Chair: Hamilton Bean
Graduate Director: Patrick Shaou-Whea Dodge
Program Assistant: Michelle A. Médal
Internship Director: Lacy Lowrey
Office: Student Commons Building, 1201 Larimer Street, 3rd Floor, Room 3321
Telephone: 303-315-1919

Overview

Our vibrant community of scholars and teachers is committed to providing a real-world, hands-on, and theoretically robust master’s degree that will enrich students’ communication knowledge and skills for the twenty-first century. Our program is a 30-credit generalist degree designed to enhance students’ intellectual and professional growth through the understanding and practice of effective communication. Our faculty members are nationally and internationally recognized leaders in their field. Students who complete our program often receive offers to top-notch PhD programs or accept positions related to communication management, public relations, human relations, and corporate and non-profit communication.

Graduate Program

Click here to learn about the Master of Arts in Communication.

Grade Requirements

Students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher across all courses applied to a graduate degree or to a graduate certificate.

Course Transfer Policy

A maximum of 12 semester hours of relevant graduate course work may be transferred from another university. Students cannot receive credit for transferred courses in which less than a B grade was earned. Course work transferred from another university must be approved by the director of the MA program and must not have been used for another graduate degree.

Time Limits for Completion of Degree

Students have seven years from the date of the beginning of their course work to complete all requirements for a master’s degree in communication.

Graduate Certificate

Click here to learn about the Strategic Communication Graduate Certificate.

Grade and Residency Requirements for Certificates

A grade of B or better must be earned in each course completed as part of the certificate (B- is not acceptable). All semester hours for a certificate must be earned at CU Denver.

For more information about admission requirements please visit our website.

Application Procedures for U.S. Citizens

Students must submit the following materials to apply for admission to the MA program:

• letter of application explaining career plans and reasons for interest in the degree
• online graduate admission application
• three letters of recommendation, preferably from university faculty (those writing the recommendations must use the request for recommendation form and their own letterhead stationery)
• official transcripts from every college or university attended
• preferred 3.25 undergraduate GPA
• resume or vita
• academic writing sample (showing ability to make and sustain an argumentative analysis)
• Optional GRE scores
• $50 application fee (nonrefundable)
• international students need TOEFL scores

Deadlines for Application

February 15: Priority deadline for fall semester start and full consideration for Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA). Applications will be considered until May 1, which is the non-priority deadline for fall semester start and excludes GTA consideration.

October 1: Deadline for spring semester start.
 
All application materials not uploaded through the online application process should be sent to:

Graduate Admissions
University of Colorado Denver
Campus Box 167
1201 Larimer Street, Suite 1005
PO Box 173364
Denver, CO 80204
Phone: 303-315-2601
Email: graduateadmissions@ucdenver.edu

Students are notified by e-mail of the graduate admission committee’s decision concerning their admission.

Application Procedures for International Students

Students who are not U.S. citizens should begin the process of application to the MA program in Communication by contacting the Office of International Affairs (website: www.ucdenver.edu/academics/InternationalPrograms/OIA/admissions/Pages/default.aspx) at CU Denver. This office will assist students in compiling their application materials, which then are submitted to the Communication department. See the International Students chapter for further information.

Programs

Faculty

Professors:

Hamilton Bean, PhD, MBA, APR, University of Colorado Boulder
Sarah Fields, JD, PhD, University of Iowa
Stephen J. Hartnett, PhD, University of California at San Diego
Lisa B. Keränen, PhD, University of Pittsburgh

Associate Professors:

Soumia Bardhan, PhD, University of New Mexico
Larry Erbert, PhD, University of Iowa
Mia Fischer, PhD, University of Minnesota
Amy Hasinoff, PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Assistant Professors:

Patrick Shaou-Whea Dodge, PhD, University of Denver

Assistant Professor of Teaching Practice:

Victoria Cann, PhD, Communication University of China
Xiyuan Liu, PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago
Tamara Powell, PhD, University of California San Diego
Zhenzhu Zhang, PhD, The University of Southern Mississippi

Senior Instructors:

Yvette Bueno Olson, PhD, University of Miami
Kristy Frie, MA, Regis University
James McNeil, MA, University of Colorado Denver
Ali Nassiri, MA, University of Colorado Denver
e.j. Yoder, PhD, University of Denver

Instructors:

Miroslav Atanassov, PhD, Asbury Theological Seminary
Lacy Lowery, MA, San Diego State University
James O'Mara, MA, Colorado State University
Bryan Reckard, PhD, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Emeritus:

Brenda J. Allen, PhD, Howard University
Sonja K. Foss, PhD, Northwestern University
James F. Stratman, PhD, Carnegie-Mellon University
Barbara J. Walkosz, PhD, University of Arizona

Communication (COMM) Courses