Communications Programs at Indiana University East
Indiana University East appears in our ranking of the Top 20 Best Online Communications Degree Programs.
Many students today choose online classes over traditional classes because they want to do other things while in school. The online programs that IU East offers also appeal to students who work full-time or take care of families at home.
Though the university offers both a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies, both programs require that students complete at least 120 credits before they can graduate. At least 30 of those credits will come from general education courses. These courses ensure that students can handle the research and writing they must do at the college level.
Both programs ask students to choose a specialization in media, intercultural communication or relational communication. They will then take three classes from within that specialization. Students also 15 credits of advanced communication classes. Though the university allows students to pick the classes that they will take, they have a number of options, including Introduction to Public Relations, Introduction to Design and Production, Current Topics in Communication and Visual Communication. Students taking classes on the IU East main campus can work for the university’s newspaper.
IU East also gives students the chance to do an internship. It offers an Internship in Journalism as a traditional class that is worth three credits. Students can work for a local newspaper, television station or production facility. The university allows students to sign up for an internship in another field too. They can earn between three and six credits for their fieldwork. Indiana University East requires that all communication majors maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher in all the classes they take from within this major.
About Indiana University East
Indiana University East is one of the several smaller and regional campuses that make up the Indiana University system. Its name comes from the fact that it has a main campus in Richmond, which is in the eastern half of the state. The proximity of this campus to the state line led to a number of students from Ohio enrolling in its programs. Earlham College founded the campus in the 1960s as a joint venture with Indiana University, but both Ball State University and Purdue University later joined the venture and began offering their own classes on this campus. This campus went through multiple name changes in the coming years and served as a community college for several years. It is now a full university and a branch of Indiana University. Many call this campus IU East.
IU East is now home to seven schools and colleges that offer more than fifty degree programs for students. It also has its own honors program and something called IU Everwhere. IU Everywhere allows students to enroll in one graduate program or one of its three undergrad programs and earn their degrees through the university’s online system. The campus is also home to the Purdue University College of Technology, which offers joint degree programs from both schools. Students can take part in service learning programs and give back to those in need, but they can also participate in study abroad programs that let them take classes overseas.
Indiana University East Accreditation Details
Many students take classes at IU East and then transfer to one of the larger campuses in the IU system. Those students can easily transfer the credits they earned at this university because it has regional accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NSACS). NCACS accreditation also allows students to apply for the financial aid that they need to pay for college. IU East has specialty accreditation from a number of professional organizations and agencies that include the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.
Indiana University East Application Requirements
IU East allows students to use its website and sign up for a campus visit before they apply. Students applying to the university can use the online application. Incoming freshmen must submit transcripts that show they met the standards for finishing a college prep curriculum. This curriculum includes a total of 40 credits across disciplines that range from English and social studies to math and science. Students from other states must submit transcripts that showed they completed similar programs. All students must take other college prep classes in high school such as computer science or foreign language classes.
Though the university does not require that students earn a specific score on a standardized test, it does ask for an official test score from either the ACT or the SAT. Their scores must meet or exceed the minimum median scores for the state of Indiana. The transcripts they submit should also show that they graduated within the top 50% of their high school classes. Students can submit both their test scores and their transcripts before or after they finish working on their applications. Those who earned AP credits or other college credits while in high school must supply the university with proof of those credits too.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Not only does IU East have one tuition rate for Indiana residents and one rate for nonresidents, but it also has separate rates for distance education students. Any students enrolled full-time or part-time in an online program is a distance education student. The rate that Indiana residents pay is around $220 per credit hour. They pay the same rate to take classes online as they would to take classes on the university’s Richmond campus. Nonresidents pay around $615 per credit hour to take classes on the Richmond campus and around $315 per credit hour as an online student. Students living in western Ohio can apply for tuition discounts too.
Both online and traditional students attending IU East can apply for financial aid. The sooner that they submit the FAFSA, the sooner they will know how much aid they get and the faster they can get that aid. Aid for undergrads usually includes at least one subsidized loan and at least one government grant. Traditional students can also take part in the federal work-study program. Students may receive scholarships too. Indiana University East has counselors who can help students complete and file the FAFSA.