OSU launches new Masters program in School of Communication
The front of Shepard Hall on Feb. 10 at Oregon State University in Corvallis. The School of Communications, whose office is located in Shepard Hall, will be launching a new M.A./M.S. in Communications in the upcoming academic year.
February 21, 2023
Oregon State University has announced a new Master of Arts/Master of Sciences program in Communication, which is scheduled to launch in the upcoming year.
The program, directed by School of Communication Associate Professor Joshua Reeves, will offer emphases in media studies, rhetoric, environmental communication, health communication and intercultural communication, according to a brochure from the OSU College of Liberal Arts as well as tuition remission scholarships and teaching assistant opportunities.
“This program has been in the works for a number of years,” Reeves said. “The speech communication faculty originally designed a program that was exclusively in their domain…now that speech communication and new media communications have joined together in the School of Communication, it has given us the opportunity to put together a fuller and more interesting graduate program.”
Reeves said the program’s available emphases were chosen because they represent both the interests of current undergraduate students and areas of expertise of OSU’s communication faculty.
According to Reeves, the majority of the program’s applicants are out-of-state students, along with some international applicants, although the number of OSU students applying is expected to grow. Reeves noted that, due to the interdisciplinary nature of communication, most undergraduate degrees would allow a student to enter the program.
Prospective applicants will need several things, according to Reeves. These include Graduate Record Examination scores, a personal statement and letters of recommendation. In addition, applicants need to possess strong writing and communication skills.
The program’s launch, which will officially take place in the 2023-24 academic year, comes amid growing interest in the field. Communication, according to Reeves, is one of the largest majors in OSU’s College of Liberal Arts.
“Media technology and communication are more crucial to our society than they’ve ever been, and that is why communication has become one of the most popular majors in the country,” Reeves said.
