Northern Illinois University
Department of Communication
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Our program has faculty strengths in most major areas of communication. Specifically, the department includes four areas: journalism; media studies; interpersonal, organizational and persuasive communication; and rhetoric and public communication. You will have the opportunity to take courses in all four areas. For more information about faculty interests, see faculty. For current and recent course offerings, see courses.

You can choose either completing a thesis or a comprehensive exam as part of the degree requirement.

The comprehensive examination is a nine-hour written examination (two days). Your committee will decide on the three areas of questions and prepare you for the exams. The exam is typically on the 10th week of spring semester.

The program is designed to be completed in two years. That requires you to take nine credits (three courses) per semester. You can enroll in more than nine credits in a semester (pending the advisor’s approval). The department does not recommend attempting to complete the program in less than two years.

Yes. Whether you intend to be a full-time or part-time student, you apply for admission to the M.A. program. Once admitted, you may choose to enroll only part-time. However, graduate assistantships are not available to part-time students.

Yes, if you are enrolled in another graduate program at NIU or you are admitted to the Graduate School as a Student-at-Large. However, registration for communication graduate courses is by permit only, and the department gives registration priority to the students in its M.A. program.

No.

That depends on the Ph.D. program. Not all Ph.D. programs accept transfer credits.

All information about how to apply is available at Applying to the Program.

Admission is competitive, especially with an assistantship. In a typical year, we receive around 100 applications, and we typically aim to enroll a class of 10-15 students.

The department is typically able to award less than ten graduate assistantships to each incoming class (the number may change every year depending on the budget). Each assistantship provides a tuition waiver plus a yearly stipend. The stipend for the 2024-2025 academic year is roughly $16,000, and the tuition waiver covers the portion of tuition calculated as the instructional charge. Graduate assistantships are renewable for a second year, provided that the student makes good academic progress and conforms to other university policies governing graduate assistantships. Graduate assistants are assigned indirect instructional duties, which typically include COMS 100 instructors, TA for other courses, or the forensic team. Information about how to apply for a graduate assistantship is available at applying to the program.

NIU’s Graduate School offers information about other funding options.

Some students also work as graduate assistants for other units. Human Resources maintains a list of student job openings on campus.

You can find information about tuition and fees from the Office of the Bursar.

All aspects of an application are important. We seriously consider applicants' undergraduate transcripts, letters of recommendation, and personal statements. We have found that a strong undergraduate GPA is highly predictive of success in our program. However, an especially high GPA is neither necessary nor sufficient for admission.

The statement of purpose is an important document to explain your interest, your fit with our department, your background, and your future plan. The committee members will assess the candidates’ potential to succeed in our department, and your interest fit with our curriculum and faculty. Make sure you are familiar with our programs before you put together your statement.

No, the admission and funding decisions are made by our graduate committee. The graduate director and individual faculty member cannot review your application or make the decision. However, you can contact individual faculty members if you share strong interests in their areas.

No, the GRE is no longer required as of Fall 2025.

As per the Graduate Catalog, applicants whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency. This can be demonstrated by achieving an IELTS score of 6.5, a PTE Academic score of at least 53, or a TOEFL score of at least 80. The score must be from an examination taken within 24 months prior to the start of the academic term for which admission is sought.

Alternatively, possessing a baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited institution in the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and certain other countries is considered evidence of sufficient English proficiency for admission. (A list of these countries is available at www.grad.niu.edu).

If you are already enrolled and in good academic standing at NIU, there is no need to submit English language proficiency scores.

The National Diploma and Higher National Diploma from an accredited institution are considered equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree. You would need to have both diplomas. For more details, please reach out to the graduate school for specific information.

Please consider addressing the following questions to provide clarity on your motivation, experience, and future goals.

1. Study Focus: What specific areas do you wish to explore in our program?
2. Career Goals: How do you plan to utilize your degree after graduation?
3. Unique Contributions: What unique experiences or perspectives do you bring to the program?
4. Program Fit: Why have you chosen NIU and our program for your studies?

Your statement of purpose should be less than two pages.

Absolutely! An undergraduate degree in Communication or Media Studies is not required for admission, and some of our most successful students have had undergraduate degrees in other fields.

A prior year's decision is not taken into consideration in the admissions process. A negative decision in one year is no guarantee of a negative decision in a subsequent year.

No, the M.A. application is through the graduate school online system. The assistantship application needs to be filed and emailed directly to the graduate director of the department. You will be invited to apply for an assistantship after you receive the admission decision. You will NOT be automatically considered for an assistantship unless you submit the assistantship application.

Please see the timeline for Applying to the Program. Please note the priority deadline is January 15 if you wish to apply for an assistantship (fall semester only).

We continue to accept applications after the Jan. 15 deadline, but we can't assure them full consideration for offers of funding. The Graduate School's final application deadline for the fall semester is May 1 for international students living abroad and July 15 for applicants residing in the U.S.

Yes, we do accept applications for both spring and fall semesters. However, assistantships will only be available to students who enroll in fall semesters. If you wish to receive an assistantship, please apply to the fall semester before the Jan. 15 priority deadline.

Fall semester: For applicants who meet the Jan. 15 priority deadline, most admissions decisions are made by early March, though in some cases a final decision may not be made until April. (Note that the department typically makes initial admissions decisions before it makes funding decisions.) For applicants who apply after the Jan. 15 priority deadline, admissions decisions are made on a rolling basis, after decisions are made on applications submitted by Jan. 15.

Spring semester: The department will start the initial review after Sept. 15, and most admissions decisions will be made by the end of October.

After the admission decisions are made, we will reach out and invite you to apply for an assistantship. Committee members may invite you for an online interview in order to determine the assistantship offers. Our department typically starts extending funding offers in early March. However, in many cases, admitted students might receive assistantship offers either just before or even after April 15. In some instances, offers may be made as late as May.

The reason for this timing is that we often don't have a clear picture of how many students will accept our initial offers until the April 15 deadline. Consequently, we may not be able to provide you with a funding offer before that date. However, if we are in a position to make you an offer, we will communicate this to you as promptly as possible.

Furthermore, if you're waiting for our funding decision but decide to accept an offer from another program, we kindly request that you inform us as soon as possible. This consideration benefits other applicants in the process. Your timely communication is greatly appreciated!

Our competitive assistantship is only available for students who start in the fall. If you are admitted to the spring semester, you can choose to defer to the fall semester and apply for an assistantship separately. Information about how to defer your admission can be found via the grad school.