How to Apply

Our MA program provides students with the choice to prepare for a career in academe or for developing their research and analytic skills for careers in corporate, nonprofit, and governmental organizations. Instruction is designed to help students discover, analyze, and demonstrate how communication processes are centrally important in creating, shaping, and understanding communities. This program is driven by close mentorship relationships between faculty and graduate students. See our faculty profiles via this link: https://communication.sdsu.edu/people/faculty. Priority is given to the development of students’ expertise and skills in each of the following areas:

• Mastery of knowledge and abilities in communication theory and practice.
• Completion of theses or comprehensive exams that prepare students to become scholars ready for doctoral training or who can be successful in their career paths.
• Collaboration in research and instructional teams.
• Participation in diverse research settings relevant to the social issues under investigation.
• Presentation of scholarly papers at professional conferences.
• Co-authorship of research articles with faculty and other graduate students..

The School of Communication offers new and continuing graduate students the opportunity to teach undergraduate classes, primarily Communication 103 – an introductory course in oral communication. Graduate Teaching Associates (GTAs) receive an annual stipend. Some GTA positions may include an out-of-state fee waiver. GTA positions are competitive and admission to the graduate program does not ensure a GTA assignment. If you would like to pursue being a GTA, please indicate in your cover sheet to the School of Communication that you are applying for a GTA position and address this interest in your personal statement. If you have specific questions about the GTA position (requirements and benefits), please contact the Director of the Basic Course, Mr. Michael Rapp.

You are required to complete a CSU application and pay your fee online via CalState Apply. International students should visit the admissions page about International Student Application Procedures.

SDSU only permits admissions to graduate programs in the Fall Semester. Our official deadline for all materials is February 1 for CalState Apply and February 15 at 11:59 pm (Eastern Standard Time) for Interfolio. Applications should be complete with all supplementary materials including statement of purpose, test scores, transcripts, and letters of recommendation which are collected using Interfolio.

Application Support Materials:

• Statement of Purpose (see description below)
• Resume or Curriculum Vitae
• Photocopy of Transcripts or Unofficial Transcripts (include ALL universities attended, feel free to redact any sensitive information, like your social security number)
• Photocopy of GRE scores (currently waived for Fall 2025 admissions, but required starting for Fall 2026 admissions)
• Photocopy of TOEFL Scores for international applicants only
• Writing sample (a paper you have written that represents your best academic writing)
• Fill out the online forms and upload all documents to the appropriate link for the School of Communication Interfolio site - https://apply.interfolio.com/151362. 
• In lieu of recommendation letters, download and send your three letter writers our recommendation form. Be sure that your letter of recommendation writers have submitted their forms by the appropriate due date. We strongly prefer recommendations that use our form. Please assist us with the process by emailing the blank recommendation form to the individuals you have selected to prepare your recommendation letters: https://grad.sdsu.edu/_resources/files/program-forms/soc_recommendation_form.pdf.

For your information we have provided the following information in another section of the website:

• Requirements for the MA degree in Communication
• Descriptions of our graduate seminars

A statement of purpose is a 2 page document (approximately 1000 words) that describes: (a) your interest in communication scholarship, (b) your undergraduate and/or professional preparation for graduate studies in a research-intensive communication program, (c) your personal and/or career objectives that graduate studies in communication will help you pursue, (d) (optional) your interest in the scholarship of any faculty members in the School of Communication,and (e) (optional) your interest in applying for a Graduate Teaching Associate (GTA) position. See our faculty profiles via this link: https://communication.sdsu.edu/people/faculty. The optional items will not impact admission decision-making. If applicable, describe any teaching-related experience you may have. Finally, if you did not earn your BA in communication, indicate if you have taken any communication courses, either as electives or as a minor.

Take time and care with your statement of purpose. It is very important. It is the first thing we read and the first indication we have of who you are and why you should be selected over other very well qualified candidates.

Request letters of recommendation. We require THREE (3) letters of recommendation – at least TWO (2) of the letters must be written by professors rather than employment supervisors. Your letter writers should speak to your ability to do well in a research-intensive graduate program. You will enter the contact information for your letters of recommendation in the Interfolio system (https://apply.interfolio.com/151362). Interfolio will generate a prompt to the individuals for which you have provided contact information. We strongly prefer recommendations that use our form. Please assist us with the process by emailing the blank recommendation form to the individuals you have selected to prepare your recommendation letters: SOC Recommondation Form. We recommend that you double check with your letter writers to ensure that they have the correct link and have submitted the letters by the appropriate date. 

Once your Interfolio materials are complete, click submit even if your letters of recommendation are not in yet. Keep in mind that we take a holistic approach to reviewing all materials submitted. 

Submit OFFICIAL Transcripts and TOEFL Test Scores to:

Graduate Admissions
Enrollment Services
San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-7416

• Transcripts: One set of official transcripts (in sealed envelopes) from all postsecondary institutions attended. (Students who attended SDSU need only submit transcripts for work done at outside institutions.) Students with international coursework must submit both the official transcript and proof of degree. If documents are in a language other than English, they must be accompanied by a certified English translation. Normally, we expect at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.
• GRE Scores: The School of Communication has GRE minimums, but this requirement is currently waived for Fall 2025 admissions. GRE scores will be required starting for Fall 2026 admissions. Although GRE scores may not be required, applicants are welcome to submit them if they prefer. They will be reviewed as one metric in the overall file.
• TOEFL Scores: If your medium of instruction was in a language other than English, then a TOEFL score is required (www.ets.org, SDSU Institution Code: 4682). A minimum score of 550 on the paper exam, 213 on the computer-based TOEFL, 79 on the internet exam, or 6.5 on the International Language Testing System (IELTS) is required.

Although you will submit official scores to the university, it is helpful to also submit photocopies of scores in the package of support materials that will be provided to the department via Interfolio. 

Please read all application instructions, and if you still have questions about our program, the steps for applying, or cannot meet a deadline feel free to contact the Director of Graduate Studies:

Dr. Yea-Wen Chen

ProfessorSchool of CommunicationDirector of Graduate Studies[email protected]COM 244