ADVANCE Program Milestones:
All ADVANCE students must adhere to the following requirements. For Milestones #1-#3, failure to meet these milestones will prevent a student from matriculating to Mason and/or result in termination from ADVANCE. For Milestones #4-#7, failure to meet these milestones may delay matriculation to Mason.
1. Students must complete their 91³Ô¹Ï degree within 4 years of being admitted into ADVANCE. Students are highly encouraged to be continuously enrolled at 91³Ô¹Ï/Mason to support progress towards degree completion.
2. Students must maintain a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA at 91³Ô¹Ï and must have a minimum 2.5 GPA upon matriculation to Mason.
3. Students who wish to enroll at Mason for the fall semester must apply for 91³Ô¹Ï spring graduation by March 1 or summer graduation by June 1. Students who wish to enroll at Mason for the spring semester must apply for 91³Ô¹Ï fall graduation by October 1.
4. Students must begin developmental coursework no later than the first semester in ADVANCE at 91³Ô¹Ï.
5. Students must take first college-level MTH course and ENG 111 in the semester immediately following the completion of any MDE or EDE courses (excluding summer).
6. In the first 30 credits, students must complete ENG 111 and ENG 112 with a C or better.
7. Students must complete a Mason Core Quantitative Reasoning course equivalent with a C or better no later than one semester before 91³Ô¹Ï graduation. Refer to your pathway to select the appropriate MTH course(s).
A.A. Liberal Arts Communication Studies Major
| 91³Ô¹Ï | MASON | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91³Ô¹Ï Degree Requirement | 91³Ô¹Ï Course | Credits | Transfer to MASON As | MASON Degree Requirement |
| SDV Course | SDV 100 College Success Skills or | 1 | UNIV 100 | General Elective |
| SDV 101 Orientation to XXX | UNIV 100 | |||
| ENG 111 | ENG 111 College Composition I1 | 3 | ENGH XXX | General Elective |
| World Language #1 | Any World Language/ASL Course Sequence 101 or | 3-4 | GMU Equivalent | CHSS For. Lang or General Elective |
| Any General Education Elective (if placed out of World Language) | 3-4 | GMU Equivalent | ||
| Humanities/Fine Arts | PHI 100 Introduction to Philosophy or | 3 | PHIL 100T | CHSS Phil/Reli |
| PHI 111 PHI 111 Logic or | PHIL 173T | |||
| PHI 220 Ethics and Society or | PHIL 151T | |||
| REL 100 Introduction to the Study of Religion or | RELI 100 | |||
| REL 237 Religions of the East or | RELI 212 | |||
| REL 238 REL 238 Religions of the West | RELI 211 | |||
| MTH 154 or MTH 155 or higher | MTH 154 Quantitative Reasoning or | 3 | MATH 106 | Quantitative |
| MTH 155 MTH 155 Statistical Reasoning2 | MATH 106 | |||
| CST 100 or CST 110 | CST 100 Principles of Public Speaking or | 3 | COMM 100 | Oral Comm |
| CST 110 Introduction to Human Communication | COMM 101 | |||
| ENG 112 | ENG 112 College Composition II1 | 3 | ENGH 101 | Written Comm |
| World Language #2 | Any World Language/ASL Course Sequence 102 or | 3-4 | GMU Equivalent | CHSS For. Lang or General Elective |
| Any General Education Elective (if placed out of World Language) | 3-4 | GMU Equivalent | ||
| Humanities/Fine Arts (This elective must be taken at Mason if total language credits are 15 or more - Please see your ADVANCE Coach) | ART 100 Art Appreciation or | 3 | ARTH 101 | Arts |
| ART 101 History of Art: Prehistoric to Gothic or | ARTH 200 | |||
| ART 102 History of Art: Renaissance to Modern or | ARTH 201 | |||
| CST 130 Introduction to Theatre or | THR 101 | |||
| CST 151 Film Appreciation I or | ENGH L372 | |||
| MUS 121 Music in Society | MUSI 101 | |||
| Social/Behavioral Sciences #1 | ECO 201 Principles of Macroeconomics or | 3 | ECON 104 | Soc/Behav |
| ECO 202 Principles of Microeconomics or | ECON 103 | |||
| GEO 210 People and the Land: An Introduction to Cultural Geography or | GGS 103 | |||
| PLS 135 U.S. Government and Politics or | GOVT 103 | |||
| PSY 200 Principles of Psychology or | PSYC 100 | |||
| PSY 230 Developmental Psychology or | PSYC 211 | |||
| SOC 200 Introduction to Sociology or | SOCI 101 | |||
| SOC 211 Cultural Anthropology | ANTH 120 | |||
| CST 229 | CST 229 Intercultural Communication | 3 | COMM L305 | Major |
| ENG Literature | ENG 225 Reading Literature: Culture and Ideas or | 3 | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | Literature |
| ENG 245 British Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| ENG 246 American Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| ENG 255 World Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| ENG 258 African American Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| ENG 275 Women in Literature or | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| Any 200-Level ENG Literature course3 | ENGH 202 or FRLN L330 (ENG 255 only) | |||
| World Language #3 | Any World Language/ASL Course Sequence 201 or | 3-4 | GMU Equivalent | CHSS For. Lang or General Elective |
| Any General Education Elective (if placed out of World Language) | 3-4 | GMU Equivalent | ||
| HIS Course #1 | HIS 101 Western Civilizations Pre-1600 CE or | 3 | HIST 101T | Global History |
| HIS 102 Western Civilizations Post-1600 CE or | HIST 102T | |||
| HIS 112 World Civilizations Post-1500 CE (recommended) | HIST 125 | |||
| Science Course #1 | BIO 101 General Biology I or | 4 | BIOL 103/105 | Nat Science |
| CHM 101 Introductory Chemistry or | CHEM 103 | |||
| ENV 121 Foundations of Environmental Science or | EVPP 108/109 | |||
| GOL 105 Physical Geology or | GEOL 101/103 | |||
| GOL 111 Oceanography I or | GEOL 120/121 | |||
| PHY 100 Elements of Physics | PHYS 103 | |||
| CST 114 | CST 114 Survey of Mass Media | 3 | COMM 202 | Major or General Elective |
| World Language #4 | Any World Language/ASL Course Sequence 202 or | 3-4 | GMU Equivalent | CHSS For. Lang or General Elective |
| Any General Education Elective (if placed out of World Language) | 3-4 | GMU Equivalent | ||
| CST 115 or Transfer Elective | GEO 220 World Regional Geography or | 3 | GGS 101 | CHSS Soc/Behav & Non-Western |
| SOC 211 Cultural Anthropology | ANTH 114 | |||
| CST 126 or Transfer Elective | Communication Studies Concentration: | 3 | Major or General Elective | |
| CST 115 Small Group Communication | COMM 201 | |||
| CST 126 Interpersonal Communication | COMM L385 | |||
| Journalism Concentration: | ||||
| CST 228 Writing Across Media | COMM 203 | |||
| Public Relations & Strategic Communication Concentration: | ||||
| CST 221 Public Relations | COMM 204 | |||
| Advocacy Concentration and Digital Production & Media Studies Concentration: | ||||
| (Any transferrable course) | ||||
| CST 201 | CST 201 Introduction to Communication Theory | 3 | COMM 200 | Major |
| HUM 298 | HUM 298 Seminar and Project - Liberal Arts | 1 | GENL XXX | General Elective |
| Total Credits: 60-62 | ||||
For academic policies and procedures, please see 91³Ô¹Ï catalog - http://www.nvcc.edu/catalog/index.html
B.A. Communication
Concentrations: Communication Studies; Journalism; Digital Production & Media Studies; Advocacy; Public Relations & Strategic Communication
| MASON Degree Requirement Sequence | Course | Credits | MASON Core/Degree Equivalent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concentration Requirement | COMM 200 Communication Theory (if not taken at 91³Ô¹Ï) or | 3 | Major | |
| COMM Concentration Coursework4 | ||||
| Concentration Requirement | General Elective (See: Advisor ) | 3 | General Elective | |
| Gen Ed: Written Communication (Upper-level) | ENGH 302 Advanced Composition | 3 | Written Comm | |
| Concentration Requirement | Upper Level COMM Concentration Coursework4 | 3 | Major | |
| Concentration Requirement or General Elective | Upper Level COMM Concentration Coursework4 or | 3 | Major or General Elective | |
| Upper Level General Elective or Minor (See: Advisor as some requirements may double count) | ||||
| General Elective or Minor Course | Upper Level General Electives or Minor (See: Advisor as some requirements may double count) | 3 | General Elective | |
| Concentration Requirement | Upper Level COMM Concentration Coursework4 | 3 | Major | |
| Concentration Requirement | Upper Level COMM Concentration Coursework4 | 3 | Major | |
| Concentration Requirement | Upper Level COMM Concentration Coursework4 | 3 | Major | |
| General Elective or Minor Course | Upper Level General Electives or Minor (See: Advisor as some requirements may double count) | 3 | Major | |
| General Elective or Minor Course | Upper Level General Electives or Minor (See: Advisor as some requirements may double count) | 3 | Major | |
| Core Course | COMM 300 Foundations of Public Communication | 3 | Writing Intensive | |
| Core Course | COMM 400 Research Methods in Communication | 3 | Major | |
| Concentration Requirement | COMM Concentration Coursework4 | 3 | Major | |
| General Elective or Minor Course | Upper Level General Electives or Minor (See: Advisor as some requirements may double count) | 3 | Major | |
| Communication Electives | Upper Level COMM Electives (Excludes COMM 100 and 101)4 | 3 | Major | |
| Communication Electives | COMM Concentration Coursework or COMM Electives (Excludes COMM 100 and 101)4 | 3 | Major | |
| Gen Ed: Apex | Approved Apex Course5 | 3 | Apex | |
| Recommended: | ||||
| COMM 457 Communicating Dissent: Revolutions and Social Movements6 or | 3 | |||
| COMM 459 Argument and Public Policy6 or | ||||
| COMM 454 Free Speech and Ethics6 | ||||
| General Electives | Upper Level General Electives (See: Advisor) or Minor (See: Advisor as some requirements may double count) | 3 | General Elective | |
| General Elective or Minor Course | General Electives or Minor (See: Advisor as some requirements may double count) | 0-3 | Major | |
| Total Credits: 120 | ||||
*Denotes a course that must be taken at George Mason University while attending 91³Ô¹Ï. Failure to complete your co-enrollment course(s) while attending 91³Ô¹Ï can significantly affect your timeline for Mason graduation. Please see your ADVANCE Coach for more information and to enroll.
Important Academic Information:
1Students who complete ENG 111 after Spring 2024 will earn ENGH elective for ENG 111 and ENGH 101 for ENG 112.
2Students who plan to take MTH 245 should take MTH 154 or MTH 161 first. Credit will not be awarded for both MTH 155 and MTH 245.
3200-level ENG literature classes include: ENG 225, ENG 230, ENG 236, ENG 237, ENG 245, ENG 246, ENG 250, ENG 255, ENG 256, ENG 257, ENG 258, ENG 271, ENG 275, and ENG 279.
4For approved COMM Concentration Coursework, COMM Electives, and COMM Inquiry courses, please visit -
https://catalog.gmu.edu/colleges-schools/humanities-social-sciences/communication/communication-ba/#requirementstext.
5For approved Mason Core courses, please visit - https://catalog.gmu.edu/mason-core/.
6Can double count towards concentration or COMM elective requirement.
Additional General Notes & Resources:
• Students pursuing this degree must complete 39 credits within the major, with a minimum grade of 2.00 in each course. Of the 39 credits applied to the major, no more than 10 credits may be from courses listed in the Degree Requirements. In addition to 12 credits of core courses, students take 21 credits of courses in a concentration and 6 credits of additional communication courses. Of these last 27 credits, at least 12 credits must be at the 300-400 level, no more than 6 credits may be in COMM 450 Internship in Communication, and no more than 3 credits may be in COMM 452 Media Production Practicum. COMM 479 Digital Media and Web Design Capstone cannot be used toward the major.
• No more than 3 credits of 100-level RECR courses may apply towards the degree.
• For academic policies and procedures, please see Mason catalog - https://catalog.gmu.edu/policies/ .
• Students seeking a bachelor's degree must apply at least 45 credits of upper-level courses (numbered 300 or above) toward graduation.
General Education Waiver Policy and Guidance:
• Students who complete a VCCS transfer associate degree (AS, AA, or AFA) will receive a waiver of the Foundation and Exploration (lower division) Mason Core general education categories, which can be found here: https://catalog.gmu.edu/mason-core/. To be eligible for the waiver, the students must provide the Mason Office of Admissions with a final, official transcript reflecting the degree conferral date. As a prerequisite for ENGH 302, ENGH 101 is not waived. Students must complete ENGH 100 or ENGH 101, or an equivalent, with a C or higher.
• When a course fulfills a Mason Core requirement and a major or college requirement (e.g. Major & Quant), students must complete the course listed on the pathway to fulfill the major/college requirement. Courses that fulfill only Mason Core Foundation and Exploration categories are recommendations. In most pathways, ADVANCE students must complete a Quantitative Reasoning course to matriculate through ADVANCE.
• ADVANCE students must complete the associate degree indicated on their pathway (see the ADVANCE Program Milestones listed above). Students who withdraw from ADVANCE and transfer without the associate degree or UCGS are required to complete each Mason Core general education category.