Enrollment: 3,192
Average Undergrad GPA: 3.40
Regular Application Deadline: 06/01
Rolling Admission: Yes
School Type: Public
Campus Surroundings: Metropolis (In a major city, pop. 300,000 or more, within its metropolitan area)
Student Faculty Ratio: 9:1

Weekend Classes Available: Yes
Evening Classes Available: Yes
Part Time Faculty: 50
Full Time Faculty: 52
Total Faculty: 102

Financial Aid Deadline: 02/01

School Says - General Information
Located in Washington DC, the School of Communication at American University (SOC) offers graduate programs that prepare students for careers in media with a focus on public affairs and public service through graduate degrees in Journalism, Public Communication, Film and Media Arts, and International Media. Students work closely with faculty members in small, laboratory environments while pursuing professional opportunities in Washington DCÂ's many world-class media organizations, including Discovery Communications, National Geographic, USA Today, and washingtonpost.com. As the oldest School of Communication in the DC area, SOC alumni are employed at USA Today, The Washington Post, Associated Press, Discovery Channel, HBO, NBC News, Olgilvy Mather, and PBS--organizations in which they are shaping the future of journalism, public communication, and film and media arts.

School Says - Student Body
SOC attracts talented graduate students nationally and internationally, enrolling approximately 350 students in its graduate programs, divided more or less evenly among the journalism, public communication, film and media arts, and weekend programs.

School Says - Academics
SOC's Mentoring Program allows graduate students the opportunity to be paired with outstanding alumni in exploring career opportunities and build networks. Film students may participate in a summer internship in LA, spend semester learning about production and photography in Prague, or complete short duration shoots, known as Classroom in the Wild experiences, with faculty.- M.A. in Journalism and Public Affairs - M.A. in Public Communication - M.A. in Film and Video - M.A. in International Media - M.F.A. in Film and Electronic Media Weekend M.A. programs, designed for working professionals, include Interactive Journalism, News Media Studies, Public Communication, and Producing for Film and Video.The Friedheim Journalism Center features fully networked computer classrooms, configured for computer-assisted research and reporting, multimedia, Web and rich media authoring, as well as page layout and design. Wechsler Theater is equipped with multi-format video projection and interactive videoconferencing capabilities and provides a screening facility for SOCÂ's film study courses, student projects, and film festivals on human rights and environmental issues. The Media Production Center houses a 40-foot-by-40-foot, three-camera color television studio; the fully networked Ed Bliss Broadcast Newsroom; three digital audio studios, a large multi-use classroom, a field production equipment check-out facility, and ten digital video postproduction suites for Avid and Final Cut Pro editing.

School Says - Admissions
- February 1: deadline for merit award application for full-time programs - June 1: priority deadline for weekend programs and final application deadline for full-time programs - Applications for weekend programs are accepted on a rolling application basis throughout the summer.

School Says - Campus Life
Designated an arboretum, the School of Communication at American University (AU) is situated on an 84-acre campus in the heart of northwest Washington, DC. AU is accessible by public transportation, and is located within 15-20 minutes of the White House, Capitol Hill and many other Washington landmarks.

School Says - Cost Aid
Tuition is $1,178 per credit hour for the 2008-2009 academic year. SOC offers financial aid on a competitive basis to talented graduate students; typical awards include tuition remission, stipend, and an opportunity to work as a teaching or research assistant. Applicants to the graduate program in Journalism are eligible to apply for fellowships in partnership with the Center for Public Integrity, USA Today, and BNA.

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