Program Requirements
The Master of Arts in Communication, Technology and Society examines how people use technology to pursue long-term communication goals, including interpersonal, group, identity, and community relations, decision-making, virtual organizing, and health, political, and social movement campaigns. The program emphasizes the impacts and interconnections of communication technologies in society and culture from the full range of theoretical and methodological approaches. Graduates are prepared to enter teaching, business, politics, or social organizing as communication practitioners with expertise in a variety of fields, directly impacting economic development in the region and across the nation, or to continue their education through the doctoral level at major research universities.
Departmental faculty are committed to providing students with opportunities for academic and professional development and believe that individuals continue to develop their expertise throughout their careers. The MA program provides a variety of opportunities to engage in scholarly and professional development activities outside the classroom, including participation in colloquia offered by communication scholars, professional workshops, internships, applied projects, and study abroad. Students are encouraged to become active members of international, national, regional, and state academic and professional associations, and to participate in as many of these development activities as possible while at Clemson in order to build network contacts in the communication discipline before graduation.
Certification/Employment
Most full-time graduate students are awarded assistantships. Students are automatically considered for an assistantship when applying to the program unless they request otherwise. For example, students may not wish to be considered for an assistantship if they plan to pursue the degree part-time while continuing to work full-time.
Funding opportunities are available to approximately eight new graduate students per year in the form of teaching and research assistantships. Assistantships provide a generous tuition waiver as well as a stipend, and are awarded competitively by the graduate committee. A variety of opportunities are available for students to grow as teachers, scholars, and emerging professionals in the discipline. Graduate students typically assist with the delivery of basic undergraduate courses and assist faculty members with research.
Admission Requirements and Application Process
The Department of Communication welcomes applications from students and professionals who want to further their knowledge and skills in communication studies. Priority for admission and assistantship funding is given to applicants who apply by February 1 for the fall semester. However, applications may be reviewed after the deadline until all spaces are full. Students begin the program in the fall semester. Spring admission is only for part-time, full-pay students. Application deadline is September 1.
The following credentials are preferred, though the entire application is considered holistically: bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university; GPA of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale; scores of 153/144/4.0 or better on the GRE (verbal/quantitative/writing); TOEFL scores of 600 or better for the paper exam or 80 or better for the online exam (for non-native English language speakers only); strong writing skills as demonstrated through a writing sample and curriculum vitae; and focused reasons for pursuing a master’s degree in communication, technology, and society as demonstrated in curriculum vitae and statement of purpose.
Applicants should first complete Clemson University’s online application for graduate admission. The following documents should be submitted to the Office of Graduate Admissions: official GRE scores from ETS; official TOEFL/IELTS/PTE scores (international students); college or university transcripts; résumé/CV; two samples of scholarly (not professional) writing; three letters of recommendation from teachers or supervisors; and a personal statement. The statement and letters of recommendation should address the applicant’s readiness for the increased academic rigor of graduate school, his or her demonstrated ability to work independently and manage projects, and specific, detailed reasons why he or she is a good match for this program and would make unique contributions to it.
Financial Aid
A number of graduate assistantships are offered to students each year based on merit in the form of stipends and the additional benefit of tuition remission. Students must be enrolled in a minimum of nine credit hours per semester to qualify for a graduate assistantship and must work 10 hours a week as a teaching or research assistant or perform other tasks assigned by the school.
Additional Requirements
A minimum of 18 credits in COMM courses at the 8000 level; and a minimum of six credits in COMM or a relevant field other than COMM selected in consultation with the student’s advisor. Up to nine credit hours of thesis work may be applied to the coursework requirements. The number of elective courses selected in a specialty area depends on which option a student selects. After students complete all required coursework, they begin work on a thesis or preparing for the comprehensive exams.
Students selecting the thesis option complete and publicly defend a project representing a significant contribution to the body of knowledge regarding the communication phenomenon that is the focus of the thesis project. A thesis committee is selected in consultation between the student and his/her advisor and is comprised of faculty from the Department of Communication, but may also include faculty representing associated disciplines on the Clemson campus.
Students selecting the comprehensive exam option are assessed in their knowledge in several areas, such as the history and distinguishing characteristics of the communication discipline, relevant communication theory, the range of research methods used in communication research, communication ethics as they apply to communication mediated by technology, how communication mediated by technology may be used to pursue long-term goals in communication (e.g., social movements, health, community, interpersonal, small group, organizational), the relations between communication technologies and social and cultural identities and institutions, and material representative of the student’s identified area of emphasis. The exam committee is selected in consultation between the student and his/her advisor and is comprised of faculty from the Department of Communication, but may also include faculty representing associated disciplines on the Clemson campus.
Additional information about the MS in Communication, Technology and Society is available at http://www.clemson.edu/caah/communication/graduate/index.html.
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