4+1 Accelerated Graduate Degree Pathway

Undergraduate students majoring in Communication (BS & BA) have the opportunity to begin the MPC program a year sooner through our 4+1 accelerated graduate degree pathway. By substituting 12 credits of undergraduate coursework, students can earn both their Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Master of Professional Communication in as few as five years.

Conditional Acceptance

Undergraduate students majoring in Communication can apply for conditional acceptance into the MPC accelerated graduate degree pathway once they have completed at least 90 undergraduate credit hours (1000-4000 level) and must be eligible to graduate after the first year of participation in the accelerated MPC program.

To be eligible for conditional acceptance, students must achieve a grade of “B-” or better in all COMM courses and a grade of “C” or better in all non-COMM courses. Additionally, students must have an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.2.

Students applying for conditional acceptance must provide:

• Official Transcripts from ALL colleges/universities attended
• Completed application including essay responses
• Three Letters of Recommendation
• Application Fee

Upon receiving conditional acceptance to the 4+1 Accelerated Graduate Degree Pathway, Communication majors can count the following MPC courses for the corresponding COMM courses below:

MPC Course	COMM Course
MPC 6010 (Intro/Theory)	COMM 4500 (Special Topics)
MPC 6150 (Writing)	COMM 3440 (PR Writing)
MPC 6210 (Presentational Speaking)	COMM 3120 (Advanced Public Speaking)
MPC 6700/6710 (Qual/Quant Methods)	COMM 3150 (Methods)
MPC 6100 (Team Building)	COMM 3100 (Small Group/Leadership)
MPC 6300 (New Media)	COMM 3750 ( Cinematography and Editing) Learning Objective: Visual Storytelling, Manual Camera Operation & Movement, Advanced lighting setups, Narrative Editing, Post Production, Color, Keying
MPC 6350 (Vis Comm)	COMM 3350 (Vis Comm)
MPC 6400 (Leadership)	COMM 3100 (Small Group/Leadership)
MPC 6450 (Advanced Org)	COMM 3550 (Org)
MPC 6600 (Strategic Comm)	COMM 3400; 3850; 4400 (Intro to PR, Advertising, Campaigns)
MPC 6250 (Interviewing)	COMM 3060 (Listening & Interviewing)
MPC 6620 (Conflict)	COMM 3050 (Conflict)
MPC 6840 (Data Vis/Storytelling)	COMM 3840 (Data Vis/Storytelling)
All 5000-level courses

Admission Requirements

Conditionally accepted students are eligible to matriculate into the MPC program in the subsequent semester once they have met the following admissions criteria:

• Completed at least 120 undergraduate/MPC credit hours (1000-6000 level) and fulfilled all requirements for graduation with a BS/BA in Communication.
• Maintained an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.2.
• Maintained an overall MPC GPA of at least 3.0 and received a B- or higher in every MPC class.
• Complete an application for full admission to the MPC program.

Graduate Coursework

During the first year of the MPC program, 12 of the graduate credits completed will also be applied (credit share) as upper-division undergraduate credit hours to fulfill the degree requirements in the Communication program. These graduate credits are aligned to fulfill the required COMM courses that were bypassed upon conditional acceptance (listed above).

Students will be awarded their Bachelor’s degree in Communication at the end of their first year of conditional acceptance in the MPC program. Students then continue in the MPC program to complete the remaining 21 credits and are awarded their Master of Professional Communication degree upon completion of all program requirements.

Graduate Retention Requirements

1. Retention in the graduate MPC program will be based on the following criteria:
   1. Grade “B-” or better in all required MPC courses.
   2. Maintain an overall Weber State University Graduate GPA of 3.0.
2. Students who fail to meet the retention criteria will be placed on probation in the MPC program for one semester. If standards are not met by the end of the probationary period, the student will be dismissed from the program. Students who receive a grade lower than a “B-” in any required MPC course must repeat that course and receive a grade of “B-” or higher to remain in the program. Failure to repeat the course (when offered) will result in dismissal from the program. Students who receive a grade lower than a “B-” in two or more MPC courses may be dismissed from the program.
3. Students who choose to discontinue the MPC program or are dismissed from the program within the first year, before they complete their bachelor’s degree, will be directed to their undergraduate Communication Department academic advisor. A plan for completing their bachelor’s degree will be developed. The MPC program director and the Office of Graduate Studies will determine whether any credit sharing will be applied based on the MPC courses the student completed before discontinuance/dismissal.
4. Students who complete the first year of the accelerated MPC program but subsequently choose to discontinue it may still be eligible to receive their Bachelor’s degree in Communication.