For Graduate Students

Admission Requirements

UNCG’s Graduate School encourages a holistic approach to graduate admission. That means we look beyond test scores and transcripts to consider the complete picture of your application. We require the following materials when submitting your application:

• Transcripts from all undergraduate institutions
• A personal statement
• An academic writing sample
• 3 letters of recommendation

After we receive your application, we will also contact you to schedule an interview with our graduate admissions committee.

As of 2022, the Communication Studies Department no longer requires the GRE or other entrance exam to apply to our program. Students may submit scores as part of their supplemental materials, but test scores will have little influence on final recommendations.

All materials, including recommendation letters, the writing sample, and the personal statement, should be submitted through the GradApply Application Management System.

Important Deadlines:

• November 15: deadline for spring admissions
• February 15: deadline for fall admissions with assistantships & tuition support
• April 1: deadline for fall admissions without assistantships & tuition support

Graduate Program Director:
Dr. Marianne LeGreco
melegrec@uncg.edu

FUNDING & SCholarships

FUNDING & ASSISTANSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

We offer a variety of limited funding and assistantship opportunities for students who seek admission to our program. These funding opportunities include teaching and graduate assistantships and tuition support.

A highlight of our program is our instructor training and teaching assistant opportunities. Teaching assistants (TAs) provide instructional support for our CST 105: Introduction to Communication course. TAs are required to take courses in communication pedagogy, meet regularly with the basic course coordinator, and engage with other students in a robust TA community. In their second year, TAs will be credentialed to teach as instructors of record.

In addition to teaching, we offer occasional graduate assistantships to work alongside faculty in support of journal editing and grant-funded research projects. If you have experience working in a speaking center, we also encourage you to contact the UNCG Speaking Center to inquire about their funding opportunities.

All assistantships include a stipend and a contribution toward health insurance coverage. Tuition support may also be available and is prioritized for teaching assistants and graduate assistants.

SCHOLARSHIPS

The John Andrew & Margaret E. Robinson Memorial Fellowship: This scholarship is awarded to a graduate student or students in the Department of Communication on the basis of merit. The award is intended to enhance the professional development of graduate students in Communication Studies without restriction as to their areas of expertise within the field.

The Robert Schwartzman Fund: Established by Communication Studies Professor Roy Schwartzman, this fund honors his father, who never had the opportunity to get a college education. We use this fund to support outstanding applicants with a strong interest in Communication research.

Questions should be directed to Dr. Cristiane Damasceno (csdamasc@uncg.edu).

FUNDING FOR GRADUATE STUDENT TRAVEL

The Department of Communication Studies offers support for graduate student travel to academic conferences, when funds are available. Sources: Glenn-Tedford Fund and Joyce Ferguson Fund.

Those requesting funding should apply to the Graduate Student Association and to the Department as early as possible.

Accelerated Degree Program

The Department of Communication Studies now offers a BA to MA Accelerated Degree Program (ADP). Students admitted to the ADP may count up to 12 hours of graduate-level coursework toward both the BA and MA degrees in Communication Studies.

If you are interested in the ADP, we recommend that you contact a CST advisor not later than the beginning of the spring semester of your junior year. We also recommend that you complete CST 300 during the fall, spring, or summer of your junior year.

Admission Details

To apply to the ADP, a student must have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.5 based on at least 30 hours earned at UNCG, must have completed at least 60 semester credits, and must be at least a junior.

Additionally, a Communication Studies student must have a 3.5 GPA in at least 15 CST hours, including CST 300. Full application requirements may be found in the UNCG Catalog.

Interested students should visit the Communication Studies section of the UNCG Catalog for more information and speak to a Communication Studies advisor or the Graduate Program Director.

Application Requirements

• Professional Statement explaining how the CST MA program aligns with your personal, academic, and professional goals.  For more details click
• An academic or professional style writing sample, preferably a research paper written for a prior course in Communication Studies or a related discipline.
• A resume or curriculum vitae
• Interview

SAMPLE CAPSTONES

Master of Arts students in Communication Studies conclude the program with a capstone, or independent research project, that reflects their individual interests and areas of expertise. Following are some sample Capstone projects from previous MA students:

• Cory Bussiere – “One, Two, Three, Four: An Autoethnography of Family/Relational Dialectics and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder”
• Megan Butler – “Giving Back: How One Church Uses Helping Values as Sources of Organizational Identification”
• Vincent Johnson – “Black Twitter vs. ‘Don Don’: A Descriptive Cultural Study of Vernacular Discourse”
• Tony Kemerly  – “The Odds Were Never in Their Favor: Katniss Everdeen and the Woman-in-Sport”
• CJ Brewer  – “The Empowerment of Song and Solidarity:  Agency and Facework in a Gay Men’s Choir”
• Chris Jordan – “From Start to Finnish:  Humor as Cultural Adaptation to Finnish Culture”
• Genevieve Barnes – “Interpreting African American Social Identity: An Analysis of North Carolina Rosenwald Schools Alumni Communicative Experience”
• Annalisa Donahey – “The Discursive Power of Food: A Grounded Practical Analysis to Reconstruct the Local Food System through Individual and Organizational Involvement”
• Stephanie Walton – “Social Movement Performance and The University of Missouri: Moving Traditional Social Movement Performance to Social Media”
• Christina Blankenship – “The Wizardry of Oz: Deconstructing the TV doctor”