Department of Communication

You can find the full list of admissions requirements on this page: Admissions requirements for MA in Professional Communication.

If you are an international student, please also check the Documents Required by Country and the English Proficiency Requirements to see if your application requires any additional documentation.

We require a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) for admission. Students with a GPA of less than 3.0 or equivalent are welcome to apply and may be admitted to the program with conditions for continued enrollment.

Students admitted with conditions for continued enrollment are generally required to clear those conditions before we will consider them for funding.

We do not require any exam scores for admission to our program. However, if you intend to pursue a PhD after graduating our program, taking the GRE is encouraged.

We accept applications on a rolling basis; you can apply at any point and indicate which semester you intend to enroll in your application.

However, please make sure you apply with enough time to manage everything that is required between application and the start of the semester. If you are international student, we especially encourage you to apply as early as possible to leave plenty of time for the student visa process. If your application is received without sufficient time before the start of the semester, you may be required to defer enrollment to a later semester.

We recommend all students apply by February 15th to enroll in fall of the same year and September 15th to enroll in spring of the next year.

We do offer some waivers for application fees that will allow you to apply for our program for free. To learn about these waivers, visit pfw.edu/no-fee and read the "Application Fee Satisfaction" section, or email [email protected] for additional details.

We do offer funding for graduate students through teaching assistantships. An assistantship role consists of teaching two sections of our basic course (COM 11400 Fundamentals of Speech Communication) in addition to your graduate coursework, and provides partial tuition remission and a small stipend.

These assistantships are limited in number and highly competitive, so funding is not guaranteed.

Upon admission to our program, you will be given instructions to apply for funding. We are unable to consider students for funding who have not been admitted to the program.

If you are admitted with conditions for continued enrollment, you will generally be required to clear those conditions before we will consider you for funding.

The program can be completed in as little as two years. However, there is no required timeline for degree completion and no penalty for taking longer than two years, and many students choose to do so.

Please note that if you are inactive (do not take any classes) for three consecutive semesters (including summer), you will be required to re-apply to continue working towards your degree. If you are inactive for five years or more, previous classes you have taken in our program will no longer apply towards your degree and you will be required to re-take them.

No, you are not required to write a thesis to graduate. You may choose to write one, but we also have alternative methods for completing your degree. The MA in Professional Communication program offers three options for completing your degree:

• Professional project: Turn your communication knowledge and research into a project applicable to the workplace or the real world. This can take the form of a film or documentary, a public relations campaign, a website, or anything else you can imagine.
  • Note that professional projects also include a writing portion explaining the research and reasoning that went into your project. This writing is not as extensive as a thesis but is required for project completion.
• Comprehensive exam: Take a comprehensive examination demonstrating your knowledge and understanding of communication at a post-baccalaureate level.
• Thesis: Conduct your own research in the discipline of communication and write and defend a thesis. (If you intend to pursue a PhD after graduating our program, choosing the thesis option is encouraged.)

For further details on any of these options, please contact our Graduate Program Director, Dr. Steven Carr, at [email protected].

If your native language is not English, you will be required to provide proof of English proficiency for admission. Options include TOEFL scores, IELTS scores, Duolingo English Test scores, or satisfactory completion of an approved Intensive English Language Program. If you are a current Purdue student or are from an English-speaking country, this requirement can be waived. See the full English-proficiency requirement details here.

For additional details, please contact the Purdue Fort Wayne Office of International Education.

First Semester

• Complete conditions (if applicable).
• Submit choice of pursuing comprehensive examination, professional project, or thesis option, with signed approval of advisory committee chair.

Completion of 15–18 Credits

• Select an advisory committee.
• File plan of study. (When you are ready to do this, contact Steve Carr, graduate program director, at [email protected] or 260-481-6545 for relevant codes.)

Two Semesters before Graduation

• Complete graduation application.

Graduating Semester

• Second week: first deposit of synthesis paper
• October 15 (for fall session) or March 15 (for spring session): approved draft of synthesis paper due
• November 1–15 (for fall) or April 1–15 (for spring): comprehensive examinations

The Department of Communication does not process synthesis papers, comprehensive exams, or graduation applications during the summer sessions. Also, you should keep this information in mind:

• The three-semester rule. If you are inactive for three semesters (including summer), you have to apply for readmission to the program.
• The five-year rule. If you are inactive for five years or more, your courses will no longer count and your plan of study is no longer valid.

COM 59000 Directed Study of Special Problems is a variable topic, variable credit, repeatable course that requires the consent of the instructor for enrollment. This course provides a valuable opportunity for students to pursue interests that are not addressed appropriately or at all in regularly scheduled courses. This course is not to be used as a substitute for a regularly scheduled titled course.

To request enrollment in COM 59000, you must present a plan of study that is acceptable to the department faculty member(s) who will direct the study. The agreeable faculty sponsor should inform your advising committee (if one is formalized) and the graduate program director of willingness to direct the study. 

As a graduate student registered for COM 59000 Directed Study of Special Problems, you will not serve as an instructor in a 500-level class. The academic quality of the proposed project will serve as the primary basis for approval of COM 59000.

You should contact the graduate program director to request a curricular exception. To count as part of your plan of study, the course first must receive approval from the advisory committee chair (acting on behalf of the committee) and the graduate program director. To register for COM 59000, you must first have convened your advisory committee and submitted a plan of study. In exceptional circumstances, the graduate program director may waive some or all of these requirements upon the recommendation of your initial faculty mentor.

It is your responsibility to file a plan of study or an amended plan of study that shows the title of COM 59000 exactly as that title appears on your transcript. Any inconsistencies will result in a rejection of your plan of study and may delay graduation.

Any progress on the COM 59000 project must be considered tentative until the necessary approvals are obtained properly.