Graduate Program

Mission Statement

The mission of our master's program is to offer students the knowledge and skills necessary to become socially responsible professionals and leaders in the field of mass communication in a diverse global society.

Program Description

Our nationally accredited master’s program combines a strong professional orientation with a strong theoretical and interdisciplinary foundation.  The program stresses theory, research, and critical thinking as well as skills, and offers courses in advanced advertising and public relations, research methods, media convergence, diversity in mass media, qualitative and critical research methods, and international communication.

Program Highlights

• M.S. in Advertising/PR, or General Mass Communications
• Outstanding faculty with professional and international experience
• State-of-the-art computer labs, TV studios, and photography equipment
• Award-winning newspaper, television, and radio stations
• In-state tuition for international as well as local students
• Program can be completed on a part-time or full-time basis
• Graduate assistantships and scholarships
• Internships opportunities
• Located along the banks of the Mississippi River
• Minnesota's second-largest university with students from about 80 nations
• 32 education-abroad programs and more than 1,100 international students
• 250 university-wide student organizations for leadership opportunities
• Low cost of living

Admission Requirements

1. A bachelor’s degree from a college or university. A minimum of a 2.75 GPA over the last two years of undergraduate education, and an overall 2.75 GPA in your undergraduate or graduate records.
2. Score of 480 or higher on the verbal portion of the Graduate Record Exam, or a combined score of 1000 or higher on the verbal and quantitative sections. Or Score of 470 or higher on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).
3. Score of 550 (paper-based) or 213 (computer-based) or higher on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), in addition to the GRE/GMAT, if you are an international student and your native language is not English.
4. Three letters of recommendation. 

How to Apply

• Send the application along with the application fee to the Office of Graduate Studies. Make the check or money order payable to St. Cloud State University. The fee is not refundable.
  Office of Graduate Studies
  121 Administrative Services
  St. Cloud State University
  720 Fourth Avenue South
  St. Cloud, MN 56301-4498
• Request two copies of all transcripts be sent directly to the Office of Graduate Studies by the granting institution. (Hand carried or student issued transcripts will not be accepted.) Students graduating from St. Cloud State University are not required to have the SCSU transcripts sent. However, if credits from other institutions were used toward the undergraduate degree, copies of those transcripts sent directly by the granting institution are required.
• Scores from the required entrance exams must be sent by the testing organization to the Office of Graduate Studies. SCSU institutional code is 6679. The required entrance exams are:
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test is required for all other master's programs, the Sixth Year program, and Specialist degree.
• International students are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in addition to other entrance exams.
• Request academic/professional letters of recommendation and have them sent directly to the Office of Graduate Studies.
• Complete Affirmative Action form.

NOTE: Your application cannot be sent to the department for an admission recommendation until all transcripts, test scores, references, and application fee have been received.

Financial Assistance

A number of graduate assistantships, scholarships, tuition assistance, graduate research funds, and other financial aid options are available to graduate students.  Graduate assistantships are awarded on a competitive basis and require excellent GPA and GRE scores and/or significant professional experience in the mass media field.  St. Cloud State offers several types of graduate assistantships and scholarships.

Academic year assistantship stipends range up to $10,300 and tuition assistance equals to 16 graduate credits for the academic year.

International and domestic students are eligible to apply for graduate assistantships. In addition to assistantships, graduate scholarships are available for newly enrolled U.S. students pursuing on-campus majors. Qualified international students are eligible to apply for the Academic and Cultural Sharing Scholarships.  Non-departmental assistantships are also available in various offices of the university. There are also opportunities for part-time employment on campus.