Student ID:__________________________ Student Name:_______________________ Adviser Name:_______________________ Bulletin: 2024-2025 Graduate Bulletin Program: Master of Arts in Communication (MA) Minimum Credits Required:__________________

Master of Arts in Communication (MA)

Graduate Study at USI >> College of Liberal Arts 

812-465-1608

30 Credit hours

The Master of Arts in Communication program (MAC) is a comprehensive, integrated program that bridges human communication and mass communication to focus on critical, cultural, and social scientific approaches to the communication practices. The Master of Arts in Communication program provides students with an interdisciplinary approach to understanding human and mass communication across multiple contexts–personal, professional, social, civic, and mediated. The program establishes for students a foundation of effective problem solving and leadership in areas as diverse as technological change, international relations, conflict and negotiation, corporate communication, personal relationships, cultural and identity studies, corporate responsibility, and community outreach. The program deliberately adopts pedagogical techniques that develop students’ problem-solving abilities and critical-thinking skills. Students who complete the program will be able to apply their increased knowledge of communication processes, contexts, theories, and research methodologies to further their career and educational goals. Students who complete the program are awarded the Master of Arts degree.

The MAC offers graduate education through flexible platforms so students may choose to complete courses online, face to face, or in a hybrid format. In addition, the MAC offers a Joint Undergraduate-Master’s Path (JUMP) option, which allows outstanding undergraduate USI students majoring in Communication Studies the opportunity to complete both an undergraduate and graduate degree in approximately five years. This innovative pathway accelerates the time it takes to complete the graduate degree by allowing students in a JUMP program to complete 12 hours of graduate-level coursework during their final semesters of their undergraduate program. After completing 12 hours of COMM electives, special credit will be awarded at the undergraduate level and will apply toward the undergraduate program requirements. For more information on the JUMP option, refer to the Communications Studies program in the undergraduate bulletin.

Program Objectives

The objectives of the Master of Arts in Communication program are:

  • To produce graduates who are skilled communicators—written, oral, and computer-mediated—and who can apply those skills for real solutions
  • To equip students with analytical and practical tools to gather information and apply those discoveries in professional and academic settings
  • To encourage students to use information and theories as logical problem solvers, effective leaders, and successful team members

Graduate Studies Admission Criteria and Application Process

Refer to the Admission section of the bulletin for information about Graduate Studies admission criteria and the online application process.

MAC Program Admission Requirements

Unconditional admission for all applicants into the Master of Arts in Communication program will be contingent on the following factors:

  • An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher

Students in the process of completing their undergraduate degree can seek conditional admission and enroll in 2 courses (6 hours of credit). If a B or better is earned in both courses, students will be accepted unconditionally to the MAC upon conferral of their undergraduate degree. 

Applicants not meeting other admission criteria may also be conditionally admitted. Conditionally admitted students may take two graduate courses (6 hours of credit).  If a B or better is earned in both courses, with approval from the Director of the MA in Communication, the student will be admitted unconditionally.

For admission criteria for the JUMP option, refer to the Communications Studies program in the undergraduate bulletin.

Curriculum (30 hours)

Required Coursework (9 hours)

Course NameCredits:Term TakenGradeGen Ed
COMM 601 - Foundations of Communication Theory
Term(s) Offered: Fall, Spring
Credits: 3
COMM 602 - Qualitative Research Methods in Communication
Term(s) Offered: Fall, Spring
Credits: 3
COMM 603 - Quantitative Research Methods in Communication
Term(s) Offered: Fall, Spring
Credits: 3

Elective Coursework (21 hours)

Course NameCredits:Term TakenGradeGen Ed
COMM 604 - Contemporary Rhetorical Criticism
Term(s) Offered: Fall, Spring
Credits: 3
COMM 605 - Gender, Communication, and Culture
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 607 - Teaching Communication
Term(s) Offered: Spring, Summer
Credits: 3
COMM 610 - Special Topics in Interpersonal Communication
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 611 - Communication and Personal Relationships
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 612 - Health Communication
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 613 - Political Communication
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 614 - Problematic Workplace Communication
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 615 - Communication and Popular Culture
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 616 - Seminar in Personal and Cultural Identity
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 617 - Instructional Communication
Term(s) Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 3
COMM 620 - Special Topics in Organizational Communication
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 621 - Strategic Communication
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 622 - Digital Communication and Culture
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 623 - Leadership and Communication
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 624 - Nonprofit and Association Communication
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 625 - History of Mass Media
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 628 - Crisis Communication
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 630 - Special Topics in Mass Communication
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 631 - Organizational Advocacy
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly Offered
Credits: 3
COMM 632 - Media Aesthetics
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 633 - Media Ethics
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 634 - Social Media, Culture, and Society
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 637 - Critical Pedagogy and Communication
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 640 - Independent Study in Communication
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 650 - Special Topics in Communication and Culture
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 651 - Storytelling
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
COMM 670 - Special Topics in Instructional Communication
Term(s) Offered: Irregularly offered
Credits: 3
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