The School of Journalism and Mass Communication is dedicated to being a welcoming and inclusive place where all students feel they belong. Our community thrives when voices from every background are heard and valued. We are committed to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in our admissions process.
The application for PhD, Research MA and Professional MA programs will open on September 6, 2023 and close on December 15, 2023.
New students are admitted to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication for the fall semester. A committee of faculty members reviews each application. Among the indicators considered for admission are:
- Quality of an applicant’s academic record
- Preparation to pursue an advanced degree
- Clearly defined goals and rationale for graduate education in the field
- Compatibility of goals with faculty specializations and areas of expertise
SPECIAL NOTE ON GRE SCORES: The School of Journalism and Mass Communication no longer requires or reviews GRE scores for any applicants to our MA or PhD programs. The Graduate Committee takes a holistic approach to admissions, reviewing all parts of the application to get a picture of the person’s academic and professional background, interests and goals, and fit with what our program offers. For applicants to the PhD in Mass Communications in LSC, the GRE scores are optional. Please refer to their website for information.
Students are not required to have academic or professional background in mass communication to qualify for admission to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
The Graduate School establishes minimum admission criteria for all students who enter the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The School of Journalism and Mass Communication, however, has additional requirements, which are listed below.
Graduate Degree Requirements
Professional and Research Master of Arts degree applicants must have:
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution
- A B.A. or B.S. before the start of the semester for which they are applying
- Minimum 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA (4.0 scale) on last 60 credits of course work
Visit the Professional M.A. or Research M.A. info pages.
Ph.D. applicants must have:
- Bachelor’s and thesis-based master’s degrees from accredited institutions
- An M.A. or M.S. before the start of the fall semester for which they are applying
- Minimum 3.5 cumulative graduate GPA (4.0) scale on M.A. degree course work
Visit the Ph.D. in Mass Communications website for more information.
International Students
Additional requirements for international applicants:
- Applicants who earn degrees from institutions where the language of instruction is not exclusively English and applicants who earn degrees at bilingual institutions are required to take an English proficiency exam. Official minimum score requirements are listed below, although our program looks for scores at 105 and higher for TOEFL:
- TOEFL, Internet-based Test: Minimum 92 (120-point scale)
- TOEFL, Paper-based Test: Minimum 580 (677-point scale)
- IELTS: Minimum score of 7
- Applicants are exempt from taking English proficiency tests for admissions purposes if
- the official language of previous instruction was English or
- they have completed at least two full-time semesters of graded coursework, not including ESL courses, in a U.S. college or university.
- You may be required to take the SPEAK test before teaching at UW Madison.
- To determine your academic record and degree equivalent and whether it qualifies you for admission to graduate study, review the Grad School admissions requirements. Locate your country of study and then check minimum requirements for UW–Madison Graduate School admission. If you have other questions, please contact graduate adviser Lisa Aarli.
- To determine your academic record and degree equivalent and whether it qualifies you for admission to graduate study, review the Grad School admissions requirements. Locate your country of study and then check minimum requirements for UW–Madison Graduate School admission. If you have other questions, please contact graduate adviser Lisa Aarli.
- International applicants are required to have adequate financial resources to cover their expenses for the duration of their studies at UW–Madison. Do not send any financial statements until requested.