Department of Communication
Heide Hall 400
262-472-1034
communication@uww.edu
The Master of Science (MS) Degree in Communication offers advanced-level practitioner-oriented study. Students enrolled in the MS in Communication program may simultaneously pursue graduate certificates in health advocacy, organizational communication, social and new media, and/or strategic communication. Students stack together any three 9-credit certificates and combine those 27 credits with a 3-credit professional capstone e-portfolio course to earn the 30-credit master’s degree.
Designed to allow you to master the message, the MS in Communication will give you the tools you need to practice communication at the intersection of diversity, technology and social influence. This hands-on degree program uses work-life scenarios and case studies to give you immediate impact on the job. The degree is suitable for those who wish to advance their professional communication skills in such areas as new media management, social advocacy, effective message-generation, assessment or campaign creation for diverse applications, including healthcare, public relations, advertising, advocacy, grass roots organizing, political campaigning, or training and development.
Students select certificates to serve as the areas of emphasis. Each certificate is composed of two required courses and one elective course. Recipients of the graduate certificate in health advocacy will demonstrate strong communication skills relevant to health promotions and advocacy for patients or health organizations. Students earning the organizational communication graduate certificate will apply their communication skills relevant to internal communication with diverse organizational audiences. The social and new media certificate will train students to merge communication theory and strategy with cutting-edge media technology. The social and new media certificate will train students to apply merge communication theory and strategy with cutting edge media technology. The strategic communication certificate focuses on the public relations, advertising, and integrated communication strategies and tactics needed to address diverse external and internal audiences.
The curriculum provides a broad overview of communication as a field of academic endeavor. It also incorporates an advanced understanding of communication theory as it relates to message dissemination at the interpersonal, group, organizational, public or mass societal levels. The curriculum also incorporates course work in which students learn to collect, analyze and interpret data pertinent to a wide variety of communication-oriented applications. All students take COMM 785 to build a strong foundation in communication research literacy and design and one of two courses focused on effective communication with diverse audiences: COMM 724 or COMM 780.
Program Coordinator
Corey Davis
Heide Hall 414
262-472-5026
davisc@uww.edu
Additional Admission Requirements
In addition to the application form, candidates must include a 2-3 page written statement of goals outlining their reasons for selecting a program of study in Communication. The statement of goals should also identify the three graduate certificates the student would like to stack together to earn the M.S. degree. Two letters of recommendation also must accompany the application. These letters should come from individuals in a position to judge the applicant’s potential for graduate learning; letters from college instructors are highly recommended.
The MS in Communication at UW-Whitewater is designed to accommodate any professionals interested in pursuing advanced credentials in communication and is thus open to all qualified applicants, regardless of undergraduate degree.
Admission Standards
- Applicants with a completed baccalaureate degree whose undergraduate GPA (or equivalent) is at 3.0 or higher will be accepted into the Communication graduate program in “good standing.”
- Applicants with a completed baccalaureate degree whose cumulative undergraduate GPA (or equivalent) is between a 2.75 and a 2.99 will be accepted into the Communication Graduate Program "contingently."
- Applicants who do not meet the above requirements for admission to the program [i.e. applicants with a completed baccalaureate degree whose cumulative undergraduate GPA (or equivalent) is under a 2.75] will be reviewed on a case by case basis. Such applicants MAY BE admitted into the program on a contingent status based on credible evidence of ability to do satisfactory graduate work. Such evidence will be determined by the Communication graduate program coordinator in consultation with the department graduate faculty, and may include but is not limited to an exemplary postgraduate employment record; a satisfactory score on the Graduate Record Examination, GMAT or Miller Analogies Test; and/or the successful completion of 12 or more credits of graduate work with a cumulative 3.0 GPA level or higher at a regionally accredited institution.
- Students admitted on a contingent basis must achieve a cumulative graduate GPA of 3.0 within the first 9 credits of graduate credits attempted, including repeated courses. Those failing to do so will be ineligible to take further graduate work in the program.
- Students who are not accepted to the program may enroll as a Noncandidate for Degree (NCFD). This category allows the student to enroll in graduate level courses and to receive graduate credit for this work. No more than 12 graduate credits taken as an NCFD can be applied toward the completion of a graduate degree program at UW-Whitewater. Thus, before completing more than 12 credits as an NCFD, a student is encouraged to reapply for the Communication degree program. Students who achieve a cumulative 3.0 GPA or higher in 9-12 credits of graduate level communication coursework (including repeated courses) taken as a NCFD may be accepted into the program on probation.
Degree Requirements
Thirty credits of course work including:
- 3 credits of designated diversity course (either COMM 724 or COMM 780);
- 3 credits of COMM 785;
- 3 credits of COMM 788 (to be taken in last term of study; typically offered in summer and winterim terms); and
- 21 credits of combined elective or certificate-specific required courses.
The program is designed to take three academic-year semesters (not including winterim or summer terms) if you are participating in the program on a full-time basis. Depending on which stackable certificates you are pursuing, completion of the program may take longer based on course rotations.