GRADUATE PROGRAM ADMISSIONS PROCESS

To Office of Graduate Admissions (OGA)

To officially initiate an application for admission, applicants must complete an online admissions application form (click here).

As part of their application, applicants must also have the following documents sent to the Office of Graduate Admissions (OGA):

• Two official transcripts of all undergraduate and, if applicable, graduate work
• Official report of GRE scores
• Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL; International applicants only)
• Application fee ($50 domestic applicants; $75 international applicants)

These materials are eventually forwarded to the Department of Communication. However, to facilitate a smooth, efficient admissions process, applicants are strongly encouraged to send duplicate copies of these admissions materials directly to the department at the same time originals are sent to OGA.

To Department of Communication

In addition to the materials required by Texas A&M University, the Department of Communication requires three things:

• Personal statement of objectives from the applicant (i.e., why are you applying for this degree program; how does the degree relate to future career plans)
• Three letters of recommendation (it is in your best interests that all three be well acquainted with you on a personal level and that at least two be well acquainted with your academic work)
• and a writing sample that demonstrates the applicant’s ability to write clearly and to think critically and conceptually (there is no stipulation about the nature or format of the writing sample; papers that reflect an applicant’s familiarity and ability to apply communication concepts are helpful, but not mandatory)

These items should be sent directly to the Graduate Director of the Department of Communication.

When all of the above-mentioned materials are available for review, the Graduate Affairs Committee of the department will make a recommendation to the Office of Graduate Admissions concerning admission of the applicant . Each application is thoroughly reviewed on the basis of its own merits.

Admissions decisions are made on a rolling basis throughout the year, but official deadlines for submitting applications for fall semester, 2007 are December 1, 2007 for international applicants, December 20, 2007 for U.S. applicants wishing to be considered for financial support in the form of assistantships and fellowships; the deadline for all applications is January 1, 2008. Applicants applying after these dates may find that funding resources have been expended. Admissions applications are for the following fall; application for spring admission is discouraged and will only be considered under extenuating circumstances. For information on financial support, see Student Funding.

International Applicants

The Department of Communication welcomes inquiries and applications from international applicants in the interest of diversifying the graduate program, and bringing a global perspective to our departmental research, teaching, and other activities.

International applicants are competitively evaluated on the same academic criteria for admission and financial awards. In addition, the Graduate Affairs Committee will seek demonstration of proficiency of written and spoken English language skills for students whose first language is not English. If possible, we would like the opportunity to interview international applicants in person (e.g., for international students already in the U.S., we can make arrangements to meet at the fall convention of the National Communication Association). When a face-to-face interview is not possible, we will make arrangements for a phone interview or request a recording of the applicants' spoken English in an appropriate video format. The Committee will also consider standardized test scores, references, and writing samples in order to evaluate language proficiency.

The reason for setting such requirements of international applicants is that the majority of departmental assistantships require teaching oral communication competencies to undergraduates. It is imperative that all teaching faculty be able to model these competencies themselves.

Because of increased processing specific to international students, applications from outside the U.S. must be applications submitted by December 1, 2007.