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Admission Procedures
The school’s graduate students are a diverse group. The vast majority of our master’s students have worked for at least two or three years; in fact, we prefer it that way. Some have worked in journalism, public relations, advertising, and other mass communication fields. Others come to us from careers in teaching, health care, finance, science, engineering, and law. Some were journalism majors as undergraduates, but most majored in the liberal arts. Many of our doctoral students have master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication, but, while a master’s degree is required for admission to the doctoral program, it does not have to be in journalism and mass communication. The average age of a master’s student entering in fall 2007 was 31; the average Ph.D. student entering in 2007 was 34. We usually have a number of students in both programs in their 40s and beyond, and we do not consider age a barrier to acceptance.
About one-third of our graduate students attended North Carolina colleges and universities; the rest hail from out of state or abroad. Each year, international students make up about 10 percent of our graduate student body.
We do not have a master’s program that flows directly into the doctoral program, and we normally do not encourage our own master’s students to apply to our doctoral program. Occasionally, however, we make appropriate exceptions. We seldom admit people into our master’s program directly after finishing an undergraduate degree. We feel that it is best for students to work at least two or three years to gain some real-life perspective before enrolling in graduate school. From time to time, we make appropriate exceptions here as well.
How do I Apply?
Our application process is as streamlined as we can make it.
Step one: Visit the UNC-Chapel Hill Graduate School Web site (gradschool.unc.edu ) to complete an online application. The web site provides complete admissions information, links to all programs offered, as well as an online application for admission (the preferred means of receiving your application). The online application provides for the prompt, secure and confidential receipt of your application. Individuals who apply online can elect to pay the application fee by credit card at the time of applying, which means their application will be forwarded to the intended program the very next business day. If you prefer to complete and submit a paper application, you may do so by printing the application on your local printer and sending the $75 fee to the Graduate School. If you do not have Internet access, you must contact the Graduate School, Campus Box 4010, Bynum Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-4010; (919) 966-2611;
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; and a representative will assist you. Your application will NOT be processed until the Graduate School receives the application fee.
Step two: Complete the application and submit it to the Graduate School by January 1, our official deadline for admission for the next fall. After that date, the Graduate School will return applications to the sender. Only complete applications can be considered. Complete applications are defined as those accompanied by the $75 fee and containing official transcripts, GRE and, if necessary, TOEFL scores, and the other materials described below. We admit new classes only in the fall. Exceptions for summer admission will be granted only to those students who are enrolled in dual-degree programs supported by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and who were enrolled as full-time students the previous semester.
Some materials must be sent directly to the Graduate School, others to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Send the following materials to the Graduate School, Campus Box 4010, Bynum Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-4010:
* A completed application form, via the World Wide Web or on paper. Be sure to send your application and fee to the Graduate School, not our program. Be sure to send your application and fee to the Graduate School, not our program. Since that is a firm deadline, we are unable to accept applications past that date; in fact, the Graduate School will return any applications that do not have the fee paid by January 1 or applications that are received after January 1.
* A $75 application fee. The Graduate School accepts credit card payments for online admission applications. Applications and fees must be received by January 1.
* One official copy of transcripts for all college work. The transcripts can come from either the college or university, or the student, but they must have the official seal and signature of an official representative of the institution. If issued to the student, they should be in a sealed envelope with an official signature across the seal. Transcripts are required for those classes showing on a main transcript as transfer or study abroad courses if those courses are listed on the main transcript as credits only with no grades. If grades are shown along with the credits, then another transcript is not necessary.
* Graduate Record Examination scores. Scores from computerized tests taken through November should reach us by the deadline. Do not plan to take the GRE in December or January and expect to have the test scores reach us in time. Test scores must be dated within five years of your application. If your test scores are more than five years old, you must retake the exam. When you take the GRE, please note that our Institutional Code is R5816. Please make sure that you fill in this material correctly so that your scores will be applied correctly. The Graduate School requires an official copy of test scores be sent directly from the testing service. Contact the Graduate School for advice if you are unsure whether your GRE scores are still admissible.
* Official TOEFL scores if you are an international applicant. The TOEFL requirement is waived if you have a degree from an American university or an institution in a country in which English is the sole language of instruction. Among the countries covered by such a policy are Canada (except Quebec), the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and India. The Graduate School has a comprehensive listing of exempt and non-exempt countries. Check with it if you are unsure about your country’s status or visit the Graduate School's Web site. If an international applicant is currently completing a degree at an American university and has not taken the TOEFL due to the future receipt of that degree, an official letter from that university is necessary before the applicant can be admitted to the UNC-Chapel Hill Graduate School. The letter should contain the applicant’s name, the degree the applicant is completing and the expected degree completion date. If the applicant is then admitted to the Graduate School, follow-up on the degree will be required in the form of a final transcript showing the degree received. If the applicant did not take the TOEFL and does not complete the degree at the American university he or she is attending before beginning our program, the Graduate School will cancel the student’s admission.
Submit the following materials to Graduate Admissions, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Campus Box 3365, Carroll Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3365:
* One official copy of transcripts for all college work. The transcripts can come from either the college or university, or the student, but they must have the official seal and signature of an official representative of the institution. If issued to the student, they should be in a sealed envelope with an official signature across the seal. Transcripts are required for those classes showing on a main transcript as transfer or study abroad courses if those courses are listed on the main transcript as credits only with no grades. If grades are shown along with the credits, then another transcript is not necessary.
* A current résumé.
* Three letters of recommendation from academic and professional sources best equipped to evaluate your potential as a graduate student.
* A brief statement describing your background, career goals, and research interests. These should be no longer than two pages, double-spaced for master’s applicants and no longer than four pages for doctoral applicants.
* Master’s applicants should include a writing sample, such as an academic paper or magazine or newspaper article. Ph.D. applicants should submit a chapter from their master’s thesis or a copy of an academic paper.
* Ph.D. applicants should also include a SEPARATE statement that details a problem that they would like to solve during their time as a doctoral student. This statement should deal with a narrow topic, something that could be addressed in a semester’s research project, for example. You are not committed to researching this problem after you reach Chapel Hill, but we want to know your research interests.
* Financial certificate and official bank statement if you are an international applicant. The financial certificate can be found on the Graduate School’s Web site in the same location as the application. Please note: The financial certificate and supporting documentation are required of ALL international applicants (except those with legal resident alien status, which is granted by U.S. Immigration—proof is required), even Ph.D. applicants who want to be considered for funding.
What Does it Take to Get in?
Minimum criteria for admission to our graduate program include a recognized undergraduate degree and, for doctoral applicants, a master’s degree; an undergraduate grade average of B or better (3.0 GPA); minimum GRE scores of the 55th percentile on the verbal portion of the test and the 50th percentile on the quantitative portion. The minimum score we are looking for on the analytical writing portion of the test is 4.5.
In 2007, our entering master's class had an average score of 606 (85%) on the verbal portion, 653 (60%) on the quantitative portion and 5.0 on the analytical writing portion of the GRE; the entering Ph.D. class averaged 627 (89%) on the verbal portion, 643 (58%) on the quantitative portion and 4.5 on the analytical writing portion. We strongly encourage all applicants, especially those people who have been out of school for a while, to study for the GRE.
International students must score at least 105 points on the Internet-based exam, 260 points on the computer-based TOEFL exam or 620 on the paper-based exam.
Applicants below these standards can be admitted only if the School offers strong justification. Given the competition for spots in the program, applicants below these standards will have to demonstrate substantial compensatory qualifications to be considered. Meeting these criteria is not a guarantee of admission but rather a guide. Because we get many more applications than we can accept for both our master’s and doctoral programs, we must make hard choices, and many applicants who meet the minimum requirements must be denied admission.
When do I hear?
Unlike many graduate and professional programs, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication does not have a rolling admissions procedure. Because we admit students only for fall semesters, our admissions committee meets only in spring semesters.
We generally meet in January, February and early March, and acceptances and rejections start coming out within that time period. We try to handle the applications as expeditiously as possible, but often we are still filling our class in the latter weeks of the process. The process takes a while because we try to achieve a good mixture of students with different interests and backgrounds. We try to inform applicants if we are missing any materials, but please allow at least a couple of weeks past the deadline for us to process all the documents we receive. Formal letters about acceptance or rejection are sent from the University’s Graduate School, and these letters follow our committee’s action by days or, at the height of admissions season, weeks.
What Comes After Admission?
The Graduate School, which supervises post-baccalaureate programs, sends out the official notification of admission. You are required to respond affirmatively by April 15 or within three weeks of notification of admission, whichever is later, and to send a $100 non-refundable deposit. If you do not respond within the stated time period, the offer of admission may be withdrawn.
You must participate in an orientation program before classes begin. An orientation-information packet will be mailed to you in mid-summer. At orientation, you will meet with other graduate students, be introduced to faculty members and set up class schedules. You will be assigned a temporary faculty adviser to help you choose appropriate courses for the fall semester, and you will register for courses following your advising session. You will also sign up for e-mail addresses and do other things necessary for a smooth start in the graduate program. It is imperative for you to plan your schedule so that you can attend these meetings.
We generally have a graduate student-faculty-staff picnic soon after classes begin. This is a festive start to the new academic year and brings returning graduate students, entering graduate students, faculty and staff members, and their families together for an informal get-to-know-you session. Please make sure that you keep the first few Friday evenings free as you plan to move to Chapel Hill.
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Prospective Students 
