Frequently Asked Questions
Below are questions that are asked frequently by students going through the IUT process for admission to CMCI. Please read below as most of your questions may be answered.
The minimum overall GPA to apply is 2.500. There is no petition process to apply with anything under a 2.500. You will be eligible to apply once you have raised your overall GPA to a 2.500 or above.
This can be a complicated question. If you are able to take additional coursework in the major, we will average all the courses in the major to reach to the minimum 2.500 in major coursework.
Here are some general guidelines:
- If you received a C/C- in the prerequisite course:
- If you are applying to Communication, Media Studies or Information Science, you can take additional lower-division courses in that department.
- If you are applying to Journalism or Media Production (Critical Media Practices), you may have the opportunity to take additional courses in the major on a space available basis after current majors have registered for courses.
- If you are applying to Strategic Communication (Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design), you will not be able to take additional APRD courses during the fall, spring and summer semesters. APRD courses will be available to non-majors in the summer semesters.
- If you received below a C-, it may be in your best interest to retake the course. All courses need to be at least a C- or better to count for the major. In terms of your application to CMCI, we would look at the second grade for admission purposes. You can also look at additional courses as stated in the guidelines above, however, there may be prerequisites in place that will prevent you from taking more courses with a grade below a C-.
You should apply to your intended major. No major is more competitive to get into than the others. Admission is based solely on meeting the minimum requirements for that major. If you meet the minimum requirements, then you will be admitted.
No, you should submit your application to your primary major choice. Once you are admitted, you can talk with your CMCI advisor to add the second major.
You should plan on at least 4 semesters once you have been admitted. If you plan to go abroad or are completing a double degree, it could be 5 or even 6 semesters. Our degree programs are not designed to be completed in less than 4 semesters.
Our IUT Coordinator has open advising appointments for students interested in transferring to CMCI. CMCI also has a peer advisor who can answer many questions about registration and can help you navigate your degree audit. You can find the open advising appointments and drop-in hours on Buff Portal Advising
In CMCI, we encourage our students to go wherever they want! There are a few programs that offer elective coursework in CMCI and a lot of our students gravitate towards those. The Education Abroad office in C4C works with our students to help them narrow down their choices for programs, so be sure to meet with an advisor there as you are planning your abroad semester.
What courses should you take? All of our students take upper-division electives or core classes (Historical Views and Diversity and Global Cultures) while they are abroad. Occasionally, there will a course offered that counts for our majors, and that should be reflected on the course approval list on the Education Abroad website.
Any student regardless of college can take the prerequisite courses for our majors (APRD 1003, JRNL 1000, MDST 1001 or 1002, COMM 1210 or INFO 1701 or 1111 or 1121). Here are some guidelines for courses beyond those listed above:
- If you are interested in Media Studies or Information Science, you can take additional lower-division courses in those departments.
- If you are interested in Communication, Journalism or Media Production (Critical Media Practices), you may have the opportunity to take additional courses in the major on a space-available basis after current majors have registered for courses.
- If you are interested in Strategic Communication (Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design), you will not be able to take additional APRD courses until you have been admitted to the major.
You can work on your core requirements, minor or double degree requirements or electives. For electives, if you are a junior or above, you should consider taking an upper-division course. This will help you meet the 45 hours of upper-division you need to graduate. For core classes, our IUT students are not required to take CMCI 1040 or 2030 and for the Computing requirement, you may want to hold off on it until you have been admitted.
Yes, it is. More specifically, CMCI requires that all students, regardless of major, complete a Secondary Area of Study. This can be done with a minor, double major or double degree. For all majors, except Journalism, it can also be completed with an academic certificate of at least 12 credit hours. Remember this is a graduation requirement, and will need to be completed in order to receive your degree in CMCI.
The only majors that require an internship are Journalism and Media Studies. Internships can be done in the other majors (except for Information Science) for upper-division elective credit. You can only receive credit for an internship if you have been admitted to CMCI and have met the appropriate prerequisites. Visit our internship website for more information.
All admission decisions will be made by the end of the first week of registration. In the Fall semester, students will be notified prior to or during the first week of November and in the Spring semester, students will be notified prior to or during the first week of April.
