PAUL CASEY
News Assistant
Communication students can now do in five years what used to take six. The new Accelerated Master’s Program in Communication, which officially began this semester, allows students to leave Pepperdine after only five years with both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees in hand.
“Staying one additional year at Pepperdine for a master’s and bachelor’s degree is worth it,” said senior Spencer Pfeil, a member of the program. “You have to put the work in and put the time in, but it helps you to learn how to manage your time more efficiently.”
In the program, seniors in the communication majors supplement their 500 level courses with graduate level material. Upon completion of the program, students shed one year and approximately 9 to 12 units off the normal graduate requirements and earn their Master of Arts degree after only one additional year of study.
“This program is an effort to keep our own students here at Pepperdine for graduate school,” Communication Graduate Coordinator Judith Tapper said.
Tapper said students have previously looked elsewhere for graduate school because they had already completed all the concentration-specific 500-level courses offered in Pepperdine’s graduate program during their undergraduate work. Because Pepperdine did not allow students to take a course twice for credit, those students who wanted to stay here to earn their master’s were forced to switch their concentration to fulfill the master’s degree requirements.
Although most master’s programs offer both a Master of Arts and Master of Science, the accelerated program will only present a Master of Arts, which includes a thesis rather than Master of Science requirements such as comprehensive exams and additional classes.
The new accelerated program creates the opportunity for seniors who know they want to continue to graduate school to take the normal 500-level courses and have them count toward their bachelor’s degree, but also, with the additional graduate work, have them count toward their master’s degree as well.
“Students are doing master’s level programs as seniors,” Tapper said. “This means they have to achieve at a higher level than their classmates.”
The program also does not penalize a student for not completing their M.A. in the accelerated time period.
“They have every advantage and no penalty,” Tapper said.
“Walking out in five years instead of six with a master’s degree directly affects your earning power.”
Tapper also pointed out that students who have completed their M.A. by the age of 23 or 24 look very attractive to schools with doctorate programs.
To enter the accelerated program a student must apply in the fall of their junior year and are required to have an overall GPA of 3.25 and a cumulative major GPA of 3.5 across 18 units. Applicants to the program are also required to submit a research proposal.
Students looking for more information on the program can contact Judith Tapper at jtapper@pepperdine.edu or at her office in CCB 210.
09-27-2007
