Students are urged to carefully review the section on Graduate Studies Requirements and Procedures. View the Bulletin and Class Schedule. Here you can find out more about how to apply, what courses to take and graduate teaching opportunities.
If you need further information about graduate study, go to the Division of Graduate Studies website, email to gadmit@sfsu.edu or call (415) 338-2234.
The Division of Graduate Studies is located in the Administration 254.
Check SFSU Gateway for your personal records.
A University-wide graduate student orientation is offered before the fall semester.
Applicants to our program generally have an undergraduate major in Communication Studies and an overall or upper-division grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
Applicants who have not majored in Communication Studies as undergraduates may still be considered for admission if their undergraduate course of study is closely related to Communication Studies or if the admissions committee sees a good programmatic fit for the candidate.
Timelines, further instructions, and related information are available at SF State’s Division of Graduate Studies.
Please email comm@sfsu.edu if you have any questions.
The Master’s program in Communication Studies admits students once a year for Fall semester start only. Candidates should submit all application materials directly to the Cal State Apply portal. March 1 is the priority admission deadline to be considered for Fall semester start of the same calendar year. If there are slots available in the program after the initial offers of admissions, the graduate admissions committee will consider applications that are completed after March 1 on a rolling basis. Please note that the Communication Studies department does not offer training specific to journalism and mass media. (Please see the Department of Broadcasting and Electronic Arts website at SFSU for focus in these areas)
The following applications materials must be uploaded to Cal State Apply. More information on appliications can be found through the Division of Graduate Studies for the admissions committee to consider your application complete:
- A statement of purpose should focus on the applicant’s objectives for pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies at San Francisco State. The statement of purpose should also ideally demonstrate that the applicant has considered the characteristics of this particular program and should address how the program is a good fit for the applicant’s background, interests and goals.
- Unofficial transcripts from all colleges and universities previously attended will be required initially. The Graduate Studies office will require official transcripts if the applicant is offered program admission.
- Two to three letters of recommendation should be provided from former professors who can evaluate the applicant’s capacity for doing graduate-level work in communication studies. Assessment of the applicant’s oral and written communication skills are particularly important. The letters should be on department letterhead and the e-mail link the recommender uses to upload the letter must be an institution e-mail.
- A sample of academic writing should be uploaded and should be a significant research paper written for an upper-division course.
Information on international students applications can also be found through the Division of Graduate Studies.
A complete listing of the required courses. You can also view the bulletin to read more about the courses.
Required Courses
COMM 700 Introduction to Graduate Study (4 units)
One of the following: (4 units)
- COMM 870: Multiple Methods in Communication Research
- COMM 871: Communication Research Strategies
- COMM 872: Field Research Methods
- COMM 873: Research Strategies and Social Interaction
Four seminars in Communication Studies (Choose from COMM 701 – 798): (16 units)
- COMM 721: Seminar in Rhetorical and Communication Theory
- COMM 725: Seminar in Sexualities and Communication
- COMM 727: Seminar in Health Communication
- COMM 731: Seminar in Communication and Social Criticism
- COMM 740: Seminar in Interpersonal Communication
- COMM 744: Seminar in Environmental Communication
- COMM 745: Seminar in Gender and Communication
- COMM 750: Seminar in Culture and Communication
- COMM 755: Conflict and Communication
- COMM 760: Seminar in Organizational Communication
- COMM 773: Seminar in Language and Social Interaction
- COMM 780: Studies in Contemporary Theory
- COMM 797: Performance Theory and Practice in Communication
Electives in consultation with adviser: (8 units)
One of the following culminating experiences: (3 units)
- COMM 894: Creative Work Project
- COMM 896: Directed Readings in Communication Studies and COMM 896EXM: Culminating Experiences Examination
- COMM 898: Master’s Thesis
Minimum total: 35 Units
Note: No more than eight units may be from upper-division undergraduate courses, regardless of the department. No more than eight units — graduate or undergraduate — may be from allied departments. No more than eight units in any combination of COMM 850, 851, 852, 855, 885 or 899 may be included in the 35-unit minimum. A maximum of four units in 851, 852, 885 is allowed as part of the 35-unit minimum. Students may take additional units over the minimum.
Qualified graduate students have the opportunity to be hired to teach our required basic course: COMM 150, Fundamentals of Oral Communication.
To serve as a Graduate Teaching Associate, students must have the following qualifications:
- Evidence of preparation to teach COMM 150. (You may demonstrate preparation to teach COMM 150 through having passing grades in COMM 850 and 851; submitting a teaching portfolio for COMM 150, including a syllabus, lesson plans, and sample assignment guidelines; or through evidence of successful teaching of Communication Studies at another institution of higher education)
- No Incomplete grades in graduate program coursework.
- Good academic standing.
- Enrollment in a minimum of 3 units of coursework in the current semester (this qualification is waived if the student is using the current semester as the “grace semester” to complete their Culminating Experience course).
- Proof of bachelor’s degree.
Applications for teaching are made to the department’s hiring committee, which screens qualifications and makes recommendations to the department chair.
The salary for teaching one three-unit section is approximately $3,894 per semester. TAs are eligible to teach for four semesters during their graduate program.
The deadline to apply for graduation comes within the first two weeks of the semester in which the candidate plans to graduate.
As with all University policies, deadlines are specified each term in the University Calendar. The application form, available at the Division of Graduate Studies, requires payment of a graduation fee at the Cashier’s Office, after which the department chair and College of Liberal & Creative Arts graduate coordinator must sign this form. A copy of the Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) form and an unofficial transcript must accompany the application. Eligibility for graduation at this point includes verification that the student is properly classified and has an ATC on file.
The Division of Graduate Studies will not approve applications for graduation for a specific semester until all graduation requirements have been met, including completion of all coursework and filing of the Report of Completion of Specified Graduate Requirements form that documents the completion of the culminating experience. If a candidate does not graduate in the semester as planned, she or he must reapply and be reconsidered in a subsequent semester. No more than seven years can elapse between the start of the term of the earliest dated course on the ATC and the date the last course is completed and the application for graduation has been submitted.
To be eligible for graduation, several forms must be submitted throughout your course of study to both the Communication Studies Department and the University. Most of the University forms can be found online at the Division of Graduate Studies.
University Forms for Graduate Study
- Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) form for Communication Studies
- Proposal for Culminating Experience
- Protocol Approval Form – Human Subjects (PAF)
- Report of Completion of Specified Graduate Program Requirements
- Application for Graduation