How to Apply - Communications Studies

If you are accepted into the Comms Studies program, you will also be admitted to the School of Communications. The mission of the School of Communications is to become “a consecrated community of disciples, scholars, and mentors who strive to walk in the meekness of Christ’s spirit, as we inspire learning through love, faith, and service that prepares each Child of God to share light and hope with the world.”

Being part of a consecrated community means there are expectations that apply to everyone: faculty, staff, and students (see Elder Paul Pieper’s recent devotional titled BYU: Building a Community of Trust and Respect). Please note, that if you accept an invitation to join the School of Communications you are indicating your willingness to abide by the expectations and standards of our School of Communications community. Your standing in the program will be contingent on your willingness to comply with these policies. You will be expected to be in compliance with all three policies throughout your time in the program.

The School of Communications Professionalism Policy: https://comms.byu.edu/a-statement-on-professionalism
The BYU Honor Code: https://policy.byu.edu/view/church-educational-system-honor-code
BYU Dress and Grooming Standards: https://honorcode.byu.edu/dress-and-grooming

The School of Communications is governed by certain resource realities, such as number of instructors, classroom space, computer laboratories, and class size requirements. Additionally, these professional emphases require hands-on learning and smaller class sizes. Students in these emphases produce media content in the form of newspapers, broadcasts, advertising, and public relations campaigns. To ensure the quality of learning and to sustain the quality of content in our public outlets, the university has allowed the faculty to limit the number of majors admitted into the program. Because the demand on the school’s programs exceeds the available resources, the school has implemented an admission process that limits enrollment on those programs.

Students may apply to more than one emphasis at the same time; however a separate application must be submitted for each emphasis. Students must rank the applications to indicate their first, second, or third choice. Students may apply to the Communications major a total of two times. This means that you can apply to more than one emphasis during one application period but may only apply to the major twice.

The emphases allow some flexibility in your course schedule. However, where prerequisite courses are involved, accreditation rules preclude us from waiving prerequisites or allowing courses to be taken out of sequence. These courses represent what we consider to be important preparation for more-advanced classes.

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Declare yourself a Pre-Communications student

Students MUST be declared Pre-Communications to apply to the major. To change your major, go to MyMAP, click “Change Major Request”, and submit an online request.
You MUST also be an admitted BYU continuing day student in order to apply to the program. Please be advised that according to University policy, students must select and declare a major by the time they have 60 earned BYU credit hours (excluding language exam credits). Once a student has 75 earned BYU credit hours (excluding language exam credits), they will not be allowed to change their major unless special permission is granted.
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Take the prerequisite courses
Students must take the following courses and receive a B or higher in each (a B- will not meet this standard). Typically, there are no exceptions to this rule. Under normal circumstances, students may repeat each course only once to earn a higher grade. However, students who took one of the prerequisite courses during the Winter 2020 semester that was disrupted by the novel coronavirus pandemic had the option of taking a pass/fail grade instead of a letter grade at the end of the semester. Because of these unique circumstances, students who opted to take a passing grade for any prerequisite class in which they were enrolled during Winter 2020 will be allowed to apply. Meeting the minimum standard requirements does not guarantee admission to any school emphasis.
WRTG 150 or Advanced Writing Requirement**
Communications 101: Mass Communication and Society
Communications 238: Introduction to Communications Studies
** Our WRTG 150 requirement must be fulfilled by WRTG 150, ELANG 150, M COM 320, an Advanced Written and Oral Communication GE course (WRTG 311, 312, 313, 315 or 316) or an equivalent transfer course (Transfer classes from other universities must be cleared by the advisement center prior to applying to the program). We do not accept AP English credits or English 115.
These courses are typically offered each semester and term. Some courses are also offered through BYU Independent Study and at the Salt Lake Center. Prerequisite courses from other universities or colleges, other than Comms 101 or an advanced writing course, are not transferable.
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Prepare your application

Students MUST upload a PDF of their Full Progress Report as part of the application process. The Academic Summary by itself, or an official transcript, will not be accepted and will cause your application to be invalidated. For information on how to find this report, please click here.
Credit Information
Preference for admission will be given to all students with fewer than 75 BYU earned credit hours (excluding language exam credits.) Pre-Comms students with more than 75 BYU earned credit hours (excluding language exam credits) may apply to the major but may not be admitted.
Please direct any inquiries regarding your credits to the advisement center.
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Submit your application letter(s)

As part of the application process, you are expected write a letter to the Comms Studies faculty explaining why you want to be a Comms Studies student, your plans after graduation and your previous experience in communications. Keep your letter to one-page, single spaced, 12-point font. Be authentic, be strong, and be true to your sincere desire to be in the program.
*The School of Communications strongly encourages all applicants for all sequences to maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA. If your GPA does not currently meet the 3.0 recommendation, please upload a 1-2 page letter that formally addresses your action plan to raise and maintain your GPA during your time in our program.
Action items could include (but are not limited to) awareness in study habits, scheduling, increased organization, increased student-professor consultations, etc.
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Submit your online application
The Comms Studies program application is now open all year! However, you may not apply until you have completed your intro classes (Advanced Writing, Comms 101 and Comms 238) and receive a "B" grade or better. Your grade must show up on your progress report in order to apply to the program.
The application will have three review periods when the faculty will look at submissions and admit students to the sequence.
For 2024 the application dates will be:
January 4 - Application closes for students who wish to start Winter or Spring/Summer semester. Students will be notified of decisions January 5.
February 15 - Application closes for students who wish to start Spring/Summer or Fall semester. Students will be notified of decisions February 16.
August 15 - Application closes for students who wish to start Fall or Winter semester. Students will be notified of decisions August 16.
Students whose applications miss the these periods, will have their applications assessed at the next review period.
This new application process will eliminate the Bridge semester for all students.
Once you are admitted, you will receive a letter from your new sequence coordinator outlining the orientation procedures and giving you information regarding the classes you should register for.
Please contact the School of Communications at (801) 422-2997 or at comms_secretary@byu.edu if you have any questions.
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Attend an orientation meeting

If you are admitted to the Comms Studies program, you are required to attend an orientation meeting. You will be informed of the time and location of this meeting in your admissions decision email. If you do not attend the meeting, you may lose your place in the program.