COMMU-MA - Communication (MA)
Download as PDF
Program Overview
Master of Arts in Communication
The department offers a coterminal MA degree program in Communication with a subplan in Media Studies. The department also awards both a terminal and a coterminal MA degree in Communication with a subplan in Journalism. The subplan prints on the transcript but not on the diploma.
The university requires that the graduate advisor be assigned in the student’s first graduate quarter even though the undergraduate career may still be open. The university also requires that the Master’s Degree Program Proposal be completed by the student and approved by the department by the end of the student’s first graduate quarter.
Coterminal Master of Arts in Communication – Media Studies Subplan
The coterminal MA Degree Program in Communication - Media Studies subplan is a small program that permits current Stanford undergraduates to study for a bachelor’s and a master’s degree simultaneously. The program provides a broad introduction to digital communication and media/multimedia by examining communication processes, their origins, and their psychological, political, and cultural effects. Areas of coursework include research about media psychology on human-computer interactions, regulation of digital technologies, digital communication, multimedia development, and emerging trends in digital communication technologies and markets.
With early and careful planning, students may be able to complete the coterminal Master of Arts in Communication by the end of their senior year or within one to two additional quarters. See the Registrar’s Office information about coterminal degree programs and contact the Student Services Manager to discuss your options.
The following majors best provide a grounding in a theoretical tradition relevant to the study of communication: communication, computer science, economics, English, history, linguistics, philosophy, political science, psychology, public policy, STS, sociology, and symbolic systems.
Master of Arts in Communication — Journalism Subplan
The department awards both a terminal and a coterminal MA degree in Communication with a subplan in Journalism.
Stanford Journalism Program
The master’s program in Journalism focuses on the knowledge and skills required to report, analyze, and write authoritatively about public issues and digital media. The curriculum combines a sequence of specialized digital reporting and writing courses with seminars and courses devoted to deepening the student’s understanding of the roles and responsibilities of American news media in their coverage of public issues. Coursework emphasizes the combination of data journalism and storytelling skills.
The program’s objective is twofold:
To graduate talented reporters and writers to foster public understanding of the significance and consequences of public issues and the debates they engender.
To graduate thoughtful journalists to respond openly and eloquently when called upon to explain and defend their reporting and writing methods and quality.
See the program’s Mission Statement.
Admissions Information
Admission to the Coterminal Master’s Program in Communication — Media Studies Subplan
See the Coterminal MA in Communication – Media Studies Track website for additional information on application requirements.
Applicants must submit their application and, if admitted, respond to the offer of admission no later than the quarter before the expected completion of their undergraduate degree. Applicants must have declared an undergraduate major and earned a minimum of 120 units toward graduation (UTG) as shown on the unofficial undergraduate transcript (including allowable advanced placement (AP) and transfer credit) and completed at least six academic quarters.
A $125 application fee is assessed for each coterminal application. This fee will be added to the student’s university bill once the applicant has been admitted and accepted the offer of admission.
Application Deadline: Jan. 21, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. to start the program in spring quarter 2025-26. Recommenders must submit their online recommendation letters by Jan. 21, 2026.
Requirements include:
Preliminary program proposal
Statement of purpose
Master’s project advising confirmation form
Letters of recommendation from two Stanford professors other than the coterminal advisor
A current unofficial Stanford transcript
GRE scores are not required.
Admission to the Terminal Master’s Program in Communication - Journalism
Detailed information on application requirements is available on the Graduate Program in Journalism website. GRE scores are not required.
Prospective applicants to the terminal master’s program in Communication with a subplan in Journalism must submit the following:
Statement of purpose
Three journalistic samples
Transcripts
Resume
Three letters of recommendation
TOEFL test scores for non-native speakers of English. Exemptions are granted to applicants who have earned (or will earn before enrolling at Stanford) a United States (U.S.) bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree from a college or university accredited by a regional accrediting association in the U.S. or the international equivalent degree from a university of recognized standing in a country in which all instruction is provided in English.
Admission to the Coterminal Master’s Program in Communication - Journalism Subplan
The Coterminal MA in Communication – Journalism Track website provides detailed information on application requirements. See the Registrar’s Office information about coterminal degree programs and contact the Student Services Manager to discuss your options.
Applicants must submit their application and, if admitted, respond to the offer of admission no later than the quarter before the expected completion of their undergraduate degree. Applicants must have declared an undergraduate major and earned a minimum of 120 units toward graduation (UTG) as shown on the unofficial undergraduate transcript (including allowable advanced placement (AP) and transfer credit) and completed at least six academic quarters.
Online applications must be submitted no later than Jan. 21, 2026, to start the spring quarter 2025-26 program. Recommenders must submit their online recommendation letters by Jan. 21, 2026.
Applicants submit the following:
Preliminary program proposal
Statement of purpose
Three letters of recommendation and recommendation forms from Stanford professors
Three samples of journalistic work
A current unofficial Stanford transcript
GRE scores are not required.
Coterm Admissions Information
See https://comm.stanford.edu/graduate-programs/coterminal-ma-communication
Minimum Units in the Program
Minimum University Units
1. Required Units and GPA: Students must complete a minimum of 45 units in Communication and related areas, including items 2 and 3 below. Courses must be taken for a letter grade if offered. The student’s advisor must approve courses in related areas outside the department. A minimum of 36 units must be taken in the Communication department. No more than two courses (not including the statistics prerequisite) may be at the 100 level. To remain in good academic standing, students must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better. Graduation requires a GPA of 3.0 or better.
2. Statistics Prerequisite: Completing a statistics course (typically course Introduction to Statistical Methods: Precalculus) is required for admission into the media studies coterminal program. The coterm advisor may approve other statistics courses as a substitute. The department may occasionally admit a coterminal student who has not yet completed this requirement. Such students should plan to take statistics during their first quarter in the program, as this constitutes an essential foundation for much of the master’s coursework. Units from the statistics course do not count toward the 45 units required for the MA in media studies. Students may enroll for the statistics course for either a letter grade or credit.
3. Core Requirements: Students must complete course Communication Research Methods and course Media Processes and Effects. COMM 206 and COMM 208 cannot be waived. course Foundations of Social Research is accepted as an alternative to COMM 206, with the units counting toward the maximum of nine total units outside the department. There is no alternative course for COMM 208.
4. Six Media Studies Courses: Students must complete at least six additional communication courses concerned with media study from the list below. Not all the listed courses are offered yearly, and the list may be updated from one year to the next.
5. In addition to the core requirements and six media studies courses from the list below, students earn elective credit by completing additional communication courses (including course Individual Work) or up to nine units from non-COMM courses from the preapproved list or approved by the student’s advisor.
6. The Media Studies MA Project: Students following the media studies track enroll in COMM 290 Media Studies MA Project to complete a project over two consecutive quarters that must be preapproved and supervised by the advisor. The completed MA project must be submitted to the advisor no later than the last day of classes of the second consecutive quarter.
Prerequisite units do not count toward the total 45 units required for the degree.
Additional communication courses (including course Individual Work) or up to 9 units from non-COMM courses from the pre-approved list or approved by the student's advisor.
Students following the Media Studies track enroll in COMM 290 to complete a project over two consecutive quarters that must be pre-approved and supervised by the advisor.
Must complete at least 45 units from the required courses above.
Coterminal Journalism students may count coursework taken after the summer of the freshman year toward the 45 units of unduplicated work with approval by the Director of the Graduate Program in Journalism.
Except for course Journalism Thesis, all courses must be taken for a letter grade unless offered only for satisfactory/no credit (S/NC). To remain in good academic standing, students must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or better. Graduation requires a GPA of 3.0 or better.
The curriculum includes the following required courses, including a master’s project class.
Five Elective Courses
Take two specialized reporting courses, chosen from a list of about twelve, and three electives from among graduate-level courses in the Department of Communication or from among courses on campus that deal substantively with issues of public importance. Elective courses require approval from the advisor and the Director of the Graduate Program in Journalism. Approval of COMM 299 Individual Work as an elective requires enrollment for three units or more.
Journalism Thesis (course), a requirement for graduation, is intended as an opportunity for students to showcase their talents as writers and reporters. It is also an opportunity to undertake an in-depth critique of an area of journalism in which the author has a particular interest. Work on the project usually begins during the second to last quarter and continues through the student’s final quarter in the form of the class Journalism Thesis (course). Completed master’s projects must be submitted to the project advisor no later than the last day of classes in the student’s final quarter. The project represents a significant commitment of time, research, and writing. Although the project is not required to be published, it must be judged by a faculty member to be of a quality acceptable for publication. At a minimum, the project should demonstrate the rigor and discipline required of sound scholarship and good journalism; it should offer ample evidence of the student’s ability to gather, analyze, and synthesize information that goes beyond what ordinarily appears in daily news media.
Must complete at least 45 units from the required courses above.