School of Communications > Communication Program > Graduate Studies
Graduate Studies
| Master's Degree | |
|---|---|
Master's Degree Overview
The School of Communications offers a graduate program leading to the M.A. degree in Communication. The Program Areas of Specialization reflect the expertise of our graduate faculty in organizational & intercultural communication, telecommunication & new media, and global communication. Both individual faculty members and the Program as a whole work within sociocultural and sociotechnical perspectives.
Admission
Qualified applicants are admitted to the Program each year in the fall semester only. Formal application is made through the Graduate Division (www.hawaii.edu/graduate/). In addition, applicants must submit directly to the School a statement of academic objectives and the planned role of our Program in helping meet those objectives. Applicants must also arrange for three letters of recommendation to be sent to the School. These letters should be written by persons who are familiar with the student’s academic accomplishments. Letters from former professors are preferred. Qualified applicants whose academic objectives are in harmony with our program specializations will be admitted as classified students on a space available basis. Applicants are not required to have an undergraduate degree in communication.
Advising
Each classified student admitted into our Program is assigned an interim advisor who assists the student in the initial planning of his or her degree program. The student may, at any time, change that advisor by informing the Program staff of the change. Once the student has selected a Thesis or Practicum Committee Chair (see below) that faculty member becomes her or his permanent advisor. The student remains, however, primarily responsible to ascertain that all Program requirements are being met in a timely fashion.
Credits
Each student must complete a minimum of 36 credits with at least a 3.0 grade point average. These credits are to be distributed by taking:
- Both Foundation Courses 611 & 612 (6 credits), normally during the first semester in the Program.
- Two courses which demonstrate competence in at least one Area of Specialization (6 credits). Typically these are the core courses in Organizational/Intercultural Communication (e.g., 623 & 643), Telecommunication (e.g., 633 & 634), or Global Communication (e.g., 644 & 645).
- Two Seminars (6 credits) selected from 691 &/or 692 (either repeatable up to 6 credits) &/or 680 from the School’s Graduate Certificate Program in Telecommunication and Information Resource Management (TIRM).
- One Capstone Activity (6 credits, 1 - 6 credits per semester) selected from 700 (Plan A--Thesis) or 695 (Plan B--Practicum).
- The remaining 12 credits are selected from: Core courses outside the Area of Specialization; &/or advanced courses 624, 646, 650, 660; &/or TIRM courses 681, 682, 683, 684; &/or Directed Research 699; &/or 400 level augmented undergraduate courses, or graduate courses outside the Program (both the latter require approval of Committee Chair; maximum 6 credits).
Each student is expected to take at least one 3-credit course or seminar each semester. All substitutions, exceptions, and/or courses external to the Program must be approved by the Thesis or Practicum Committee Chair and noted in the student’s official records. If students are not enrolled for courses during a semester they must apply for an official leave of absence. In pursuit of their academic goals students often earn more than the minimum 36 credits. The program can be compressed into 15 months or stretched out over 60 months. Typically, however, students complete the program in 18 to 24 months.
Degree Plans
On completing 611 and achieving a 3.0 grade average in all completed coursework, each classified student is eligible for admission to candidacy allowing him or her to formally identify a degree plan from the two options available. These options are to complete either a Thesis (Plan A) or Practicum (Plan B) as her or his Capstone Activity. At the same time the student selects the Chair and Members of their Thesis or Practicum Committee. That Committee is responsible for supervising and evaluating the student’s thesis or practicum activity. The Committee must be comprised of at least three members of the graduate faculty from the University with at least two of those members and the Chair from our Program. Both the Committee members and the topic of the activity must be approved by the Graduate Division and research to be conducted approved by the University’s Committee on Human Studies. At the completion of the student’s program he or she must take a two-our oral exam on their knowledge of the field and defense of their thesis or practicum report.
