/or the Ph.D. in Communication at the University of Maryland go on to work, teach, and research at some of the finest institutions in the world.

  • American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
  • Federal Aviation Administration
  • Lockheed Martin
  • National Cancer Institute
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Office of Representative Brian Baird (D-WA)
  • Office of Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY)
  • Office of Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK)
  • World Bank
  • Baruch College, CUNY
  • California State University-Fresno
  • California State University-Long Beach
  • Furman University
  • Gallaudet University
  • George Mason University
  • George Washington University
  • Georgia State University
  • Hong Kong Baptist University
  • Ithaca College
  • Kansas State University
  • Marist College
  • Pepperdine University
  • Purdue University
  • Seton Hall University
  • Syracuse University
  • University of Alabama
  • University of Arkansas
  • University of Houston
  • University of Macao
  • University of Maryland
  • University of Oklahoma
  • University of Oregon
  • University of Rhode Island
  • Villanova University
  • Willamette University

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III. M.A. Degree

The Department offers two M.A. degree options, each of which requires a minimum of 30 credits:

 

1) The Non-Thesis option requires successful completion of a minimum of 30 credits of required coursework, an area examination, and a seminar paper;

2) The Thesis option requires successful completion of a minimum of 24 credits of required coursework, 6 credits of thesis research, and an oral thesis examination.

Students must complete the following minimum required courses:

 

COMM 700—Introduction to Graduate Study in Communication, 3 credits (Required in first semester).

Theory. 3 credits drawn from following:

  • COMM 602—Communication Theory
  • COMM 630—Seminar in Public Relations Management
  • COMM 652—Contemporary Rhetorical Theory
    (A second theory course is strongly recommended.)

Methods. 6 credits (with grade of B or better) drawn from following:

  • COMM 600—Empirical Research in Communication
  • COMM 711—Historical-Critical Research in Communication
  • COMM 714—Introduction to Qualitative Methods in Communication

Additional 18 credits for Non-Thesis Option, or

Additional 12 credits plus 6 credits of COMM 799 Thesis Research for Thesis Option.

Other Requirements:

  • A minimum of 18 total credits must be numbered 600 and above.
  • A minimum of 15 total credits must be from Communication.
  • Internship credits—no more than 3 credits of COMM 488 or 1 credit of COMM 688 may count towards degree in Non-Thesis Option. Internship credits may not count towards 15 credit requirement for courses in Communication.
  • Internship credits may not count towards degree in Thesis Option.

No credits may be transferred from any previous degree. A maximum of 6 credits may be transferred with approval of the student's Advisor and the Graduate Director. The student's advisory committee may require additional credits for students without sufficient communication background.

The M.A. Degree must be completed within five years of matriculation. Assistantship/Fellowship funding extends for no more than four consecutive (fall and spring) semesters.

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IV. Ph.D. Degree.

The Ph.D. degree requires successful completion of required coursework, the comprehensive examination, and the dissertation. The minimum pre-dissertation coursework is 39 credits. In some cases, the student's advisory committee may require additional coursework depending upon the student's academic background and preparation.

A Master's degree from an accredited institution is required for admission into the doctoral program.

Coursework

Students must complete the following courses with a grade of B or better:

 

COMM 700—Introduction to Graduate Study in Communication, 3 credits (Required in first semester).

Theory. 3 credits. Must complete one of the following:

  • COMM 602—Communication Theory
  • COMM 630—Seminar in Public Relations Management
  • COMM 652—Contemporary Rhetorical Theory
    (A second theory course is strongly recommended.)

Methods and Foundations. 12 credits. 6 credits through one of the following sequences:

  • Quantitative: COMM 702 and COMM 703.
    (Prerequisites to COMM 702 such as COMM 600 cannot be used to satisfy the 12-hour requirement. Additional coursework may be required depending upon preparation in statistics.)
  • Historical/Critical: COMM 711 and COMM 712
  • Qualitative: COMM 714 and COMM 715
    (6 additional credits in methods/foundations credits within or outside department.)

Cognate Area Outside Department. 6 credits.

  • Contributes to dissertation research.
  • Typically drawn from single academic discipline.
  • May be drawn from coherent combination of disciplines with Advisory Committee approval.

Area of Specialization. 15 credits.

COMM 899 Doctoral Dissertation Research. Minimum 12 credits.

  • Students must enroll in minimum of 1 credit of COMM 899 each fall and spring semester until completion of degree even if 12 credits is satisfied.
  • COMM 898 Pre-Candidacy Research. Students must enroll in minimum of 1 credit each fall and spring semester between completion of Plan of Study and Advancement to Candidacy, if applicable. (Eligibility for Candidacy requires passing Prospectus Examination).
  • Completion of COMM 602, COMM 630, COMM 652, 700, 702, 703, 711, 712, 714, or 715 with grade of B or better prior to matriculation satisfies specific course(s) requirement. Continuous enrollment during spring and fall semesters is required until degree is completed.

Comprehensive Examination

Students must also successfully complete a comprehensive examination consisting of a written component of at least 12 hours and a subsequent oral component of 2 hours. The written and oral portions of the comprehensive examination occur at specified times during the fall and spring semesters immediately following the completion of coursework.

The subject matter of the written portion of the comprehensive examination are:

  • 1) the Major Area exam;
  • 2) the Methods Exam;
  • 3) the Subject Examination, chosen from the following options:
    • a) Dissertation Research Literature Examination;
    • b) Second Content Area Examination;
    • c) Second Method Examination;
    • or d) Cognate Examination.

 

Dissertation

Students prepare a dissertation prospectus under the supervision of an advisor. Following the successful approval of the prospectus by the student's advisory committee, the student advances to candidacy to the doctoral degree.

Students have five years from matriculation to advance to candidacy.

The doctoral degree culminates in the successful completion and oral defense of the doctoral dissertation. The doctoral dissertation must be an original research project which advances knowledge of communication.

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V. Admission Requirements and Guidelines.

Admission into the graduate program is highly competitive. Each year the department receives more than 200 applications for an average incoming class of 15. Each incoming class includes both M.A. and Ph.D. students spread across all of the four specialties of the department.

A bachelor's degree with a GPA of 3.0 or above is required by the Graduate School at the University of Maryland for admission to graduate study. In recent years, the average undergraduate GPA of students admitted into the Communication graduate program has been 3.7-3.8. The department requires a master's degree from an accredited institution for admission to the Ph.D. program. Official transcripts from all colleges attended is required in the application.

A previous degree in Communication is not required for admission, but applicants without a background that includes experience in analysis of discourse, statistical reasoning, and academic writing may be asked to take additional coursework as part of the degree.

The GRE is required of all applicants to both the M.A. and the Ph.D. programs regardless of whether or not the applicant has obtained a graduate degree elsewhere without the GRE. Applicants with expired GRE scores (older than five years) must retake them. Other test scores, such as the GMAT or LSAT, cannot be substituted for the GRE. Recent average GRE scores for incoming classes have been in the following range: 610-620 verbal; 630-640 quantitative; and 5.2-5.5 analytical. These scores are averages rather than minimums, but admitted students have scores that fit within a reasonable range around these averages. If applicants retake the GRE, the Graduate Studies Committee considers the highest score in any of the areas.

International students must demonstrate proficiency in the English language by receiving adequate scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The Test of Spoken English (TSE), Test of Written English (TWE), and TOEFL are required of all international applicants (except applicants from the United Kingdom, Commonwealth Caribbean, Ireland, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand whose first language is English). All international applicants also must submit a certificate of finances, a visa, and official transcripts and records in the original language with literal English translations. Consult the Graduate School for more information on these requirements.

In addition to a complete set of official transcripts, official GRE scores, and official TOEFL scores (if applicable), applicants must submit a statement of goals and research interests, a statement of experiences, a writing sample, and three letters of recommendation.

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