All students are required to complete 30 credit hours to complete the Master of Arts degree. Students will be required to take 9 core credit hours consisting of Communication Theory (CJT 651), and Communication Research Methods (CJT 665), plus Statistics 570 (or its equivalent as determined by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies). In addition, all students will be required to take either CJT 631 or CJT 645.

Students may choose from either the Plan A or Plan B options to complete their Masters degree requirements.

Plan A

Students choosing Plan A (Thesis option) will take a minimum of 24 credit hours of actual course work, plus write a thesis (Note: the six thesis credits must be taken under CJT 768 - Residence Credit for the Master's degree). All students will also complete an oral examination in defense of the thesis.

Plan B

Students choosing Plan B (non-thesis) option, will take a minimum of 30 hours of course work, followed by a written and oral examination over the student's program.

At least 21 credit hours of the minimum requirements for the master's degree must be from offerings within the College of Communications and Information studies (both Plan A and Plan B). Plan A students may include six hours of CJT 768 in the 21 hours, since the thesis involves work in an area of communication. Also, at least 21 credit hours of the minimum requirements must be in courses at the 600 and 700 levels (both Plan A and Plan B). Plan A students may include six hours of CJT 768 in the 21 hours. No more than three credit yours in Plan A and 6 credit hours in Plan B (of the minimum requirements) may be earned in directed study, directed reading, or internship courses (e.g., CJT 696, CJT 700, CJT 781, and CJT 790).

Students without previous course work in communication may be required to take undergraduate work that does not count toward graduate credit. The applicant is expected to have had at least twelve hours of appropriate undergraduate work in communication. Should the graduate faculty believe that there is a deficiency in the applicant's undergraduate work, it may require the deficiency to be removed by enrollment in specific undergraduate courses. Courses taken to remove a deficiency can not be counted towards the master's degree.

Individuals without significant practical experience are strongly encouraged to take CJT 696 - Internship in Communication, which could include opportunities to work with external agencies and funded projects, both within and outside the university.

Emphases within the program include communication and information systems, health communication, interpersonal communication, and mass communication.

* Although every effort is made to ensure that this list of graduation requirements is accurate and up to date, it is provided for the convenience of the user and should not be considered the official version. The official version of this material is available at/in The Graduate Bulletin . The user is advised to refer to and rely upon the official version of this material when making significant decisions or judgments.