Program Admission (Undergraduate)
Students may not enroll in 500-level courses until they are admitted into the combined program.
Students must meet the following criteria to be admitted to the combined program.
- Students may apply for admission into the undergraduate portion of a combined program after completing no fewer than 60 undergraduate credit hours.
- Students must have a minimum overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0 for admission to combined programs.
The School of Communication, Media and Theatre Arts is responsible for informing Records & Registration when a student is admitted into the combined program.
Program Admission (Graduate)
Admit Terms and Deadlines
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; students may start the program in the Fall or Winter. See Application Deadlines.
Minimum Graduate School Requirements
Applicants must have a minimum cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and be previously admitted to the undergraduate portion of the combined program.
Applicants must confirm with their advisor that they have completed enough undergraduate credits before applying to the graduate portion of the program. A student must complete a minimum of 120 credit hours before being fully admitted to the graduate portion of the program.
Program Requirements
This program does not require additional criteria or documents beyond the minimum Graduate School requirements.
Application
Your application will be submitted using GradCAS, a Centralized Application Service (CAS) hosted by Liaison. After reviewing the admission requirements, please review the application instructions and select the appropriate application.
International Applicants Before applying, applicants must review the international application/process deadlines at emich.edu/international as they may differ from general program requirements.
For additional information regarding the application process, please see Graduate Admissions or International Admissions.
Undergraduate Degree -
The requirements listed below will appear on a student’s undergraduate transcript.
According to university policy, students must earn a minimum of 120 credit hours at the 100-level or above for a bachelor’s degree. Completing this combined program’s minimum credit hour total (Undergrad + Grad) will likely require students to complete more than 120 credit hours as an undergraduate.
Major Requirements: 48 hours
Foundation Courses: 15 hours
Restricted Elective Courses: 12 hours
Choose twelve credit hours. The courses listed above not used to satisfy the Foundation Requirements may be used to satisfy this requirement. Students may not use a course as both a foundational and restricted elective credit.
Advanced Theory and Research: 6 hours
Capstone Experience: 3 hours
Graduate Courses: 12 hours
A student must be admitted to the combined program before enrolling in a 500-level course.
Required Courses: 6 hours
Restricted Electives: 6 hours
Choose any two other 500 level communication (COMM) courses.
Minor Requirement:
This major does not require a minor.
Graduate Degree -
The requirements listed below will appear on a student’s graduate transcript.
Students must ensure they have completed the necessary graduate credit hours that, when combined with those taken as an undergraduate, equal or exceed the minimum number of credit hours required for this combined program. Sometimes, a student may need additional coursework beyond the minimum requirements listed below to meet the total hour requirement.
Degree Requirements: 18 hours
The M.A. in Communication requires students to complete the following:
- Early in their graduate work, prepare an official program of study in consultation with an assigned graduate advisor and file it with the Office of Records and Registration;
- Successfully meet all conditions stipulated upon entry into the program; and
- Complete, with an overall GPA of at least 3.0, a minimum of 30 hours of approved course work as identified in the official program of study.
The required 30 hours are to be distributed among the 12 credit hours of 500 -level courses taken as undergraduate students and the courses listed below.
A student must satisfy one of the following options.
Thesis Option: 18 hours
Required Courses: 6 hours
Students will complete the following course twice for a total of six hours.
Restricted Electives: 12 hours
Students will select twelve credit hours of COMM courses at the 500-level or above in consultation with the graduate advisor.
Project Option: 18 hours
Required Course: 3 hours
Restricted Electives: 15 hours
Students will select fifteen credit hours of COMM courses at the 500-level or above in consultation with the graduate advisor.
Exam Option: 18 hours
A student may elect to complete a program exam.
The student will select eighteen credit hours of COMM courses at the 500-level or above in consultation with the graduate advisor. At least three of these credit hours must be at the 600-level or above.
Combined Program Total: 142 hours
Critical Graduation Information
Each undergraduate student will be responsible for fulfilling the requirements (or their equivalents) of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration at a college or university or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.
In the event an undergraduate student does not complete the degree requirements within seven years of the date of their original registration at a college or university, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their major/minor in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.
Minimum requirements for all bachelor’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University
Some majors and minors require more than the minimum in one or more of the areas below; students are urged to consult this catalog for the requirements of their particular programs.
- Earn a minimum total of 120 credit hours at the 100-level and above.
- Courses numbered below 100 are not counted toward this degree requirement.
- At most, eight credit hours of physical education (PEGN) activity courses are counted toward this requirement.
- Meet the requirements of the General Education program (see information below), including completing a Writing Intensive (GEWI) course in the student’s major.
- Earn a minimum of 60 credits from a four-year college or university; courses taken at community colleges cannot be used to meet this requirement (Some formal program-to-program articulation agreements modify this requirement. See specific agreements for details).
- Earn a minimum of 30 credits from courses taken at EMU.
- Complete 10 of the last 30 hours for the degree from courses taken at EMU.
- Have a minimum of 30 unique credit hours in their major and 20 unique credit hours in their minor for a total of at least 50 unique credit hours between them. Some majors that require 50 or more hours themselves do not require a minor. A double major automatically satisfies the need for a minor unless one of the two majors requires a specific minor. Students should check the requirements of the selected major in the undergraduate catalog to see if a minor is required.
- Earn no more than 60 credit hours in one subject area (prefix). Credits over the 60 maximum will not be counted toward the minimum of 120 credits required for a bachelor’s degree.
- Earn the minimum number of credits in 300-level and above courses in each major and minor as specified below - these credits must be earned in distinct courses; that is, no course can be used to fulfill this requirement in more than one major or minor.
- Earn a minimum of 6 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each minor
- Earn a minimum of 9 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that requires a minor.
- Earn a minimum of 15 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that does not require a minor
- Transfer credit will be awarded for courses taken at colleges and universities that are accredited by one of the recognized regional accrediting bodies only if the courses are college-level (equated to 100-level or above at EMU) and the student earned a “C” (or 2.0 on a 4 point scale) or better. Transfer credit may be awarded on a case-by-case basis for college-level courses in which a “C” (2.0) or better was earned at institutions outside the U.S. or at non-accredited U.S. institutions; individual departments/schools conduct the internal review of such courses within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credit for transferred courses; grades are not used to calculate an EMU GPA.
- Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken at EMU to graduate. In addition, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be reached in each major and minor. Only courses a student takes at EMU and those applied to their major or minor are used to calculate their major and minor cumulative GPAs. (Note: some programs may require a higher GPA - check with your program advisor.)
General Education Requirements - EMU’s General Education Program requires students to choose from a menu of approved courses in several different areas; do not assume that other courses in the same department or similar names will fulfill these requirements. A detailed description of General Education requirements is available in the General Education section of the catalog.
Students who transferred to EMU may have modified general education requirements based on Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) or articulation agreements; consult your academic advisor for additional information.
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