Students Interested in Graduate Study

Information of interest to prospective graduate students is covered in depth in our Graduate Students section, but of particular note:

• Graduate degrees offered
• Graduate admission procedures
• Frequently asked questions

Why pursue a graduate degree at UW-Madison’s School of Journalism & Mass Communication? You should ask yourself three main questions about a graduate program in mass communication before you decide which is best for you:

What do their peers have to say about them?

The best journalism educators know where the best programs are. In a 2001 survey of journalism faculty nationwide conducted by Cleveland State University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s PhD program in mass communication ranked FIRST out of 27 schools receiving votes. The survey ranked Ph.D. programs by contacting 221 U.S. communication faculty members and 49 communication department chairs about the quality of American graduate programs in communication, the qualities that communication scholars deem important in a communication Ph.D. program and the adequacy of the number of Ph.D. program stressing specific specialties in communication.

Where are their graduates now?

J-School graduate degree recipients are making an impact in the field across the board. They are at newspapers, television stations and on the Web. They are in agencies, corporate communications and nonprofits. And they are teaching – in fact, there is a UW-Madison J-School degree recipient teaching in 17 of the top 20 undergraduate programs in journalism and mass communication nationwide.

How much control do you have over your own education?

Some graduate programs have a rigid schedule of courses you must complete in order to earn a master’s or doctoral degree. Not at the UW-Madison J-School. Our program allows students to tailor a program around their specific interests in mass communication. Students pursuing a professional-track master’s degree can take courses that hone their skills and allow them to specialize in focused communication areas. Students pursing research-based degrees can take full advantage of the wide range of academic strengths the UW-Madison campus has to offer as they build a degree program that best fits their interests.