The Jack J. Valenti School of Communication at the University of Houston offers four Master’s degrees directed toward professional success in both academic and non-academic careers. The goal of the program is to produce graduate students who are able to move effectively into professional media positions, advance their current careers, teach in junior colleges or high schools, or enter into top doctoral programs. To date, our school has placed graduates into top-ranked Ph.D. programs as well as into non-academic positions in both public and private institutions. Regardless of the career goal, the graduate program broadens each student’s communication expertise through courses that improve conceptual, applied, and research skills—all of which are critical for successful careers in today’s information-oriented and changing global society.

There are four primary areas of concentration within this program: Mass Communication Studies, Public Relations Studies, Health Communication Studies, and Speech Communication. Once accepted into the graduate program, all students pursuing a Master’s degree (in either the thesis or comprehensive exam track) are required to take two graduate core courses: Communication Theory and Research Methodology. Students take additional coursework in their stated area of concentration to complete their degree, plus the writing of a thesis or the successful completion of the comprehensive exams. Theses reflect original research carried out by the student in his or her chosen area; comprehensive exams reflect a mastery of all course content taken as a graduate student. Both tracks require the formation of a committee to help guide the student in his or her endeavors.