Departmental Assistantship Consideration
- Fall: February 1
- Spring: Not Available
- Summer: Not Available
No Departmental Assistantship Consideration
- Fall: February 1
- Spring: Not Available
- Summer: Not Available
- Transcripts from all schools attended
- Three letters of recommendation
- Official GRE test scores
- Statement of Goals
- Writing Sample
Available information for International Applicants.
Letters of Recommendation
Letters should come from university faculty with whom you studied, preferably more senior, permanent faculty. Letters from employers or work associates do not provide information about your ability as a student. If you have been out of touch with faculty with whom you studied and cannot supply letters from academic sources, you should contact the Communication department’s Director of Graduate Studies for advice.
Personal Statement
Your personal statement should inform the Admissions Committee about what you hope to gain from studying Communication at the graduate level. In particular, your statement should be informative about:
- How you expect graduate studies in Communication to be relevant to and supportive of your plans and goals after your receive your degree
- What you hope to learn as a graduate student and how that will benefit you
- What it is about the UAlbany program in particular that led you to apply here
Applicants are kindly asked not to utilize AI assistance or automated writing services when constructing the personal goals statement. This statement is a vital component of an application, offering an opportunity to showcase your authentic voice, motivations, and unique experiences. The admissions committee values your genuine aspirations and personal connection to our program. Please let your own thoughts and words convey your passion and suitability. AI-assisted writing tends to be recognizably formulaic, making it difficult for the review committee to feel confident in recommending admission.
Writing Sample
Your writing sample should demonstrate your ability to analyze and reason about the claims and thinking presented in others’ texts, and to write arguments supporting your claims. Papers that summarize or evaluate or dispute others’ work but do not analyze it, are less helpful to the admissions committee in discerning your ability to do the kind of writing required in our classes. Press releases or other professional writing, or creative writing, generally do not reveal abilities relevant to the kind of writing you would be asked to do in our classes.
You can submit a sample of writing you did in the past that presents an analysis and argument about materials you read. This may have been written to fulfill a class assignment or a work-related report or recommendation. If you have a writing sample of this kind, please include it with your application, adding an explanation of the assignment or task you were fulfilling.
OR
You can write a new essay to submit with your application in response to the following assignment: In an essay of 700-1,000 words, provide reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with the argument that David Bohm is making about communication in his short essay "On Communication".
Note: In submitting your writing sample, you are guaranteeing that it is entirely your own work, both in regard to the content and the actual writing. If you are admitted to the program, and it is later found that your writing sample was not original work created solely by you, that would be grounds for dismissal from the program.
GRE Scores
GRE scores are required with all PhD applications. We look for a minimum score of 1,000 combined (old paper-based scoring) or approximately 300 combined (new computer-based scoring).
TOEFL/IELTS Scores
All international applicants must submit TOEFL or IEFLTS scores except for those who have earned BA or MA degrees in English-speaking countries. In general, the minimum TOEFL score required for admission to our graduate program is 580 (paper-based total), 237 (computer-based total) or 93 (internet-based total). The minimum IELTS score is 7.0.
For questions about application materials and procedures, and application status, please contact the Office of Graduate Admissions at [email protected].
This program offers an internship, field experience, study abroad component, or clinical experience in the course listing as an option to fulfill course requirements. Students who have previously been convicted of a felony are advised that their prior criminal history may impede their ability to complete the requirements of certain academic programs and/or to meet licensure requirements for certain professions. If applicants have concerns about this matter please contact the Dean’s Office of the intended academic program.