The Master of Arts program in Mass Communication is an academically-oriented degree that prepares students for doctoral studies or a career in research. The MA program requires 34 semester hours and involves the completion of a thesis.
The MA program is designed to meet the needs of:
- Journalism students who have earned a bachelor’s degree and wish to continue their education. MA students can continue can be considered for admission into the doctoral program after completion of all their MA degree requirements.
- Experienced journalists or communicators who wish to prepare themselves for teaching by earning the MA degree, possibly continuing on to the PhD
For more information about the program, refer to the Graduate Student Handbook, or send an email to us at sjmc-grad@uiowa.edu.
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Current course list
The MyUI Schedule displays registered courses for a particular session and is available to enrolled students. The list view includes course instructors, time and location, and features to drop courses or change sections.
Requirements
The following are the general categories of coursework required to earn the degree; for more specific information on courses, curriculum, and requirements of the Master of Arts in Mass Communication, visit the UI General Catalog.
| Title | Hours |
|---|---|
| Humanistic Approaches to Media Communication | 3 |
| Social Scientific Approaches to Media Communication | 3 |
| Methods | 3 |
| Theory | 3 |
| Electives | 12 |
| College Teaching for TAs | 1 |
| Additional Professionalization | 2 |
| Communication and Media Colloquium | 4 |
| Master's Thesis | 3 |
| Total hours | 34 |
Master's thesis
Students who are enrolled in the MA Program are required to complete a scholarly thesis to fulfill MA degree requirements. The student is required to have a thesis adviser and a thesis committee composed of two additional graduate faculty members. One member of the committee may be from outside the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.