Located in Florida's largest media market--the Tampa Bay metropolitan area--the school maintains solid relationships with area professionals in advertising, journalism, public relations and telecommunications. Students can work and study in an environment closely aligned with their ultimate career choice, and can tailor their programs to meet specific academic needs.

The master of arts in mass communications degree requires 36 credit hours, including at least 30 hours of class work, and successful completion of an integrated comprehensive examination as a prerequisite to the final academic project. The master's degree can be earned through one of three tracks of study.

Journalism The journalism track focuses on classes in professional writing, ethics and community journalism, with an option to either write a thesis or create a professional thesis as the final requirement. Students in this track are also eligible to participate for academic credit in certain seminars offered by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a private institution located near the USF St. Petersburg campus.

Mass CommunicationThe mass communication track uses a broad approach to focus on classes in communication science theory and research relevant to the study of mass media. Students write a thesis as their final academic requirement. An outside cognate requires students to incorporate topics from related disciplines to their mass communications studies.

Public RelationsThe public relations track focuses on public relations as a management function in an organization. Students write a thesis as their final academic requirement. Required classes presume that students have a basic understanding of the practice achieved through undergraduate course wo