PURPOSE
The College of Public Programs offers a wide range of course work, in both on-campus and off-campus settings, to full-time and part-time students. Through the Graduate College, faculty offer various programs leading to graduate degrees. Each academic unit of the College of Public Programs not only assumes responsibility in preparing its own majors, but also provides a variety of service courses for the rest of the university. The college is committed to excellence in teaching, research, and public service. College units work closely with numerous public and private agencies at the national, state, and local levels.
ORGANIZATION
The College of Public Programs consists of five academic units: the Department of Communication, the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunication, the Department of Recreation Management and Tourism, the School of Public Affairs, and the School of Justice Studies. Each academic unit is administered by a chair or director.
Department of Communication. The faculty in the Department of Communication advance the understanding of message-related human behavior in part through the M.A. degree in Communication. The focus of the M.A. degree program is research in one of five areas: intercultural communication, interpersonal communication, organizational communication, performance studies, and rhetoric/public address.
Faculty in the Department of Communication participate in offering the interdisciplinary Ph.D. degree in Communication. The program is designed to prepare scholars for research-oriented careers in universities and in the public and private sectors and offers areas of study in critical/cultural studies, information technology, intercultural communication, interpersonal communication, organizational communication, performance studies, relational communication, and rhetoric.
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunication. The faculty in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunication offer the Master of Mass Communication degree (M.M.C.). The M.M.C. is designed to accommodate students who wish to study in the fields of journalism, broadcasting, or public relations. The program provides broader training for professionals employed in the media and for those who wish to enter media fields.
Department of Recreation Management and Tourism. The faculty in the Department of Recreation Management and Tourism offer a graduate program leading to the M.S. degree in Recreation. The program focuses both on building professional knowledge and developing the ability to critically analyze topics and issues related to the recreation and tourism fields. Students choose between pursuing a more academic, focused thesis option or the more professionally applied nonthesis option. Each student takes graduate core courses in the department and then can pursue individual interests with related course work and a research project in one of four general concentration areas: outdoor recreation, recreation administration, social/psychological aspects of leisure, and tourism and commercial recreation.
School of Public Affairs. The faculty in the School of Public Affairs offer a professional graduate program leading to the Master of Public Administration degree. Courses are offered in the evenings to fit the scheduling needs of working students. The diversity of the school’s program offerings accommodates both preservice students and midcareer public administrators. State and local government internships are available to those with no previous public sector experience. Students work with faculty on the school’s active research and publications program, including public policy reports and other community service projects for state and local governments in Arizona.
The school also administers the interdisciplinary Doctor of Public Administration program under the auspices of the Graduate College. Faculty of the School of Public Affairs participate in offering this degree program.
The School of Justice Studies. The School of Justice Studies provides an interdisciplinary social science perspective for studying law and justice, crime and delinquency, dispute resolution, gender justice, racial and ethnic minorities and the law, and social and economic justice. Its faculty have academic backgrounds in anthropology, criminology, history, law, philosophy, political science, psychology, public administration, and sociology.
Faculty in the School of Justice Studies also participate in offering the Doctor of Public Administration degree. The school administers the interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Justice Studies under the auspices of the Graduate College.
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
Graduate degree programs as shown in the “College of Public Programs Graduate Degrees, Majors, and Concentrations” table are offered by the faculty within the college.
One of the unique features of an interdisciplinary program is that, because it uses faculty research and teaching interests from a number of academic units, a student may tailor a course of study to fit individual needs and goals.
| Major | Degree | Administered by |
| Communication | M.A. | Department of Communication |
| Communication Concentrations: communicative development, intercultural communication, organizational communication | Ph.D. | Committee of Faculty |
| Justice Studies | M.S.1 | School of Justice Studies |
| Justice Studies Concentrations: criminal and juvenile justice; dispute resolution; law, justice, and minority populations; law, policy, and evaluation; women, law, and justice | Ph.D.2 | Committee on Law and Social Sciences |
| Mass Communication | M.M.C. | Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunication |
| Public Administration Concentrations: public information management, public management, public policy analysis and evaluation, urban management and planning | M.P.A. | School of Public Affairs |
| Public Administration | D.P.A.2 | Committee on Public Administration |
| Recreation Concentrations: outdoor recreation, recreation administration, social/psychological aspects of leisure, tourism and commercial recreation | M.S. | Department of Recreation Management and Tourism |
| 1 | Graduate students in the School of Justice Studies and the Department of Anthropology are able to pursue a concurrent M.S. degree in Justice Studies and M.A. degree in Anthropology. |
| 2 | This program is administered by the Graduate College. See “Graduate College.” |
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Admission requirements of all advanced degree programs within the college are connected with those required by the Graduate College. In addition, individual units may require further supporting materials such as letters of recommendation, scores on the Graduate Record Examination or the Miller Analogies Test, statements of educational and career goals, and writing samples. Applicants should refer to requirements specified by the academic unit under each degree program in this catalog.
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Concurrent M.A. in Anthropology and M.S. in Justice Studies. Graduate students in the School of Justice Studies and the Department of Anthropology may pursue a concurrent M.S. degree in Justice Studies and M.A. degree in Anthropology with a concentration in social-cultural anthropology. The purpose of the program is to prepare individuals with combined, complementary knowledge and skills for basic and applied research, and administrative and educational activities related to both disciplines. Students must be admitted separately to each program, following the guidelines established by the Graduate College, Department of Anthropology, and School of Justice Studies. Additional information on concurrent degrees may be obtained from the respective academic units.
Other research and service programs within the college include the Center for Urban Studies, the Morrison Institute for Public Policy, the Office of Hazard Studies, the Media Research Program, and the Advanced Public Executive Program, which provides training leading to certification as a public manager.
Concurrent Ph.D. in Justice Studies/J.D. The purpose of the Ph.D. in Justice Studies/J.D. is to provide a rigorous education for highly qualified students interested in pursuing academic careers in law, law and the social sciences, or law and philosophy.
COLLEGE FACILITIES
Microcomputer training and remote site terminal access are available to students in all programs within the College of Public Programs. Academic units provide facilities, equipment, and support for student research, including laboratory space, computer terminals connected to the mainframe computer, and personal computers for individual student use. Also refer to the description of computing facilities and services.
Broadcast laboratories within the School of Journalism and Telecommunication have the latest in-studio and ENG-EEP equipment, and provide facilities for performance, writing, and the other necessary broadcast skills.
ADVISING
Advising of graduate students is normally handled by senior faculty members within the academic unit under the direction of a graduate faculty or committee. Once admitted, students are typically assigned a temporary faculty advisor in the potential areas of specialization who will assist in planning a course of study. For those degree programs requiring the completion of a thesis, a chair and thesis supervisory committee are selected by the director of graduate studies, in consultation with the student, and appointed by the dean of the Graduate College.
ACCREDITATION
The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Telecommunication is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC). The Master of Public Administration program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration. The School of Justice Studies is a member of the American Association of Doctoral Programs in Criminal Justice and Criminology.
1998–99 Graduate Catalog Table of Contents
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