Applied Communication Studies, Bachelor’s Degree to M.A.

Note: The Early Entry Bachelor’s Degree to M.A. in Applied Communication is open to students who major or minor in Applied Communication and meet additional program requirements.

Undergraduate students enrolled in the Applied Communication, B.A . or the Applied Communication Minor programs can apply to Graduate School using an early entry program form for admission into the Master of Arts in Applied Communication Studies.

The Bachelor’s Degree to M.A. in Applied Communication Studies is designed to provide a student working towards a baccalaureate degree with a major or minor in Applied Communication a means to complete a master’s degree in a shorter amount of time than the traditional path.

Admission Requirements

Undergraduate students may apply after completing 75 hours of undergraduate coursework, but cannot enroll in graduate courses until they have completed 90 undergraduate hours by the time the first graduate course is taken.
All applicants must have at least a 3.0 overall GPA in all their undergraduate coursework, and a 3.2 GPA in 12 or more hours in the Applied Communications program to include:

ACOM 2310 - Human Communication Concepts
ACOM 2311 - Introduction to Communication Research
ACOM 3320 - Persuasive Presentations
And one additional ACOM or equivalent class

How to Apply

Things to Know

All applicants must complete an “Early Entry Program” form and be interviewed and approved by the Graduate Coordinator based on a review and discussion with graduate faculty.
A list of three faculty references with contact information is required as part of the recommendation process. Formal letters are not required.
The Early Entry form must be approved by the Graduate Coordinator before the student begins graduate course work. Failure to obtain prior approval negates the ability to “double count” courses.
After the Early Entry form is approved by the Graduate Coordinator, applicants must complete the Graduate School application and be accepted into the UA Little Rock Graduate School to be officially accepted into the Applied Communication Studies program.

Application Instructions

Complete graduate application form for the UA Little Rock Graduate School,
Complete Early Entry Program form for the program.
Submit a list of three faculty references with contact information as part of the recommendation process. Formal letters are not required
Submit your Early Entry Program application to the Graduate Coordinator. Applications may be submitted by email to appliedcomm@ualr.edu as a single WORD or PDF document.

Graduate Credit

Once accepted into the graduate program, students can take up to 12 hours of approved MAACS coursework, which will count toward the baccalaureate degree and the MAACS degree.
Students must complete their baccalaureate degree before they complete 15 hours of graduate MAACS course work.

Program Restrictions

Students must meet with the Graduate Coordinator after acceptance into the Early Entry program to map out and approve their graduate courses.
Accepted students will be granted provisional admission into the Graduate School. Their admission status will be changed to regular admission after the award of their baccalaureate degree if they have maintained a 3.2 GPA or higher in 12 hours of approved MAACS course work.
If at the end of a student’s baccalaureate degree, an Early Entry student has failed to meet the following Graduate School admission requirements, the student will need to seek alternate paths to admission:
- Maintain an overall undergraduate GPA of 2.7
- Or maintained the program requirement of a 3.2 GPA or higher in 12 hours of approved MAACS coursework.

Note: If a student fails to meet either of these two requirements, the student can discuss their options with the Graduate Coordinator.

Students accepted into the Early Entry program will be subject to the same policies as traditionally admitted MAACS graduate students.

Applied Communication Studies Courses

To see the courses and detailed information for the Applied Communication, B.A to the Applied Communication Studies, M.A. degree, see links below:

Applied Communication, B.A
Applied Communication Minor
Applied Communication, M.A., select the Graduate Catalog at catalog.ualr.edu.