To be considered eligible for unconditional admittance, student must

• have earned a Bachelor's degree in an appropriate field from an accredited institution,
• have a minimum 3.0/4.0 GPA in the last 60 undergraduate hours attempted, and
• have competitive scores on the GRE which are typically in the range of 500 on both the verbal and math/quantitative portions of the exam for the older scoring system or 153 for the new scoring system.

Students who have earned several grades of C or below in undergraduate communication courses will not be deemed eligible for this level of admission. 

Applicants not meeting the criteria for unconditional admission might be considered for conditional admission. Any student admitted conditionally must

• have a GPA of at least 2.7/4.0 in the last 60 hours,
• a GPA of at least 3.00 in communication hours,
• acceptable GRE scores, and
• other application materials that suggest the student can succeed in the graduate program. 

All materials in the application packet (letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, transcripts and GRE scores) are considered in admission decisions. Simply meeting the minimum GPA or GRE criteria does not guarantee admission.

Students may have to complete required leveling courses if they do not have adequate background in the degree they are pursuing. There are typically few exceptions to who can exempt the leveling courses. Please be aware that these leveling courses will likely extend how long it takes to complete the program.

TOEFL scores for international students must meet the new minimum requirement of the International Based Test (IBT) 79.

Conditional admittance requires that the student maintain at least a “B” average in the first 12 hours attempted in graduate school. Conditional students must submit a course adjustment form (available from the director of graduate studies) requesting that their status be changed after those 12 hours have been completed satisfactorily. Students cannot embark on the next stage of the M.A. program -- the thesis option or the comprehensive exam option -- until they are granted unconditional status. This is normally conferred (1) if the student has completed all undergraduate deficiencies noted at the time conditional status was granted, (2) if the student has fulfilled all graduate degree prerequisites, (3) if the student has terminated all incompletes on her/his graduate record, and (4) if the student has maintained a minimum (3.0) GPA in the graduate program.