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Indiana University Bloomington

Graduate | Masters Program

The Master of Arts in degree serves as a foundation for the Ph.D. in Communication and Culture. Students work with an adviser to construct a curriculum that addresses individual needs and interests while benefiting from the broad expertise of our faculty. Explore the following links to learn more about degree requirements for the Masters program, examine reading lists, and peruse information on comprehensive exams.

Degree Requirements | Reading Lists | Exams

Degree Requirements

Candidates for the Master of Arts (M.A.) degree must complete a minimum of thirty credit hours of approved graduate coursework as designated below:

  1. Two of the following three introductory courses: C501 - Introduction to Rhetoric and Public Culture, C502 - Introduction to Performance and Ethnography in Communication and Culture, or C503 - Introduction to Media Aesthetics.
  2. One of the following three methods courses: C505 - Productive Criticism of Rhetoric, C506 - Methods of Ethnography, or C507 - Media Research Methods.
  3. C700 - Independent Readings in Communication and Culture; normally taken during the summer following the first full year of coursework. Students choose to complete two reading lists drawn from the three departmental areas of research (rhetoric, media, and performance and ethnography) and work independently in preparation for the M.A. Comprehensive Examination. Students will be graded pass or fail on the basis of the outcome of their examination.
  4. An additional eighteen hours of graduate coursework, of which no more than six hours will be at the 400-level, and no more than three additional hours of C700. Students may take a maximum of eight hours of coursework outside of the Department of Communication and Culture.
  5. Students may transfer a maximum of eight hours of graduate coursework with grades of B or better with the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies and the Dean of the University Graduate School.
  6. Five-hour, written comprehensive examination to be administered in January of the second year of coursework.
  7. Coursework taken towards the M.A. must be completed no more than five years prior to the awarding of the degree. Coursework that does not meet this criterion may be revalidated. For the rules governing revalidation, see the University Graduate School Bulletin

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Reading Lists

The M.A. reading list in Communication and Culture consists of three separate lists, each calibrated to one of the department's three areas of research. Students are expected to complete the readings on any two of the three lists in order to prepare for the five-hour M.A. Comprehensive Examination.

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The M.A. Exam

The examination consists of a two-hour question in one topos or research area, a second two-hour question in a different topos, and a one-hour question that asks the student to articulate relationships between those two areas of research. Each student determines which two areas of research she will select for the examination. If, for example, a given student chooses to prepare for exams on rhetoric and media, he will answer a two-hour question in rhetoric and another two-hour question in media, followed by a one-hour question that relates rhetoric and media.

The exam questions will be prepared by the M.A. Examination Committee, which consists of one faculty member from each topos. All students will answer the same question in a given topos. Thus, for example, one two-hour question in performance and ethnographic studies will be prepared for all students who have selected this topos as one of the two areas of research in which they wish to be examined. Similarly, one question will be prepared in rhetoric and one in media for students who wish to write in either or both of those areas.

The M.A. exam is regularly scheduled three times each year – in January, May, and August. Students who plan to apply to the CMCL PhD program for the following year must take the exam in January. A student who does not plan to pursue the PhD may elect to take the M.A. exam during a regularly scheduled exam period in May or August.

The M.A. exam is evaluated by the M.A. Examination Committee plus one faculty member of the student’s choosing. The identity of the student will be masked to all evaluators except for the faculty member of the candidate’s choosing. Once the student determines which areas the examination will cover, and no later than one month prior to when the examination will be taken, the student needs to file the Application for the M.A. Examination with the Graduate Secretary. Note that members of the Graduate Affairs Committee are ineligible to serve as graders for the MA exam.

It is preferred that exams be submitted electronically to the Graduate Secretary.

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