Dean: H. Brown
Interim Associate Dean for Graduate Studies: M. DiStaso
Graduate Coordinators:
- (Public Relations — thesis-based) J. Hmielowski
- (Professional Communication) T. Spiker
- (Research and Theory — no concentration) J. Hmielowski
Through the Division of Graduate Studies, the College of Journalism and Communications offers the Doctor of Philosophy degree and the Master of Arts in Mass Communication (thesis or project option) degree, which is divided into two areas: PhD preparation and professional development. For a full list of programs, please see https://gradcatalog.ufl.edu/graduate/colleges-departments/journalism-communications/mass-communication/. Additionally, requirements for these degrees are given in the Graduate Degrees section of this catalog.
Doctoral students work closely with faculty members in research leading to a dissertation embodying a humanities, law/policy, or social sciences approach. Emphases within these approaches for which faculty members have expertise include advertising, AI and emerging technology, cultural and social change, health communication, journalism, law/policy/history, media industry and consumers, media psychology, public interest communication, public relations, science communication, social media, sports communication, trust in media, visual communication, and political communication. Details of doctoral faculty research interests and other aspects of the program are given in the College’s Ph.D. Handbook and is available online at: https://www.jou.ufl.edu/home/about/faculty-staff-directory/doctoral-faculty-directory/.
The master’s program is a two-track system, one focused on PhD preparation and one on professional development. In the PhD-preparation program, you learn the ideas and skills you need for satisfying life-long careers in mass communication. You can choose to obtain a Master of Arts in Mass Communication degree by selecting either the no concentration or public relations concentration for the PhD preparation programs or professional communication for the professional development on-campus master’s program. Master’s students in the PhD-preparation track may complete a thesis in many areas, including but not limited to advertising, journalism, public relations, media and technology, and science/health communication. A project in lieu of thesis option is available for some specializations.
The Professional Communication track allows recent graduates or professionals to develop additional skills for today’s communication job market.
General admission: Admission is granted to applicants with and without backgrounds in mass communication. Students without academic preparation in mass communication or appropriate experience may be required to take articulation work. These courses are taken concurrently with general graduate courses, starting in the first term of registration.
The master’s degree normally can be earned in three to four semesters of full-time study. Doctoral studies require three or more years of full-time study and research. Students who may require articulation courses should contact the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies.
Grading policy: Students may be placed on probation if their progress becomes unsatisfactory. Students who earn a truncated GPA less than 3.0 and/or receives a C, C-, D+, D, D-, E, I , N or U grade will be placed on probation, except for courses taken from the Levin College of Law, undergraduate statistics course, or articulation classes. For these courses, any student receiving one grade that is a C-, D+, D, D-, E, I, N or U will be placed on probation.
If a student satisfies their probation plan but does not achieve cumulative truncated GPA of 3.00 or above as calculated by the UF graduate school, the probation period will be extended until the truncated 3.0 GPA is achieved. Students may only have one semester with grade(s) that is/are a C, C-, D+, D, D-, E, I, N or U. If the student has more than one semester with grade(s) of C, C-, D+, D, D-, E, I, N or U, the student will face suspension. These semesters do not need to be consecutive semesters of enrollment. Students will be allowed only one suspension..
Combination degree program: The College offers a combination bachelor’s/master’s program. For information, contact the Combination Degree advisor.
For additional information, please see our website: http://www.jou.ufl.edu/grad.
