Online Communications Degrees at The University of Memphis
The University of Memphis appears in our ranking of the Top 20 Best Online Communications Degree Programs.
The University of Memphis offers online programs through its Department of Communication. Though it offers an undergrad program with a concentration in film and video production, this program is only available on its main campus. Students who enroll in the online program must pick a concentration in communication studies. As a general program, it focuses on all areas of communication, including verbal and written communications.
Students work with advisers assigned to them as freshmen. Their advisers will help them decide which classes to take each semester. Students take classes such as Communication Research Methods, Rhetoric & Civic Controversy, Introduction to Film and TV & Culture. They can also take a course on Reality TV.
The Master of Arts in Communication Studies that the University of Memphis offers is also available with a concentration in film and video production or communication studies. This program builds on the knowledge that students gained in an undergrad program and prepares them for working in different fields.
Students can take some unique classes like African American Film that looks at the history of films featuring African Americans, Gender in Public Discourse that focuses on the idea of gender in the modern society and Documentary Form Film that deals with the methods of making documentary films. Though the University of Memphis also offers a Ph.D. program for communications majors, this program is only open to students willing to take classes on its main campus.
About University of Memphis
The University of Memphis is a public university located in Memphis, Tennessee. Usually called U of M, its history dates back to the 1910s, which is when the state established the West Tennessee State Normal School. This school served as the precursor to U of M and offered a number of training programs that educated teachers who would later work in Memphis and other cities in Tennessee. Once the school made the switch from offering diplomas to full degrees, it became the West Tennessee State Teachers College. The college continued making changes to its curriculum and adding new programs, which helped it become a larger school. It operated as Memphis State College before becoming the University of Memphis.
Forbes ranks U of M as one of the best schools of higher education in the United States, and Washington Monthly ranked the school at number 40 on its own list of the best American colleges. One reason the university ranks so highly on these lists is that its campus is home to a number of advanced research institutions, including the Center for Earthquake Research and Information and the Institute for Intelligent Systems. Several of these centers have connections to major corporations like FedEx. Though U of M has an enrollment of more than 20,000 graduate students and undergrads, it has small class sizes and a low ratio of students to professors.
University of Memphis Accreditation Details
Students can bring credits they earned from another school to U of M because the university has regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). SACS accreditation also gives students the right to apply for the financial aid the government grants to students in need. Many degree programs, including its psychology and pre-law programs, have specialty accreditation. U of M has accreditation from the American Bar Association, National Association of Schools of Music, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education among others.
University of Memphis Application Requirements
The application deadline for undergrads who want to start in the fall is July 15. Students applying for the spring semester have until December 1 to apply, and students can submit an application by May 1 and start classes in the summer. The university has a new recruitment policy that helps the school recruit students within the top 10% of their classes. These students have fewer admissions requirements than other students have.
Though there is an application fee, the university allows students to apply for a fee waiver online. This waiver allows them to submit an application without paying that fee. In addition to finishing the online application, prospective undergrads must also provide U of M with an official transcript from any high schools or colleges attended and an ACT or SAT score. The transcript must show the student’s overall class ranking, grade point average and classes taken over the last few semesters.
Graduate students applying to U of M must meet some of the same requirements. They have a separate application that asks for information about their professional experiences in addition to the classes they took and the grades they got. These students must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, and they will need to submit a transcript that shows they have a degree or the date that they will finish that degree. The university may ask for a resume, a personal essay or goals statement, and/or letters of recommendation too.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The online programs that the University of Memphis offers cost less than its traditional programs do. Undergrads pay $420 per credit hour for all the online classes they take, which includes all fees. A full-time student can take 12 credits hours in a semester and pay around $5,000 in tuition and fees. This rate only applies to online students who are Tennessee residents. Nonresidents pay $908 per credit hour, which also includes all miscellaneous fees. These students pay around $10,100 a semester. The cost for graduate students enrolled in an online program is $603 per credit hour for residents and $1,091 per credit hour for nonresidents.
U of M offers financial aid packages designed to cover most or all of the costs that students face during the school year. The university only awards financial aid packages to students who file the FAFSA. It uses the information shared by students to determine how much their families can contribute to their total costs. Both undergrads and graduate students can receive loans from the government, but undergrads receive subsidized loans and grad students receive unsubsidized loans. They can use external loans also. The University of Memphis has scholarship applications that allow students to apply for any of the scholarships that it offers too.