Department website: http://commstudies.utexas.edu/

The traditional master’s (Option I) program in communication studies provides training in the following areas: interpersonal communication, organizational communication and technology, and rhetoric, language, and political communication.

The Option III master's degree in communication studies provides training in strategic communication, sports communication, and communication and leadership.

Graduate Handbook

Graduate handbook information is updated and maintained by each program. Graduate handbooks are available within each program's office and online. Please contact the program with concerns or questions.

Admission

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 University's admission requirements.

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 Graduate Record Examinations (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.

Total Hours Required: 30

Report: 33

Thesis: 30

No Thesis/Report (option III): 33

Requirements

With the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee and the vice provost for graduate and postdoctoral studies, 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.

Students in the traditional master's degree program receive training in interpersonal communication, organizational communication and technology, and rhetoric, language and political communication. Students must complete a thesis or a minimum of 33 semester hours, including a report.

Communication Studies, Strategic Communication (MA, Option III)

No report or thesis is required in the Option III master's degree program with a concentration in Strategic Communication. In addition to the capstone course, students must complete the coursework from two of the following stackable graduate certificates: Strategic Communication, Sports Communication, or Communication and Leadership. 

All courses required to complete the Option III program are offered in alignment with university policies governing the delivery of non-formula-funded (Option III) degree programs.

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
All students must also follow the requirements and policies below:
Graduate Communication Requirements
Graduate University Requirements