New Online Graduate Courses
Earn the credits needed to teach communication courses as a dual credit or adjunct instructor!
In Fall of 2024, we launched a series of new online graduate courses that can help high school teachers earn the credits needed to teach communication courses as dual credit instructors or as adjunct instructors. The courses can also help people working in other fields increase their credentials for career advancement.
The courses are 100% online and asynchronous to provide maximum flexibility for working professionals.
Earn the 18 hours needed to teach communication courses as a dual credit or adjunct instructor in as little as three semesters.
- CMM 673 – Communication Pedagogy (offered during Fall semesters)
- Explore and evaluate communication theories and research on the cognitive, rhetorical, and relational aspects of teaching and learning. Open to teachers, adjunct instructors, or graduate students in any discipline.
- CMM 674 – Interpersonal Communication (offered during Fall semesters)
- Explore how interpersonal communication influences the formation, maintenance, and dissolution of relational connections while developing interpersonal communication competence to improve relationships.
- CMM 606 – Engaging Comm Theories (offered during Spring semesters)
- Study of the philosophical foundations, theoretical perspectives, and historical development of the communication discipline and how communication theories are developed, analyzed, evaluated, and applied.
- CMM 650 – Innovative Comm Education (offered during Spring semesters)
- Students analyze trends such as universal design for learning, classroom technology and AI, assessment-driven curricular enhancement, and social-emotional learning to understand their potential to innovate and evolve communication education practices.
- CMM 620 – Communication & Conflict (offered during Summer semesters)
- An exploration of the theory, research, and practice of communication in understanding and negotiating interpersonal conflict.
- CMM 576 – Comm Skills for Teachers (offered during Summer semesters)
- This course focuses on developing instructional communication competence that can be applied to creating courses and instructional materials, classroom management, assessing and evaluating learning, and more.
For more information, please email Department Chair Dr. Rich Jones at jonesri@marshall.edu or call 304-696-3078.
Apply now as a “non-degree seeking student” and begin courses as early as January 2025! Follow this link and click on “Apply Now” to begin.
Traditional Face-to-Face MA Program
The M.A. degree in Communication Studies provides an opportunity for students to develop individual programs of theory, research, and application in the areas of interpersonal, organizational, educational, and public communication. The program is designed for students who seek careers as communication professionals or who intend to pursue further graduate study in the field. Further details can be found in the graduate catalog.
Admission Requirements
Applicants should follow the admissions process described in the Graduate Catalog or on the Graduate Admissions website. Admission Requirements for an MA in Communication.
Applicants must have a minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale for all previously completed undergraduate university work.
Students with a GPA between 2.5 and 3.0 may be considered for provisional admission to the program; however, students with less than a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale will not be considered for an assistantship.
Assistantships and Financial Support
The Department of Communication Studies has funds available in the form of assistantships to provide financial support for graduate students. For complete information on graduate assistantships, please see http://www.marshall.edu/graduate/graduate-assistantships-2/graduate-assistantship-overview/. For complete information on other financial support opportunities, please see http://www.marshall.edu/graduate/.
Degree Requirements
A Plan of Study approved by the department and the graduate dean must be filed in the Graduate College office before the student registers for the twelfth semester hour. Students prepare a Plan of Study in conjunction with a committee of three graduate faculty members. At least one member of the committee must have full graduate faculty status.
The Plan of Study must include CMM 601 – Quantitative Research in Communication and 606 – Engaging Communication Theories. A total of 36 credit hours is required for graduation. Students who write a thesis may earn six of those credit hours for the thesis.
A written comprehensive exam, prepared and evaluated by the student’s committee, is required. A candidate who writes a thesis is also required to pass an oral examination on the thesis.
For more information, contact the Department Chair, Dr. Rich Jones at jonesri@marshall.edu