- Home
- Faculty & Staff
- B.A. Degree
- M.A. Degree
- Advising / Forms
- Courses & Syllabi
- COM 100/202/221
- Internships
- Public Relations
- Film Studies
- Debate
© URI, 2008
© URI, 2008
Graduate Director: Associate Professor McClure.
Graduate Faculty: Professors Brownell, Chen, Grubman-Black, Mundorf, Ketrow, Salazar, Swift, Wood; Associate Professors Derbyshire, Leatham, McClure, Quainoo; Assistant Professors DiCioccio, Roth, Torrens, Wei, and Ye. (Faculty Directory)
Specializations: Specializations are offered in applied communication, interpersonal communication, media studies, organizational communication, political and public communication. In consultation with advisors, students prepare for careers in public and private industry, government, or academic areas. Students are encouraged to develop their course plans to foster their evolving career needs. Thus, one might advance specific interests and competencies in areas such as communication technology, conflict management, political media, organizational communication consulting, or public relations. Individual specialties can be developed within each of the specialization areas.
Courses are generally offered in late afternoon or evening in Providence and Kingston for the convenience of employed persons. Both full- and part-time programs of study are available.
Master of Arts Admission requirements: GRE (Graduate Record Exam) and bachelor's degree with undergraduate credit in communication studies. Students from other academic backgrounds are encouraged to apply and may be admitted with the permission of the director of graduate studies, although some basic courses may have to be taken for no program credit. The Graduate Committee assesses the following components in considering the applicant:
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Communication Studies
204 Davis Hall, 10 Lippitt Road
University of Rhode Island
Kingston, RI 02881-0812
To be eligible for enrollment in graduate study in Communication Studies, the applicant seeking admission in full standing must meet admission requirements of the Department as well as the Graduate School. The University expects a minimum undergraduate G.P.A. of 3.0 for admission (A=4.0). Applicants below the "B" level, but not less than 2.0, may be admitted to degree candidacy upon submission of other evidence of academic potential. Requests for application forms should be sent to the Graduate School Admissions Office, University of Rhode Island, Quinn Hall, Room 204, 55 Lower College Rd., Kingston, RI 02881-0812.
The URI Graduate Student Manual, Graduate Student Deadline Calendar, and Application forms (domestic and international), may be downloaded from www.uri.edu/gsadmis.
Program Requirements: Graduate study in Communication Studies at the University of Rhode Island is based on an interdisciplinary philosophy designed to enhance options for graduates. The Department of Communication Studies offers a 30-credit hour program leading to the Master of Arts degree. In consultation with faculty advisors, students develop a program of studies to foster their developing career needs. The curriculum prepares students interested in establishing or furthering their careers as professionals in communication or related fields such as personnel, business administration, or human services, or for continuing study in a Ph.D. program.
Graduate students in the Communication Studies program will be expected to take a broad-based set of courses in communication and begin to specialize in one of four general areas. All students complete two core requirements—Com501 (Communication Theory) and Com502 (Research Methods in Communication).
Graduate students are required to take one topic seminar in each of the four focus areas, as well as the two-course sequence in research and theory. Because the topics change each semester, topical seminars may be repeated in your area of specialization.
Students may choose a thesis or non-thesis option within the four areas of concentration. The thesis program requires a minimum of 24 credit hours of course work, a thesis based on independent research, and an oral defense.
The non-thesis program requires a minimum of 30 credit hours of course work with one course including a substantial paper requiring significant independent research, and a written comprehensive examination and oral defense.
Up to twelve credits of free electives, including a maximum of six credits of independent study (Com591/592), are permitted subject to approval by the Director of Graduate Studies in Communication.
Graduate students in Communication Studies can complete the program in two years by taking two classes per semester including two courses during the intervening summer. Some students will move through the program a bit faster, some a bit slower.
Several sample courses of study are found on our web page at http://www.uri.edu/artsci/com/courses/index.htm. A thesis option program, for example, might look like this:
Semester 1 Com501 & Com510
Semester 2 Com502 & Com520
Summer 1 Com540 & Elective
Semester 3 Com530 & Com510
Semester 4 Thesis Enrollment
Graduate courses in Communication Studies are small interactive classes that average 10-15 students
Most of the classes offered in the graduate program in Communication Studies are offered in the late afternoon, early evening, mostly on weekdays. Some courses may be offered as week-long intensive seminars or over several weekends.
Most courses are taught at the Feinstein College of Continuing Education in the Shepard Building, Providence, Rhode Island. Some courses are taught at the Kingston campus. Still other classes will be presented via multimedia technologies.
The graduate faculty in Communication Studies consists of 17 tenure-track faculty with Ph.D.’s from prestigious research institutions. The faculty has well-earned reputations as outstanding teachers and productive researchers. (more)
Graduate faculty in Communications from Rhode Island College supplement the graduate faculty from the University of Rhode Island. This cooperative process assures graduate students the best possible faculty for the specific courses offered.
The University awards a limited number of fellowships, including some for minorities. Generally, funding for graduate studies is available through loan assistance.
Opportunities may exist for some graduate students to teach introductory courses in Communication Studies (such as public speaking and interpersonal communication). Graduate Teaching Assistantships currently are available only on an as needed basis. Contact the Graduate Program Director for more information.
Founded in 1892, the University of Rhode Island (URI) is a fully accredited, comprehensive research institution, with over $40 million a year in sponsored research. With an enrollment of approximately 11,000 undergraduate students and 3,000 graduate students, URI is the principal public research and graduate institution in the State of Rhode Island.
The University of Rhode Island’s status as a land, sea and urban grant institution highlights its traditions of natural resource, marine, and urban-related research. URI’s vision statement positions the University as "building a new culture for learning." To achieve this goal, URI promotes sharing the "power of discovery through collaborative teaching, learning and research, and through independent inquiry and free speech."
The University of Rhode Island values diversity, emphasizing respect and enhancing opportunities for all persons.
URI confers degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. More than 500 faculty at URI offer 96 undergraduate degrees, over 50 master’s degree programs, and 32 doctoral programs.
URI’s library holdings exceed one million bound volumes. A strong commitment to computing access exists across all campuses, including specialized digital and multimedia equipment. Adaptive computing services for persons with disabilities are available. Students and faculty can access the campus computer network, as well as external networks, such as the World Wide Web, via Ethernet links and modems.
The University of Rhode Island prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sec, religion, age, color, creed, national origin, disability or sexual orientation and disabled and Vietnam era veterans in the recruitment, admission and treatment of students, faculty and staff.