M.A. in Applied Communication

Outstanding Master’s Degree Program Award, "TOP MA Program"

-National Communication Association, Master’s Education Section, October 2012

Program Description

The Department of Communication Studies at IUPUI offers a M.A. in Applied Communication with optional concentrations in Corporate Communication, Health Communication, Media Criticism, or Public Communication.  Classes are generally small and interactive with emphasis on application of theory.  Opportunities for multidisciplinary and independent study are available.  The graduate faculty brings a range of academic expertise and applied experiences from regional and national institutions and organizations.

The overarching goal of this unique applied program is to provide students with the competencies and skills necessary to address specific communication issues and problems that are socially relevant and to suggest or implement change.  The primary intellectual goal of this program is to increase our students’ understanding of the theoretical implications of discipline-specific knowledge, and to enhance their ability to understand and predict human interaction relative to realistic, applied outcomes associated with contemporary social problems. A practical goal of the program is to educate professionals who grasp the complexities of communication problems and who are able to develop and execute strategies and create programs to address such issues.

In accomplishing these goals, the program will provide advanced study of communication principles applicable to various personal and organizational settings.  The program will offer residents of Indiana, surrounding states, and national and international students the opportunity to do graduate work in applied communication.  The program provides an excellent foundation for doctoral studies.  It is also well suited for students wishing to pursue combined advanced degree programs in such areas as medicine, medical humanities, business, and philanthropy.

Program Information

The Applied Communication Master’s Program centers on the application of communication theories in various organizational settings.  The program readies the advanced student for professional career paths and future academic pursuits.  The program’s flexibility allows each student to meet individual and career goals. Students who matriculated prior to Fall 2018 must complete a total of thirty-six (36) graduate credit hours. Students who matriculated in Fall 2018 and after must complete a total of thirty (30) graduate credit hours.

M.A. in Applied Communication

Application Information

Thanks for your interest in our program! Here’s how to apply:

Application Deadlines for Fall Admission:

January 15 - Priority consideration for fall semester. Applicants who want to be considered for University Fellowships must apply by this date
May 15 - Fall regular admission 

Note: Applications received after May 15th will be held for the following year’s admissions process. If you are an international student applying close to the May deadline, please be aware that the Office of International Affairs may not be able to process all of your documentation by fall semester. Please contact their office or our office if this applies to you.

Application Requirements and Materials:

• Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, with a minimum GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale)
• Official transcripts from all universities and colleges attended.
• Three letters of recommendation from sources who can comment on your ability to succeed in a graduate program.
•  A two-three page personal statement explaining both how prior education and experience make you a good candidate as well as how you plan to apply this degree to future career and academic goals. In addition, evidence of strong analytical and writing skills, a background in research methods, and experience in the analysis of communication phenomena are highly recommended. You should also address why the M.A. in Applied Communication program is a good fit for you.
• GRE scores: The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test, is required for applicants who wish to be considered for University fellowships, but not required for admission to the program. (If you are applying and are not going to be submitting GRE scores, please advise the Graduate Program Terri Crews.)
•  INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ONLY: International students must submit TOEFL scores. The Office of International Affairs (OIA) will finalize your admission and assist you with obtaining a visa, if necessary. OIA will conduct a final review of your application to determine that all institutional and USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service) requirements have been met. OIA may contact you for additional information. In the meantime, please visit their web site at http://iapply.iupui.edu/ to be sure that you have satisfied all admission requirements for international students. Please do not apply for your visa or make travel plans until you receive a formal confirmation of admission from OIA and your Certificate of Eligibility (I-20 or DS2019). If you have any visa-related questions, please direct your questions to the OIA office at (317) 274-7000 or oiagrad@iupui.edu . Registration for international students takes place during the new student orientation sponsored by OIA just before the beginning of the term. If you are accepted into our program, you will receive an acceptance letter from our department, but your admission will not be official until it is followed by an acceptance letter from OIA.

Fellowships

Incoming students with the highest qualifications may be nominated by the admissions committee for University Fellowships. These fellowships offer full-time students one year of financial support. All the graduate programs on the IUPUI campus compete for these fellowships, and programs are allowed up to four fellows per year depending on situational constraints, such as budget.

Online Application

Click here to access the online application

Letters of recommendation, personal statement, and official transcripts should be submitted via the online application. If necessary, hard copies of official transcripts can be mailed to:  IUPUI, Department of Communication Studies, Graduate Program, 425 University Blvd, CA 309A, Indianapolis, IN 46202

Request More Information

For questions about the M.A. in Applied Communication or departmental requirements contact Dr. Kim White-Mills, Director of Applied Communication MA. For questions about the status of your application materials or the submission process, contact Terri Crews, School of Liberal Arts Graduate Team Member.

Ph.D. in Health Communication

Health Communication Ph.D. Program Overview

According to health communication scholar Gary Kreps (2003) and as written in the Healthy People 2020 project commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "health communication is the study and use of communication strategies to inform and influence individual and community decisions that affect health. It links the fields of communication and health and is increasingly recognized as a necessary element of efforts to improve personal and public health." Communication is at the core of a variety of health issues such as an individual’s access to and use of health information, the dissemination of public health messages, attitudes toward risk, consumer education on health issues, patient-health professional relationships, and minimizing health disparities domestically and globally, just to name a few. The opportunities for health communication education and employment are exciting.

The field of health communication is itself a relatively young area when compared with the history of scholarship in communication studies. The journal Health Communication began publishing in 1989 and since then has witnessed a three-fold increase in size while still maintaining a competitive 15% acceptance rate.  More recently the Journal of Health Communication began publishing to speak to the increased need to disseminate the quality work in this growing field. The Ph.D. program in health communication in the Department of Communication Studies at IUPUI has the potential to make an impact on and further define this still emerging field.

The Ph.D. program in health communication includes the following main program objectives. Students will:  (1) obtain competency for teaching and research in areas that include: health interpersonal relationships, intercultural health, and mediated communication in healthcare including health campaign development. Ethical questions regarding each of these health communication contexts will be explored as well. (2) initiate, participate, and develop competency in research on health and medical communication issues; (3) gain skills in understanding clinical problems affected by communication; (4) develop the capabilities necessary to translate research on clinical problems impacted by communication into practice; (5) receive training for academic jobs and healthcare professional positions.

Significantly, interpersonal, intercultural, and mediated communication in healthcare contexts are experiencing growth in demand for academic positions according to the National Communication Association analysis of positions advertised 2005-10. Additionally, these areas are among those identified by Kreps (2001) in Communication Yearbook as future directions in health communication work outside academia. Work in health interpersonal relationships includes: patient-provider communication, the impact of interpersonal relationships on health and wellness, the role of family systems on health care delivery, and the like. Study in intercultural health, for example, includes not only work in health disparities in different communities in the United States, but the ways that cultural assumptions influence disease and recovery and strategies for addressing health concerns worldwide such as malaria or HIV/AIDS. Mediated communication in healthcare may include study of how media channels and messages affect access to, understanding and reception of healthcare messages. These are only a few examples of the opportunities for study in health communication in each of the primary areas to which this program contributes.

Ph.D. in Health Communication

Application Information

Thanks for your interest in our program! Here’s how to apply:

Application Deadline for Fall Admission:

January 15

Application Requirements and Materials:

• Students entering the program must have at least a Master’s degree (minimum of 30 credit hours) in Communication or a related social science or health discipline. Preference will be given to those students with degrees from communication studies programs.
• Students should have a GPA of 3.5 or higher in their Master’s coursework.
• Graduate School requirements include a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, a minimum 3.0 grade point average on a scale of 4, and a minimum 3.0 average in the major field.  
• Students are expected to have taken some foundational coursework in Communication. For students entering the program with no background in Communication, additional preparatory coursework in the discipline may be required as a condition of admission.
• Official transcripts from all universities and colleges attended.
• Three letters of recommendation from sources who can comment on your ability to succeed in a Ph.D. program.
• A personal statement explaining both how prior education and experience make you a good candidate as well as how you plan to apply this degree to future career and academic goals. In addition, evidence of strong analytical and writing skills, a background in research methods, and experience in the analysis of communication phenomena are highly recommended. You should also address why the Ph.D. program in Health Communication at IUPUI is a good fit for you. Finally, address whether you would like to be considered for financial support in the form of a teaching or research assistantship and explain your qualifications for such a position. Notice: only full time students are eligible for financial support
• CV
• A writing sample demonstrating academic writing ability
• Applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Revised General Test (Quantitative, Verbal, and Analytical Writing). While the Department of Communication Studies has not instituted a fixed minimum GRE-score requirement, successful candidates typically have scores between 150-170 in Verbal Reasoning and in Quantitative Reasoning and a score between 4.0-6.0 in Analytical Writing.
• INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ONLY: In addition, non-native English speakers who did not complete a degree at a college or university in the U.S. must take an English competency test. The student may complete either of the following:
  • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The expectation for admission is a minimum score of 88 on the TOEFL iBT (internet based test). Please note that this score represents the minimum that will be considered. In practice, we look for scores above 100.
  • International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The minimum acceptable IELTS score is 6.5; in practice, we look for an IELTS of 7 or more. It is required that applicants take the academic reading and writing modules, not thegeneral training reading and writing modules. Please note that this score represents the minimum that will be considered. In practice, we look for scores above 7.
  • The Office of International Affairs (OIA) will finalize your admission and assist you with obtaining a visa, if necessary. OIA will conduct a final review of your application to determine that all institutional and USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service) requirements have been met. OIA may contact you for additional information. In the meantime, please visit their web site at http://iapply.iupui.edu/ to be sure that you have satisfied all admission requirements for international students. Please do not apply for your visa or make travel plans until you receive a formal confirmation of admission from OIA and your Certificate of Eligibility (I-20 or DS2019). If you have any visa-related questions, please direct your questions to the OIA office at (317) 274-7000 or oiagrad@iupui.edu . Registration for international students takes place during the new student orientation sponsored by OIA just before the beginning of the term. If you are accepted into our program, you will receive an acceptance letter from our department, but your admission will not be official until it is followed by an acceptance letter from OIA.

Online Application

Click here to access the online application

Letters of recommendation, CV, writing sample, personal statement, and official transcripts should be submitted via the online application. If necessary, hard copies of official transcripts can be mailed to:  IUPUI, Department of Communication Studies, Graduate Program, 425 University Blvd, CA 309A, Indianapolis, IN 46202

Request More Information

For questions about the Ph.D. in Health Communication or departmental requirements contact Dr. Katharine Head, Director of Health Communication PhD. For questions about the status of your application materials or the submission process, contact Terri Crews, School of Liberal Arts Graduate Team Member.