Master of Arts in Speech Communication and Rhetorical Studies

Program Requirements

M.A. students must complete 33 credit hours of graduate work, comprised of:

• A 12-credit core, made up of
  • Introduction to Graduate Studies
  • Research Methods in Communication
  • Performance Methods of Rhetorical Theory
• Nine to 15 credits of departmental electives, including
  • Advanced Studies in Small Group Communication
  • Literature in Performance
  • Rhetorical Criticism
  • Performance History
  • Communication Rights and Ethics
  • Rhetoric and Popular Culture
  • Theories of Persuasion
  • Ethnography and Performance
  • Critical Approaches to Organizational Communication
  • Platform, Podium and Performance
• Up to six credits outside the department in a related field, including anthropology, comparative literature, drama, English, history and psychology
• Either six credits for a traditional thesis or three credits for a non-thesis final project.

Students intending to pursue doctoral studies usually choose the thesis option. Those for whom a master's will be the terminal degree may prefer a final project associated with their career goals. In both cases, the student can expect to work closely with senior faculty in the preparation of this final work.

All candidates for the M.A. degree will be required to pass a written comprehensive examination and an oral defense of the thesis or final project.