Requirements

General requirements for the Master of Arts with a major in journalism are the same as those listed in the Master’s Degree Requirements section of this catalog. The MA candidate whose undergraduate degree is not in journalism may be required to take up to 12 hours of undergraduate courses in journalism as approved by the graduate program director.

The MA candidate in journalism must complete a minimum of 36 semester hours, including 6 hours of thesis courses. Students should take 12 hours of core courses within their first year of the program. A minor is not required, but up to 12 hours may be taken in a minor field, or the 12 hours may be divided between two minor fields. The MA requires foreign language competency.

The student requests a professor to serve as thesis chair after completing 12 hours of core courses. The thesis chair will help the student select a committee. Until a student successfully defends their thesis, they must be enrolled in thesis hours.

The student should also register for the comprehensive exam. In order to register for the comprehensive exam, the student must have taken and passed 12 hours of core courses with at least a grade of B. Students must complete all thesis hours and pass the comprehensive exam to graduate.