Welcome to our Mass Communication MA/PhD Virtual Information Session�

Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication

University of Minnesota

​

Emily Vraga, Ph.D. Director of Graduate Studies & Professor

​

Agenda

• General information
• What makes our program unique
• Financial support for graduate students
• How our graduate curriculum works
• Our courses
• Application process
• Mass Communication MA overview
• Mass Communication PhD overview
• FAQ
• Meet our students
• Breakout room with students

What makes us unique

• Mentoring: Students work closely with faculty members from the start
• Support: Students receive guaranteed funding and opportunities for grants
• Collegiality: We strive to create a welcoming scholarly community
• Interdisciplinarity: Both within the HSJMC and across the university
• Location: Minneapolis-St. Paul is the 14^th largest U.S. media market

​

Financial Support

• Assistantships: TA/RA/GI Appointments
• Conference Travel Support
• Fees covered
• Summer Fellowships and Opportunities
• Other HSJMC Grants and Fellowships
• Kriss Research Grants
• Casey Dissertation Award
• Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship and other Graduate School Fellowships

​

​

​

Graduate Curriculum

• MA Degree: 25 graduate course credits (~8 courses + 1 hour proseminar) + 10 thesis credit hours
• PhD Degree: 46 graduate course credits (~15 courses + 1 hour proseminar) + preliminary exams + 24 dissertation credit hours
• MA students in their second year can apply for change-of-status to enter PhD program

​

​

​

Course Topics (from 2020-2024)

• Media Effects
• Mass Communication Theory
• Advertising
• Public Relations
• Health Communication
• Political Communication
• Digital Media Theory
• Research Methods
• International Media

​

​

​

• Media Audiences
• Journalism Studies
• Qualitative Methods
• Misinformation
• Algorithms and Privacy
• Race, Gender, and News Media
• Social Network Analysis
• Computational Communication Research

MA Program Overview

MA Program Overview

What courses do I take?

• Required Mass Communication Core (7 credits)
• JOUR8001: Studies and Theories of Mass Communication
• JOUR8009: Pro-seminar in Mass Communication (1 credit)
• JOUR8501: Research Methods in Mass Communication
• Additional theory course inside HSJMC
• Additional methods course
• Electives in Mass Communication (at least 6 credits)
• Electives outside HSJMC (at least 6 credits)
• M.A. Thesis Credits (10 credits)

​

​

​

​

​

PhD Program Overview

PhD Program Overview

What courses do I take?

• Required Mass Communication Core (7 credits)
• JOUR8001: Studies and Theories of Mass Communication
• JOUR8009: Pro-seminar in Mass Communication (1 credit)
• JOUR8501: Research Methods in Mass Communication
• Additional theory course inside HSJMC
• Two additional methods courses
• Electives in Mass Communication (at least 12 credits)
• Electives outside HSJMC (at least 12 credits)
• Dissertation Credits (24 credits)

​

​

​

Application Process

• Deadline: December 15
• PhD program applicants must have an MA degree when they start
• No GRE scores accepted or required
• TOEFL or coursework from most English-speaking countries
• International students welcome!
• Statement of Purpose: Tell us who you are and how we fit into your plan
• Other items: Resumé/CV, recommendation letters, �writing samples, transcripts, optional DOVE statement
• Expect to hear back from us in early February

​

​

​

​

A Few FAQ

• Strong applications
• Application process
• Change of status
• Finding your advisor
• Research opportunities
• After graduation

Graduate student introductions

​

​

​

Breakout Room

​

• Talk with the students in the breakout room
• Talk with us in the main room
• Reach out to us:
• Emily Vraga: ekvraga@umn.edu
• Amy Bolis: sjmcgrad@umn.edu
• hsjmc.umn.edu/

​