Admissions Questions
Do you have any written materials that you can send me?
Everything we have about the Communication Studies Graduate Program is on this Web site. If you have questions that are not addressed here, then please feel free to e-mail the Communication Studies Graduate Coordinator.
What is your minimum and average GRE score?
There is no minimum GRE score as Texas state law requires that all state schools consider the entire application packet and not just one thing in the packet. The average GRE score for students admitted to the Communication Studies Department’s graduate program is 1100 – 1150.
What is your minimum and average GPA score?
The University of Texas Graduate School has set a 3.0 minimum GPA score. You may apply with a lower than 3.0 GPA. If you are accepted with a lower than 3.0 GPA, then you will be accepted with restrictions that are usually that you maintain a 3.0 GPA the first year of your graduate course work at UT and that you have no incompletes during that year. The average GPA of the students who have been accepted to our program in the last five years is 3.7.
How firm is your application deadline?
The deadline for applications to our Fall program is a postmarked package from the first week in January. We will accept your application anytime during the first week in January.
Do you have a Spring Admission?
We do not have a Spring admission.
Do I have to have a background in Communication Studies to apply to your program?
No, you do not. However, should you be accepted without 9 hours of undergraduate Communication Studies course work. You will be accepted on a provisional basis and expected to take these hours either before or at the same time you take your graduate course work.
Can I visit with faculty and/or current graduate students?
Our faculty and graduate students are always happy to talk to prospective students. You should contact faculty on an individual basis to set up appointments for a visit. Their e-mail addresses can be found on the UT Directory. If you would like to talk to graduate students, please e-mail the Graduate Coordinator and your e-mail will be forwarded to the graduate student community. Someone will contact you. The Graduate Coordinator is very available to answer questions about the program.
Do you accept non-degree seeking students?
The Communication Studies Department does not normally accept non-degree seeking students. All faculty members from an area must agree to accept a student under these circumstances. We do allow students from any department in the University to take our courses.
Are applications reviewed on a rolling basis or all at one time?
Applications to our graduate program are reviewed about two weeks after the application deadline. They are not reviewed as they come in. Remember that if you apply to one area, faculty in another area probably will not see your application, so be sure about the area you are interested. You can apply to two different areas. If you choose to do that, you will probably want to write a different essay of questions for each area.
How soon will I find out whether I have been admitted or not?
All of departmental admissions decisions are provisional until the Graduate Dean approves them. We inform students as soon as possible about our decisions usually by the middle of February. Funding offers follow shortly.
How many students are accepted into your department each year?
We usually accept 60 total students each year (master’s and doctoral combined), that’s about 20 per area. We certainly don’t expect that many to show up. Our incoming first year students usually total between 20 and 30. We accept the same number of students regardless of the number of applications, which has been between 150 and 190 for the last five years.
Are there any special admissions issues that international students should know?
We have no special considerations for international students. We are of course interested in the level of English proficiency of our international applicants. The University requires that international students take the TOFLE (or IELTS) unless they have a bachelor’s degree from a university in the United States. We do not have special funding for international students. They are considered for funding in the same manner as US students.
I need to know departmental codes and university codes. What are they?
On the University of Texas application, you will need to specify a department by a code. The Communication Studies Department code is 623965. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) also requires codes for sending GRE and TOEFL scores. The ETS codes are 6882 for the University of Texas and 4506 for the Communication Studies Department code.
