Application and Admissions

Fall 2023 Application

Current TCU students who would like to apply should plan to complete the online application. Students must have completed at least one semester at TCU and have a TCU GPA to be eligible.

Click or tap here for the online application, which will be available from 8 a.m. Monday, Sept. 18, to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, 2023.

Students will need to have PDF copies of their unofficial transcript and resume to include with the application. These documents will be collected along with an essay and creative writing exercise that will be completed in the application.

More information about admission to the major

In 2012, a new admission process for Strategic Communication was put into place. Admission to the major requires multiple steps and admission is competitive. Students with more than 80 college credits will not be admitted to the major, whether internal or external transfers, because course sequencing in the major requires at least five long semesters to complete.

To be considered for admission to the Department of Strategic Communication, students must complete all of the following, based on their current student status:

INCOMING FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS: Entering first-year students, once admitted to TCU, may declare the major prior to the start of Orientation sessions and be directly admitted to the major in only the fall semester if they meet the following requirement: They must have completed no hours at TCU (except for hours awarded for AP or IB courses, or dual-credit hours awarded in high school through another university or college).

INTERNAL TRANSFER STUDENTS: An internal transfer student is one who is currently enrolled in another degree program at TCU. These students must have a 2.5 minimum overall TCU GPA (and should have a 3.0 GPA to be competitive). If you would like to receive a reminder about the next application sessions, please email Meghan Sanderson at m.sanderson@tcu.edu to be placed on an information list.

EXTERNAL TRANSFER STUDENTS: The TCU Office of Admission makes the decision on all transfer applicants. To be considered for provisional admission to the Strategic Communication major during the first semester after admission to TCU, students should have at least a 3.0 transfer GPA from a four-year institution and a 3.25 GPA from a two-year institution. If this GPA is in place and spaces are open in the gateway courses (STCO 23113 or STCO 23123) in the first semester, students may enroll in these courses after they have met with an academic adviser in the program and have read and signed the ethics and professionalism statement.

Unless otherwise indicated, potential internal transfer students should plan to:

  1. Complete the online application when it is open during the first six weeks of each long semester. (Contact the program’s main office at stratcomm@tcu.edu or visit schieffercollege.tcu.edu/stratcomm/ to determine dates for the online application for upcoming semesters.)
  2. As part of the application, students will:
    a. Complete a Personal Creative Narrative about reasons for selecting the Strategic Communication major and another creative assignment, written in the application.
    b. Read and sign the Ethics and Professionalism Statement for the Department of Strategic Communication, and complete a basic information form for the department records.
  3. Submit an application that includes PDF copies of a resume and unofficial transcripts verifying the GPA (for internal and external transfer students only); the Personal Creative Narrative and creative assignment; the Ethics and Professionalism Statement for the Department of Strategic Communication; and the basic information form for the department records.

After admittance to the major, students must earn a C or higher and a combined 2.5 GPA in the two introductory courses, STCO 23113 and STCO 23123, before enrolling in additional strategic communication courses. Additionally, students must also complete MATH 10043 Statistics or INSC 20153 (or equivalent) with a C- or higher before enrolling in many of the advanced courses requiring this prerequisite. Students must earn a C or higher in each strategic communication course counted toward major degree requirements.

In the event of a formal appeal concerning the application process, the chair of the Department of Strategic Communication will appoint three faculty members in the department to review the appeal and report to the chair.