While graduates with other degrees will fit more conveniently into specific niches, communication majors have diverse career options. For example, graduates can find employment in fields such as government lobbying, media planning, communication technology and speech writing. A master's degree will provide opportunities for higher paying positions, such as director of corporate relations, brand manager or mediator. As of 2011, according the Online Education Database, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show the fastest growing careers for communication majors are advertising manager, advertising sales agent, broadcast news analyst, interpreter or translator, meeting and convention planner, photojournalist, public relations manager, public relations specialist, technical writer and writer or author.
The requirements of a master's degree can vary slightly from college to college, but are essentially divided into two types of curriculum: academic and professional. Master of Arts and Master of Science degrees are academic in nature, while the professional, or executive, master's degree focuses on practical applications for solving problems. They have similar requirements. An undergraduate degree is a prerequisite for entry into a master's program and all master's degrees require a minimum of 30 graduate credits to complete. For MA and MS degrees, a thesis will be required and students will need to maintain a 3.0 GPA.
Students looking for a heavier business emphasis to complement communications courses may find limited choices. Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C., has taken the unusual approach of combining an MBA with an MA in communications to prepare students for a career in public relations, risk communication, advertising and media relations. Students learn a variety of skills, including helping to solve communication issues in the workplace, reaching out to the media and clientele, and managing the corporate image. Programs include public and media relations, political communications, health communications, digital communications and corporate and nonprofit communications. The degree combines classes from the university's School of Arts and Sciences and the Carey Business School. Johns Hopkins' graduates have gone on to obtain prestigious positions, such as Risa Heller, who became communications director for former New York Gov. David Paterson, and Kristin Lee, who was the communications director for the House Rules Committee before being named the TSA's assistant administrator for strategic communications and public affairs in 2009.
If you're planning to pursue a doctorate someday, at least one university can put you on the fast track. The University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, is composed of 11 colleges, including the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which awards the school's Master's of Art and Ph.D. degrees in communication studies. All graduate degree applicants apply to the Ph.D. program because there is no terminal MA program, though with special permission a master's may be awarded. The university has produced such luminaries as John Cochran, a chief correspondent for ABC News, and Mildred Wirt Benson, who under the name Carolyn Keene was a ghost writer for many of the Nancy Drew mystery books. She was the first woman to earn a master's in journalism from the University of Iowa.