Interested in Grad School?

The nationally competitive Illinois State University Individual Events and Lincoln-Douglas Debate Program is pleased to announce multiple Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) positions openings for Fall 2022.

Responsibilities will include teaching the public speaking course, traveling to tournaments, helping with coaching assignments, recruiting, helping with tournament hosting, working our summer workshop, etc.

An assistantship includes a full-tuition waiver as well as a monthly stipend. The I.E. and debate graduate assistants will also have opportunities to work with award-winning coaches and nationally-placed competitors.

ISU has one of the finest graduate Communication programs in the country. If you are looking for a place to study and coach following your undergraduate degree, please contact ISU's Director of Forensics, Megan Koch, at mkoch@ilstu.edu, or 309-438-8447, or ISU's Director of Debate, Shanna Carlson, at sjcarl3@ilstu.edu, or 309-438-7820.

For information about the graduate program, application requirements, and funding options, refer to the Graduate Applications page on our website. If you are definitely interested in applying for the Master’s degree in Communication at ISU, you should see this page for additional application information and/or contact Dr. Aimee Miller-Ott, a faculty member in our School and the Graduate Program Coordinator, at aeott@ilstu.edu. For full consideration, please complete the applications to the program and to the Graduate Teaching Assistant position by February 1, 2022.


Master’s Degree in Communication

Program Philosophy & Curriculum:

The School of Communication at Illinois State University approaches the study of human communication from humanistic, social scientific, and critical perspectives. Our curriculum includes 25 graduate seminars that examine a wide range of topics in the study of human communication, including interpersonal communication, small group communication, mass communication, organizational communication, intercultural communication, persuasion, public relations, rhetoric, training & development, social media, and quantitative, qualitative, and rhetorical research methods. With only three required courses, students have the freedom to develop plans of study that balance theoretical offerings with applied courses to meet personal and professional needs. Students may pick either a 32-hour thesis or a 39-hour non-thesis option to complete the degree.

Program Advantages:

We have one of the top master’s-only programs in the nation, having been awarded the 2013 Outstanding Master’s Program by the National Communication Association. Our energetic and professionally active faculty is ranked in the top-10 for productivity by the Communication Institute for Online Scholarship. Our state-of-the-art Social Media Analytics Command Center (SMACC) provides a tool for faculty and graduate students to analyze public conversations from social media outlets, popular discussion forums, and major blogs. The SMACC uses customized software that identifies social media conversations and displays them as dynamic charts, graphs, word clouds, and other visualizations to help researchers analyze social media trends, sentiment, share of voice, and geo-location.

Career Options:

Graduates of our nationally recognized program pursue careers in college teaching, training & development, human & employee relations, public relations, media management, media relations, and community relations. Many alumni go on to complete Ph.D. degrees at some of the top programs in the nation (including Ohio University, the University of Kansas, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of North Carolina, the University of Missouri, Rutgers University, Michigan State University, Purdue University, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and Arizona State University).

Admission Requirements:

To be admitted, students should have a minimum 3.00 GPA over the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework. International students should obtain a minimum TOEFL score of 250 (computer-based testing), 100 (Internet-based testing), or 600 (paper-based). Applicants must submit a Letter of Application describing their background, academic interests, and career objectives, a Resume/Curriculum Vitae, and Writing Sample, and arrange to have 3 Letters of Recommendation submitted. To ensure full consideration, your application should be complete and submitted no later than February 1st for a Fall admission. We are not accepting applications for spring admission at this time. The Graduate School’s online Admission Application is available at: https://connect.illinoisstate.edu/apply/.

Graduate Assistantships:

Graduate assistants are trained to teach an introductory course in communication and/or to perform other services for the School as needed. The assistantship carries a full-tuition waiver and a monthly stipend of $1,040. The GTA Application is available at: https://www.jobs.ilstu.edu (then click “Graduate Assistant”). Students who do not receive an assistantship can apply for a partial-tuition waiver, via a link on the School’s graduate website.

For More Information:

Please visit our website (https://illinoisstate.edu/academics/communication-masters/) for information regarding our faculty, graduate seminars, and degree options. To discuss your application or our program, please contact: Dr. Aimee Miller-Ott, Graduate Coordinator, Campus Box 4480, Normal, IL 61790-4480, Office: (309) 438-3277, E-mail: aeott@ilstu.edu

Admission Application

Complete the online Admission Application to the Graduate Program in Communication at: https://connect.illinoisstate.edu/apply/

  • Be prepared to upload a Letter of Application in which you discuss your background,academic interests, and career objectives.

  • Indicate 3 individuals, and their contact information, who will submit Letters of Recommendation on your behalf. Writers should upload letters on official letterhead,when possible and applicable, directly to the application system.

  • Be prepared to upload a Resume/Curriculum Vitae. Indicate your GPA in your major on your resume/CV.

  • Be prepared to upload a Writing Sample. Academic papers that demonstrate researchability, integration of citations, and writing quality work best for a writing sample.To ensure full consideration, your application should be complete and submitted no later than February 1st for Fall admission. We are not accepting applications for spring admission at this time.

  • To be admitted, you should have a minimum 3.00 GPA over the last 60 hours of your undergraduate degree. Have official transcripts sent from all colleges attended.

  • International students should obtain a minimum TOEFL score of 250 (computer-based testing), 100 (Internet-based testing), or 600 (paper-based).

Assistantship Application

Complete the online Graduate Assistantship Application for the School of Communication at: https://www.jobs.ilstu.edu

  • Be prepared to upload a Letter of Teaching Interest in which you explain the reasons you want to teach and the skills and experiences you have that contribute to your interest in and ability to teach.

  • Please submit the assistantship application at the time you submit the admission application as the deadlines are the same.

  • Graduate teaching assistants are trained to teach the basic communication course and/or to perform other services for the School of Communication based on need.

  • Assistantships carry a full-tuition waiver and monthly stipend of $1,040 for up to four semesters.

  • A minimum 3.00 GPA over the last 60 hours of your undergraduate degree is required to be a teaching assistant. Award recipients are selected among eligible applicants on a competitive basis.

  • Students who do not receive an assistantship can apply for a partial-tuition waiver. The graduate tuition waiver application is on the School of Communication’s graduate website.

For More Information

Please visit our website (https://illinoisstate.edu/academics/communication-masters/) for information regarding our faculty, graduate seminars, and degree options.

To discuss your application or our program, please contact: Dr. Aimee Miller-Ott,Graduate Coordinator, Campus Box 4480, Normal, IL 61790-4480, Office: (309) 438-3277, E-mail: aeott@ilstu.edu