Communication students at Hope have new fast-track to master's

Mitchell Boatman, Holland Sentinel
·2 min read

HOLLAND — A new agreement between Hope College and Western Michigan University will give communication students an accelerated pathway to a master’s degree.

Students earning a bachelor’s degree in communication at Hope can now take advantage of the “4+1 Accelerated Graduate Degree Program” to earn a master’s from WMU. The program will save a year of classes — and tuition — for those enrolled.

“We’re excited about giving students the opportunity, through five years, to be part of two world-class programs,” Hope College President Matthew Scogin wrote in a release. “It’s symbolic of what I would like to see more of at Hope ... these kinds of partnerships giving students a very clear pipeline to world-class programs after Hope."

A new agreement between Hope College and Western Michigan University will give communication students an accelerated pathway to a master’s degree.
A new agreement between Hope College and Western Michigan University will give communication students an accelerated pathway to a master’s degree.

To participate, Hope students must first be accepted into the master's program at Western’s School of Communication. They'll be able to transfer up to six credits from selected 300-level courses and gain an additional six credits by examination.

Students complete the remaining 18 credit hours in one year at WMU. They'll be eligible to apply for teaching assistantships while enrolled at WMU, according to the release.

More: Hope College, Western Theological Seminary partner for accelerated degree program

“Hope College, renowned as one of our finest private liberal arts colleges, has prepared its graduates well for the rigors of pursuing a graduate-level degree at Western,” wrote WMU President Edward Montgomery.

Hope’s communication major allows students to choose from seven focus areas — corporate communication, global communication and peace studies, journalism and writing for media, media production and criticism, organizational communication and leadership, relationship communication, and rhetoric and public advocacy.

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Around 50 students graduate from Hope with a communication major each year. There are currently 147 students majoring in communication at Hope, along with 44 pursuing minors.

The program with WMU is Hope’s second accelerated degree partnership. In 2022, Hope and Western Theological Seminary established the “Vita Scholars Program” which allows students to earn a bachelor’s degree from Hope and Master of Divinity from WTS in five years instead of the typical seven.

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Communication students at Hope have new fast-track to master's