Communication Studies, BA with grad track option leading to Communication Studies, MA

This program will target high-achieving undergraduate students majoring in Communication Studies, offering the opportunity for outstanding students to advance their careers by pursuing the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in a parallel and coordinated program. Students are eligible for acceptance into the program upon completion of 75 undergraduate hours, including COMM 3010 and enrollment in a theory course in Communication Studies.

Admissions Criteria

Students are eligible for acceptance beginning in the spring of their junior year upon completion of 75 undergraduate hours, including COMM 3010 and enrollment in a theory course in Communication Studies. To be considered for admission into the pathway program, students must: have a minimum 3.5 GPA both overall and in the Communication Studies major; completed COMM 3010 with a grade of A or B; and completed the undergraduate theory course in Communication Studies with a grade of A or B.

Application Process

Students will apply by submitting a letter of application, a resume or vita, 2 letters of recommendation from UNT Communication Studies faculty, and a scholarly writing sample.

Enrollment & Benefits

Students accepted into the Pathway program can enroll in up to 12 hours of graduate-level coursework to count toward their Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies. As a pathway toward the Master’s degree, students in this program will first earn their Bachelor’s degree and then complete their Master’s degree in Communication Studies. Students accepted into the program will be able to fulfill all degree requirements established by the department & university, while augmenting their undergraduate degree with master’s level coursework that would count toward the student’s upper-level electives and GROUP requirements. This pathway program will enable outstanding students to move more efficiently through their academic career.

Undergraduate Course Substitutes

The maximum number of graduate hours a Pathway student could earn is 12 hours (4 graduate courses). These 12 hours can be comprised of a mixture of course substitutions for a combination of Group A-B-C course requirements and/or upper-division Communication elective courses.

Students accepted into the Grad Pathway program can substitute the following graduate-level COMM courses for each corresponding COMM GROUP requirement:

GROUP A (Interpersonal/Organizational Studies)

COMM 5180 (Qualitative Research Methods)
COMM 5185 (Quantitative Research Methods)
COMM 5220 (Organizational Communication)
COMM 5225 (Interpersonal Communication)
COMM 5325 (Communication Theory)
COMM 5820 (Seminar in Group Processes)

GROUP B (Rhetorical Studies)

COMM 5240 (Rhetoric and Mediated Culture)
COMM 5340 (Rhetorical Methods)
COMM 5345 (Rhetorical Theory)
COMM 5440 (Public Address Studies)
COMM 5640 (Classical Rhetoric)

GROUP C (Performance Studies)

COMM 5260 (Adaptation & Staging)
COMM 5265 (Performance Methods)
COMM 5365 (Performance Theory)
COMM 5560 (20th Century Theory and Practice in Performance Studies)

Additional Information About Advising for Pathway Students

Pathway students will choose classes in consultation with the graduate advisor to ensure that classes meet their level of preparation in the program.

Pathway students cannot enroll in COMM 5085 (Communication & Pedagogy) until they have fulfilled all degree requirements for their Bachelor’s degree.

COMM 5080 (Introduction to Graduate Study and Research in Communication Studies) would count as a substitute for a Pathway student’s upper-level COMM elective.

Pathway students would be strongly advised not to take more than 12 hours (total) in a semester while still completing their Bachelor’s degree (the ideal enrollment would be a split of 6 hours of Undergrad courses and 3-6 hours of graduate courses). No Pathway student would be permitted to take more than 3 graduate courses while still enrolled in their Bachelor’s degree program.

Pathway students cannot enroll in more advanced seminars in the Master’s program unless they have already taken a more general course in that area of the department (e.g., while still enrolled in the Bachelor’s program, a Pathway student would not be permitted to take COMM 5545-Race and Public Culture unless they have already taken one of the rhetoric courses approved as a GROUP B substitute).

Pathway students would be advised to take graduate coursework alongside general degree electives in other departments to help balance out workload.

Courses taken for Pathway credit will have a slightly different numbering system (So, instead of taking COMM 5221.001, the undergrad Pathway student would sign up for COMM 5221.002 to distinguish them from the traditional M.A. student).