Communication Programs at the University of Louisville
The University of Louisville appears in our ranking of the Top 20 Best Online Communications Degree Programs.
One reason for the success of its communications programs is that The University of Louisville actually offers two options for undergrads. Those students can enroll in a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. Both of these programs are online options that allow students to earn their degrees while living anywhere in Kentucky or in any other state. Online students can participate in Louisville’s study abroad program and earn credit while studying in a different country.
The Bachelor of Arts in Communication program that the university offers asks that online students take at last 36 credits of upper level and lower level communication classes. They will also need to take all the required general education courses that other students take. Though its Bachelor of Science in Communication program features many of the same classes, students in this program will take more math, science and research courses. All online students can do internships through the university too. U of L offers students the chance to find internship opportunities in their own cities and regions.
U of L also offers a Master of Arts in Communication for graduate students. This program features 13 credits of foundation classes, nine credits of electives and three credits from different disciplines that include interactional communication, integrated communication, and social policy advocacy. Foundation courses in this program include Ethical Problems in Communication, Quantitative Methods in Communication and Communication Theory & Practice. Students can do a thesis and earn up to six credits based on the research and work they do on a final paper that they present to their professors. The university also offers this program without a thesis requirement. Instead of doing a thesis, students can take a practicum and another elective.
About University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is the largest public university in the Louisville regional area. Often called U of L, the university has a strong reputation for its athletic programs and especially for its men’s basketball team. Those teams use the Cardinals name in competition. Established in 1798, U of L ranks as one of the oldest colleges in the nation. The school originally opened as the Jefferson Seminary and offered both college classes and high school classes. It later dropped its high school curriculum to focus more on college students. This new curriculum helped enrollment at the university grow and led to the school becoming a university and added more programs at the bachelor’s level and at the upper education levels.
U.S. News & World Report ranks U of L within the top 200 of all American colleges and also considers the university selective. It accepts less than 80% of the students who apply at the undergrad level. Both Forbes and Washington Monthly include U of L on their own lists of the best schools in the country.
U of L has a large campus in a metropolitan area of Louisville and a Health Sciences campus in downtown Louisville that is home to all its medical and health programs. The university also operates a campus in Panama and owns its own observatory. With an enrollment of more than 16,000 undergrads and nearly 6,000 graduate and doctoral students, the University of Louisville ranks as one of the largest colleges in Kentucky.
University of Louisville Accreditation Details
U of L operated as a university for several decades before seeking regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Some of the other accreditations that the university holds come from the American Dental Association, National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and National Association of Schools of Music.
University of Louisville Application Requirements
The U of L application for undergrads is available online. Prospective students must create an account, verify that they have a valid email address and sign into the system with the username and password selected to work on the application. They can either submit a fee waiver when sending in the application or pay the $25 fee. Undergrads must also submit both an official test score and a transcript. The transcript must come from the student’s high school and list a grade point average and class ranking. Students can submit either an ACT or an SAT score.
Graduate students will use a similar application, but their application also asks them about any of the professional experience they have in the field they want to study and where and when they finished a bachelor’s degree. There is a $65 fee due at the time that the student submits the application, but U of L also offers waivers for those applying to a graduate program. Graduate students must also submit an official GRE score and official transcripts from any of the schools they attended and earned college credit from in the past.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The online communications programs available from U of L charge students $497 per credit hour. As full-time students take 12 credits each semester, they pay close to $6,000 per semester. U of L offers a tuition discount for active duty military students that reduces their tuition down to $250 per credit hour. Students who participate in the National Guard and similar military organizations may also qualify for this same tuition break. The tuition rate for graduate students starts at $681 per credit hour, which is the university’s in-state tuition rate. Students coming from outside of Kentucky must pay a nonresident rate when taking classes on the Louisville campus.
Both graduate students and undergrads can apply for financial aid. The University of Louisville recommends that students complete the FAFSA by the beginning of the spring term. Undergrads can enroll in the university’s work-study program and work for the university, but they can also use grants and loans. The university also offers scholarships for undergrads. Graduate students often use unsubsidized loans from the federal government as well as alternative loans from other lenders. The University of Louisville offers assistantships for graduate students also.