Department of Communication and The Arts

5 Year Dual Degree Program Proposal

Communication Studies

Overview

The Department of Communication and The Arts’ Five Year BA/MA Program is anaccelerated program, which allows highly qualified undergraduate students to

take advantage of combining undergraduate and graduate level study during

their junior and senior years. Students are offered the opportunity earn both their

BA and MA degrees in five years.

Communication Studies majors can complete a Master of Arts in one year

beyond their BA. Students who qualify for admission into the dual degree

program will take 12 credits of graduate-level courses during their junior and

senior years (3 in the Junior year and 9 in the Senior Year).

Communication Studies majors would complete the Master of Arts in Strategic

Communication (MASC) program.

Students accepted into this program follow the academic program prescribed by

their majors in consultation with their advisers (including the core requirements of

the University and the Colleges of Arts & Sciences as well as the requirements of

their major) during the first two years. Students apply to the Five Year Program

upon completion of their sophomore year.

Rationale

We have modeled this program against other Five Year Dual Degree programs

already in existence in the University. We currently have between 5-10 of our

Communication Studies undergraduates who move on to our MA-Strategic

Communication program each year. We have had many requests over the last

few years for a Dual Degree option. We believe this can add to our differentiation

in the market and help us attract highly qualified applicants.

Communication Studies majors who have completed at least 60 undergraduate

credits (by the end of sophomore year) with a minimum GPA of 3.2 may apply in thesecond semester of their sophomore year. Students can apply to the Five YearProgram by completing the SHU Graduate Application process. Applicants arenot required to take the GRE, but they must complete the graduate applicationform, and their application must include a transcript, a writing sample and threeletters of recommendation from their undergraduate professors, two of whommust be full-time faculty in the Department of Communication and The Arts. Inaddition, the student will have an entry interview with the Director of GraduateStudies, Graduate Communication Program.

Students are charged the undergraduate tuition rate for undergraduate courses

and the graduate tuition rates for graduate level courses. This will be clearly

stated in the graduate application.

Program Requirements

Students accepted into the five year program will complete 108 undergraduate

credits including the University and College of Arts & Sciences Core courses.

They must complete 36 graduate credits for the MASC degree. Students must

complete all the required courses in the MASC program.

A maximum of 12 credits (4 courses) may count toward both the BA and

MA degrees. Students would take one graduate course in their Junior Year and threegraduate courses in their senior year. The student can substitute the graduate courses for these undergraduate courses:

Communication Studies:

Junior Year: Persuasive Speaking (COST 2623) or Group Discussion (COST

2622)

Senior Year: Group Discussion (COST 2622) or Persuasive Speaking (COST

2623, Non-Verbal Communication (COST2630) or Intercultural

Communication (COST 2130) or any one elective.

Requirements for Admission

• Completion of all University and College “Core” Courses

• Completion of 60 undergraduate credits by the end of their Sophomore

year.

• GPA at the end of the Sophomore year of at least 3.2

• Recommendations from two Full-Time Undergraduate Faculty

Timing

If approved, this Five Year Program is targeted to launch in Fall 2014.

Market Assessment

We believe this gives us another option to attract Communication Studies

students. We would offer a BA Program, MA Program, Five Year Dual Program

andProfessional Certificate Program. Very few, if any, of our peer schools

can offer this full portfolio in Communication Studies.

As examples:

University / Dual Degree Option in Communication Studies / Program / BA, MA, 5 Year and Certificates
Rutgers / No / No
Kean / Yes / Communication Studies and Occupational Therapy / No
College of NJ / No / No
Rider / No / No
Caldwell / No / No
Montclair / No / No
William Patterson / No / No
Monmouth / No / No
Rowan / No / No
SHU / Yes / Communication Studies & Strategic Communication / Yes

Internal Impact

Resources

This new program uses existing facilities, courseware and Faculty and by itself

will not require any additional resources in A&S, the University or the University

Library. None of our existing courses are impacted by this new program, nor are any new courses being added to implement this new program.

We will limit enrollment to only highly qualified students, which will limit the advisingobligations. It is expected that our current advising process will

accommodate this new program and the impact on our faculty will be minimal.

Forecasts

We are going to limit enrollment in this program to 10-15students per year to

ensure the quality and rigor remain high. We only expect to accept 5-10 students inthe first year in order to ensure the program starts off well and we can monitor

the supporting processes and the faculty impact.

Program Needs

Marketing

Because we will be selective in our admissions in this program, we are not going

to do extensive advertising. We will seek out highly qualified students amongst

our current enrolled students first. We will use our social media channels

(SHU.edu, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) as a low cost means to promote the

program. We will also leverage our current alumni.

Finally, we will add this to our current marketing materials and budgeted items,

which gives us leverage with minimal additional costs.

Program Evaluation

We will assess the Five Year Dual Degree program several ways:

(1)We will closely monitor the initial admitted students to ensure we are meeting the quality standards we are setting and the students have a challenging and positive learning experience.

  1. We will review class and GPA performance each semester.
  2. The student will have an assigned advisor who will meet with each semester at least twice to monitor the student’s experience and performance.
  3. We will discuss the student’s performance with faculty in the courses they attend.
  4. The DGS will meet with each student after each semester as another check to discuss the learning experience.

(2)We will compare the student’s GPA against the MASC general population.

(3)We will assess any impact on the student in both their Junior and Senior Years to understand in terms of academic performance, time management and balance and the learning experience.

Statements of Support

See the attached statement of support from the Department Chair and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.