Admission

In addition to the general requirements established by the university, the applicant must demonstrate a proficiency in English at an advanced level and obtain an acceptable score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Applicants are admitted for the fall semester.

Students who have neither an undergraduate degree in journalism nor at least two years of  significant media or research experience may be asked to overcome deficiencies through prescribed readings and/or a program of undergraduate courses completed with grades of B or higher.

Students entering this program may be required to take a diagnostic test to determine whether they need to take undergraduate prerequisites in order to eliminate deficiencies and bring them up to the level of others in the program.

Courses

A minimum of 27 graduate credit hours is required, including the following core courses: JRMC 500 Mass Communication Theory and Literature, JRMC 501 Advanced Reporting and Writing, JRMC 502 Current Issues in Mass Communication, JRMC 504 Research Methods in Mass Communication, JRMC 550 Seminar in International  Communication, and JRMC 570 Seminar in Mass Communication and National Development.

Students should complete JRMC 500 and 504 as early as possible. Because of the interdisciplinary scope of mass communication, students may, with adviser approval, take and apply up to three 500-level courses (9 hours) from other disciplines. A maximum of six hours of 400-level coursework may be approved and counted toward the required credit hours.

Comprehensive Examination

The examination procedure is described in the "General  Requirements" section. An oral examination may be required in addition to the written examination. Students must pass comprehensive examinations before being permitted to begin work on their theses.

Students in the television journalism specialization who choose not to do a thesis are exempted from the comprehensive examination.

Thesis

A thesis is required for most students. It is optional only for candidates in the television journalism specialization. The thesis topic must be approved by the department's thesis committee. The thesis must be written in English, be defended by the student before members of the graduate faculty, and be submitted in accordance with current university requirements.

Television Journalism Specialization

A television journalism option within the master's program in journalism and mass communication is offered to those qualified students who seek an intensive professional concentration within their program of graduate study. The television journalism specialization provides theoretical understanding of the major issues and developments in mass communication in general and in television journalism in particular. Much of the coursework is supplemented by the state-of-the-art facilities at the Kamal Adham Center for Television Journalism providing an intensive, production-oriented training program undertaken in a demanding, competitive, professional television station environment.

Students seeking the television journalism specialization must be able to demonstrate a career commitment to journalism either in their undergraduate academic and extracurricular activities, or in professional activity in journalism and related fields. JRMC 201 is a prerequisite unless equivalent professional experience is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the director of the Center.

For the television journalism specialization a minimum of 36 credit hours is required including JRMC 500 Mass Communication Theory and Literature, and JRMC 504 Research Methods in Mass Communication, and the following ten courses:

Students must undertake a production project, which consists of a videotaped special news report and a written introductory paper justifying the approach taken in the context of television news-gathering and production theory.  Students also have the option of writing a thesis.  Thesis candidates must complete JRMC 500, 502, 504 and 550 in preparation for the comprehensive examination.