Program Overview

Communication Studies B.A. Accelerated Master's Degree

The accelerated Bachelor's Degree/Master's (AB/M) Degree program is a five-year track to attaining your Bachelor's and Master's degree. Advanced students that have demonstrated excellence in their undergraduate career and are ready for advanced level scholarship are invited to apply to the AB/M program.

Overview

Adding the Communication Studies Master's degree to your undergraduate B.A. is designed to provide credentials and skills to help you further your career in communication or related fields such as personnel, business administration, or human services — or for continuing study in a Ph.D. program.

Application Deadline

• March 15 of your junior year for full consideration. Applicants meeting this deadline will be notified of the admission decision by March 30
• July 15 (rolling decisions on applications)
• Admission fees for the URI graduate school and GradCAS are automatically waived for current Harrington School students applying to the AB/M program

How to Apply

Applications should be completed online.

Program Details

The program allows students to develop their course plan according to their academic and career needs, with possible areas of interest including:

• College teaching
• Communication technology
• Conflict management
• Political media
• Organizational communication training and development
• Public relations Students can also develop their individual specialty within the following specialization areas:
• Interpersonal communication
• Media studies
• Organizational communication
• Public discourse

How It Works

• Applications to the program are accepted during your Junior year.
• Curriculum includes two foundational courses, one seminar in each specialization area, and four elective courses.
• Credits: During your Senior year, up to 9 credits of coursework at the 400 or 500 level will count toward both your Bachelor's degree and as electives toward completing the 30 credits of your Master's degree. During your fifth year, you will have 21 credits to complete for the Master's degree.
• Comprehensive Examination: During spring semester of your fifth year, you will take a two-day written comprehensive examination covering all four of our areas of specialization, followed by an oral examination of your responses by your faculty committee.

Admission

General Requirements

• Current enrollment in a Harrington School undergraduate major with 75 or more credits completed toward your degree
• Junior Standing
• Current overall GPA of 3.0 and major GPA of 3.3 or higher
• Scholarly paper showing the capacity for academic argumentation using current research and theory
• Two letters of recommendation from faculty members or people who have supervised or mentored your scholarly work
• Personal statement describing your interest in pursuing graduate education in Communication Studies (500-1,000 words)
• Standardized test scores are not required, nor do you need to submit an official transcript as your transcript is already in the system
• The AB/M program is a non-thesis program. If you wish to include a thesis as part of your Master's degree, apply for the Communication Studies Master's program.