Admissions

Masters Program Admission Requirements

Admission is competitive, based upon evidence of the applicant's undergraduate scholarly and research abilities. A completed application for admission and one official set of transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate work must be submitted to the Graduate Admissions Office. See pages 44-46 of the ASU Graduate Catalog for Graduate College requirements. All applicants must submit the following:

A completed Graduate College application and official undergraduate transcripts;
A statement of professional goals (approximately 500 words);
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (verbal, quantitative, and analytical) taken within the past five years, plus other relevant test data provided by the applicant;
Three letters of recommendation from people who can attest to your academic readiness for graduate study. These letters must have been prepared within the preceding 12 months;
A required writing sample, preferably a research report; and
A minimum score of 600 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) for all applicants whose native language is not English.
An application for graduate research/teaching assistantship, if you would like to be considered for funding.

All application materials must be received by February 1.
See the MA Application Checklist

Doctoral Program Admission Requirements

Admission to the program is competitive. Applications are generally considered after the regular December 15 deadline for admission the following fall. Applicants must have earned either a bachelor's or master's degree and must present evidence of scholarly writing (e.g., an undergraduate honors thesis, a master's thesis, or their equivalent).

All applicants should be knowledgeable in the basic principles of both qualitative and quantitative methods of research, social statistics, and communication theory. If course work in these areas has not been completed, admitted students are required to successfully complete COM 501 Research Methods in Communication, COM 504 Theories and Models in Communication, and a relevant graduate-level statistics course (plus any other courses stipulated by the admissions committee) before enrolling in the required theory and methodology sequence.

In addition to meeting the minimum Graduate College admission requirements, the applicant's scholastic and professional record must indicate special interest in and aptitude for systematic research in communication. All applicants must submit the following:

A completed Graduate College application (Online Graduate College Application) and official undergraduate and graduate transcripts
A formal curriculum vitae
A statement of career goals and the relevance of this degree program to those goals
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (verbal, quantitative, analytical) taken within the past five years, plus other relevant test data volunteered by the applicant
Three letters of recommendation prepared within the preceding 12 months;
A sample of writing (e.g., master's thesis, course paper)
A minimum score of 600 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The Test of Spoken English (TSE) will be administered on campus to all applicants whose native language is not English
An application for graduate research/teaching assistantship, if you would like to be considered for funding.

All application materials must be received by December 15.
See the PhD Application Checklist