Introduction

Our vibrant community of scholars and teachers is committed to providing a real world, hands-on, and theoretically robust master's degree that will enrich students' communication knowledge and skills. Our program is a 33-credit generalist degree designed to enhance students' intellectual and professional growth through the understanding, analysis and practice of effective communication. Our faculty members are nationally and internationally recognized leaders in their fields, and our students hail from all over the world.

Some students who complete our program receive offers to top-notch PhD programs while others accept or continue in positions related to communication management, strategic communication, public relations, media relations, human relations, and corporate and non-profit communications.

For more information please visit our website.

Graduate Education Policies and Procedures apply to this program.

Program Requirements 

1. Students must complete a minimum of 30 credits from approved courses.
2. Students must complete a minimum of 27 credits at the graduate level.
3. Students must earn a minimum grade of B (3.0) in all major courses taken at CU Denver and must achieve a minimum cumulative major GPA of 3.0. Students cannot complete major or ancillary course requirements as P+/P/F or S/U.
4. All credits for the degree must be completed with CU Denver faculty. A maximum of 12 credits of relevant graduate work may be transferred from another university with the program director's approval. 
5. Students must comply with all Graduate Education Policies and Procedures

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Students must complete the following Research Methods and Introduction to Graduate Work courses the first semester they are available.		6
COMM 5221	Research Methods: Qualitative
COMM 6013	Introduction to Graduate Work in Communication
Students must complete one of the following:		3
COMM 5939	Internship
COMM 6700	Thesis and Project Practicum
Students must take two graduate Communication seminars (6000-level or higher), in addition to the required COMM 6013 course. COMM 6700, COMM 6950, or COMM 6960 Master's Project do not count as seminars.		6
Seminars are Communication courses at the 6000 level and are often special topics classes (COMM 6711) taught in faculty areas of expertise.
Students must complete five elective courses. 1		15
All electives must be at the 5000 or 6000 level; however, 1 course (3 credits) is permitted at the 4000 level with prior approval of the student’s advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies. A total of 3 credits may be outside the Communication department or more with prior approval of the student’s advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.
All students must pass a comprehensive examination at the end of course work.
Total Hours		30

¹

Courses that count as electives include:

• Any Communication courses taken at the 5000 or 6000 level that do not fulfill another program requirement.
• Communication internships (max six credit hours)
• Communication independent studies (max six credit hours)
• Courses from outside the Communication department (max three credit hours; more with the approval of the student’s advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies).

To learn more about the Student Learning Outcomes for this program, please visit our website.