Communication and Information - Strategic and Digital Communication

The strategic and digital communication concentration is a Distance Education program and does not require students to come to Knoxville. The concentration is designed for career starters and career changers who want a flexible degree that is professionally oriented and that cuts across the college disciplinary areas. The strategic and digital communication concentration is practitioner focused and provides stand-alone graduate courses that are asynchronous and fully online. Courses build upon what all four Schools–Advertising and Public Relations, Communication Studies, Information Sciences, and Journalism and Electronic Media–bring to the contemporary job market.

• Applicants must have obtained a bachelor’s degree from a college or university accredited by the appropriate regional accrediting agency, recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEEA). A non-U.S. degree must be equivalent to a bachelor’s degree from the United States and must be granted by a recognized or accredited foreign institution. 
• United States degree holders must have earned a minimum of 2.7 out of a possible 4.0 GPA or a minimum of 3.0 during the senior year of undergraduate study. If you have completed previous graduate coursework, you must have earned a minimum of 3.0 out of a possible 4.0 GPA.
• Applicants with non-U.S. degrees must have earned a minimum of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or other equivalent to a ‘B’ average. If you have completed previous graduate coursework, you must have earned a minimum of 3.3 out of a possible 4.0 GPA or other equivalent to a ‘B+’ average.
• Applicants may be required to submit standardized test scores, depending upon their program requirements.
• Applicants may be required to submit English language certification test scores.

1. Please confirm the correct name of your graduate degree or certificate program by viewing our list of programs. This will ensure that you apply for the right program when you submit your application.
2. Create your account on Slate, our online application system, and begin completing the admission application.
3. Scan and upload copies of transcripts for all undergraduate and graduate institutions you have attended.
4. Upload degree certificates (if applicable).
5. Upload departmental/program requirements as indicated in the online application system.
6. Pay the $60 non-refundable application fee by credit/debit card.