Graduate Program

Whether your objective is to become a member of the professional advertising community or a teacher of advertising, the Texas Advertising program is designed to provide both intellectual breadth and specialized practical training needed to meet your goal. Emphasis is placed on the knowledge, methods, and skills needed for problem solving, scholarly teaching, original research, intellectual leadership, creative expression, and other modes of achievement in the field of advertising. The Texas Advertising  program is one of the premier advertising programs in the nation with alumni around the world.

Admissions

The admissions deadline for Fall 2013 was December 1, 2012. We admit new students for the fall semester only. Please refer to the Graduate Brochure for detailed information on admission procedures. Please fill out an Online Graduate Application when applying to the program.

M.A. and Ph.D. admissions decisions will be available before March 1, 2013.

Degrees Offered 

The University of Texas Department of Advertising offers a number of options for graduate study:

Degree Plans:

• M.A. in Advertising with Thesis    Degree Plan
• M.A. in Advertising no Thesis       Degree Plan
• Ph.D. in Advertising

Prerequisite Courses for M.A. Program

Many of our applicants have never taken a course in advertising and enter with degrees from other fields. That is not a problem. You can apply to the program even if you have absolutely no background in advertising, however you must complete the following two prerequisites prior to your first semester in the program. 

• A basic marketing course
• A basic statistics course

Almost any statistics course can be used to satisfy this pre-requisite; from sociology statistics to business statistics. Any basic marketing course would also satisfy the marketing pre-requisite. If you have a taken a statistics or marketing course during your undergraduate program, we can waive that pre-requisite for you during your advising time. 

Portfolio Programs

Portfolio programs are opportunities for students to obtain credentials in a cross-disciplinary academic area of inquiry while they are completing the requirements for a master's degree in a particular discipline. A portfolio program usually consists of four thematically related graduate courses and a research presentation; for a master's portfolio programs, practical experience related to the portfolio program may replace the presentation. Portfolio Program courses fulfill the minor course requirement in the Advertising Degree Plan. 

Below are a few of the Portfolio Programs Offered: 

African and African American Studies
Communication, Information and Cultural Policy
Cultural Studies
Mexican American Studies
Nonprofit Studies

View all current Portfolio Programs, program descriptions and application procedures.

Dual-degree options

In addition, the College of Communication offers several dual-degree options with the following programs:

• McCombs School of Business
• The Institute for Latin American Studies
• The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
• The Center for Middle Eastern Studies
• Post-Soviet and Eastern European Studies

Graduate School Select Admission Program 

The purpose of the Select Admissions Program is to encourage current undergraduate advertising students with top academic records to remain at the university for a Texas Advertising graduate degree. Each year, one or two exceptionally outstanding advertising undergraduates are nominated for the program. For more information please contact the Graduate Coordinator, Luisa Medrano.

Fellowships

The Graduate School provides a limited number of university fellowships to graduate students. Fellowships are awarded competitively on a basis of prior academic merit, as represented in  records, letters of recommendation, and GRE scores, with financial need considered where academic merit is equal.

The Graduate School offers Preemptive Fellowships to attract new top-quality graduate students to The University. A University-devised formula is used to determine eligibility. These fellowships are for recruitment only and all applicants with completed files are automatically considered.

Scholarships

The College of Communication scholarship application is open each January to admitted and continuing students. Students do not need to apply for each scholarship individually. By completing the application, students are considered for any of the scholarships for which they are eligible. 

Visit the College of Communication Scholarship Application web site for application information.

Graduate Professional Development Award

If you present at a recognized conference, you may submit an application for support form. The amount of the support will be determined by two things: The amount of money available and the number of students presenting. In the past, the amount has been between $300 and $400 per student each year. Please attach proof of conference acceptance to the form you submit. For more information please contact Luisa Medrano.

Getting Involved with Texas Advertising

The Advertising Graduate Council is a student-run organization that serves the needs of graduate Advertising students. The purpose of AGC is to supplement the educational experiences of graduate advertising students by providing opportunities for professional enrichment and social interaction. 

AdGrad is a professional networking site connecting alumni, students, faculty, and staff of the University of Texas at Austin's Department of Advertising. 

Other Important Web Pages

• Graduate Admission Bulletin
• Office of Graduate Studies
• Student Housing
• UT Graduate and International Admissions Center
• UT Graduate Catalog
• UT Select Admission Program
• UT Tuition and Fees
• Commonly used forms for graduate applicants