Program Admission

Prerequisite(s): At least one English Composition course with a minimum grade of "B+" (3.33/4.33).

Standard Admission

• Prerequisite(s).
• Arts or Science undergraduate degree.

Flexible Admission

• Prerequisite(s).
• Applicants who do not meet our standard admission requirements may be assessed through our Flexible Admission process. Under flexible admission, the combination of work experience, education, and professional development is assessed. Applicants must show evidence of having sufficient knowledge, skills and abilities to complete a demanding academic course of study at a master's level and have significant professional communication experience.

  As a general guideline:

• Applicants without an undergraduate degree, but more than three years (90 credits) of communication related post-secondary education, should have at least two years of related work experience.
• Applicants with 2-3 years (60-90 credits) of communication related post-secondary education should have at least five years of communication related professional experience in a leadership role.
• Applicants with less than two years of communication related post-secondary education should have at least ten years of high-level professional communication experience including leadership and management positions.

Additional Recommendations for Admission
When applying through standard admission, experience is considered an asset but is not a requirement for study in this program. However, preference will be given to applicants with work experience in the field of communication.

Applicants being considered through Flexible Admission may receive a request to submit a digital portfolio of your previous work, learning and accomplishments (e.g. written work, project management, consulting work, etc.) in the field of applied communication.

A course available from Continuing Studies at Royal Roads University that meets this prerequisite requirement is:

• Introduction to Academic Writing and Critical Thinking - website: Continuing Studies - Academic Preparatory

Application Requirements
Please follow the standard university requirements with the exception of the following program-specific requirements:

Personal Statement
Your personal statement should be at least a three-page letter indicating your motivation for seeking entrance to the program. Your statement should comment upon your personal and career goals, the expectations you have for the program in relation to the achievement of your goals, and the strengths you feel you can bring to the program. If you are seeking equivalency for some part of the required years of university/college study, please expand upon why you think your life and work experience and/or related formal education and courses merit adjudication under the Flexible Admission process.

Letters of reference
Your application requires two letters of reference. Ideally, these letters speak to your academic potential, your professional expertise and your personal attributes.

The preferred letters of reference are academic references and professional references.  Personal letters of reference are accepted but are considered less significant than academic or professional references.

Academic letters of reference should attest to your academic achievement, study skills, teamwork, leadership potential, human relations, flexibility, communication and technical skills.

Professional letters of reference assess your current or previous performance in your career. The letter can address areas such as communication skills, interpersonal and leadership skills, management potential, and work ethic.

Personal character letters of reference should indicate the length of time and context in which the writer has known you and address areas such as communication skills, interpersonal and leadership skills, management potential and work ethic.

Structured Resume
Your structured resume should include the following:

Education
List all post-secondary education, degrees, diplomas, and certificates you have achieved.

Work Experience
Training and Professional Development:  List career related training and professional development programs completed with the past five years.  Include the source of training, and the duration and year completed. List other training and personal development programs not already identified

Voluntary/Unpaid Work Experience
List and describe any voluntary/unpaid post-secondary employment and/or community service experience. Please include the name of the organization, length of service, and a brief description of duties. List positions you have held in these.

Information Technology Training and Experience
Briefly describe your level of training and experience in the use of information technology including computers, software and telecommunications networks as tools for business, education, teaching and personal use.

English Language skills
List English (and related) courses completed, which will also appear on your official transcript(s). Include any other experience of written or spoken English (e.g. published writing, prizes and awards, debating club membership, etc.) that may assist us in adjudicating your application for admission.

Professional Memberships/Affiliations: List memberships and positions you hold or have held in professional associations, service clubs, community and volunteer sector.

Portfolio (on request)
When a portfolio is requested, you should include digital samples (disk or flash drive) of completed work such as projects you have managed, reports, published writing, syllabus outlines of courses you have taught, etc. A portfolio is especially useful for those applicants who have career experience but lack the formal requirements for admission and wish to apply through our Flexible Admission process.