Graduate Programs
When it comes to advanced degrees, we run the gamut. Among our 12 master’s programs is the highly competitive M.F.A. in Creative Writing, where faculty members include internationally-acclaimed poets and novelists. And among our five doctoral programs, the Ph.D. in Rural Sociology is the oldest doctoral program in the South, first awarded in 1926. Its focus — on poverty, population, and the challenges of serving more people with fewer resources — has never been more relevant. Our first interdisciplinary doctoral program — the Ph.D. in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media — allows students to explore the inter-relationship between digital technologies and written, oral and visual communications. Our Ph.D. in Public History reflects our think and do approach in preparing future leaders in the scholarship and practice of public history. Note: Application to graduate programs is processed by the NC State Graduate School.
Featured Graduate Programs
Graduate Areas of Study
Ph.D. Programs
Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media
Ph.D. in Communication, Rhetoric and Digital Media (CRDM): an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program offered jointly by the departments of communication and English
Psychology
Ph.D. in Psychology: offers five areas of concentration that lead to a Ph.D. degree — lifespan development psychology, human factors and applied cognition, psychology in the public interest, industrial-organizational psychology and school psychology.
Public Administration
Ph.D. in Public Administration: prepares graduates to teach and research in public management and other related fields. Concentration areas include human resources, budgeting and finance, organizational behavior, public management, environmental policy, criminal justice, information technology and urban administration.
Public History
Ph.D. in Public History: prepares graduates to work in a variety of public and applied history settings, including museums, parks and historic sites.
Sociology
Ph.D. in Sociology: offers an intellectually stimulating and supportive environment that prepares future teachers, researchers and professionals for careers in a variety of fields. The program offers six areas of specialization: sociolinguistics; food and environment; family and life course; crime, deviance and social control; inequality: class, race and gender; and work and the global economy.
Master’s Programs
Anthropology
Master of Arts in Anthropology: enables students to gain a deep understanding of the behavior, beliefs and evolutionary legacy of the human species. Focus areas include cultural anthropology, forensic anthropology and skeletal biology.
Communication
Master of Science in Communication: provides graduate-level expertise for solving problems in modern organizations and social systems from a communication perspective.
Creative Writing
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (fiction or poetry): provides students of superior ability in imaginative writing the opportunity to develop skills and critical judgment.
English
Master of Arts in English: offers concentrations in English and American literature, linguistics, composition, film studies and world literature. Advanced licensure for public school teachers is also available. The department also offers an M.S. in Technical Communication and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing.
Foreign Languages and Literatures
Master of Arts in Foreign Languages and Literatures: offers concentrations in French language and literature and Spanish language and literature.
History
Master of Arts in History: prepares students who are interested in pursuing a doctoral degree in History or teaching at the high school and community college level. This program is also ideal for mid-career professionals who simply love history. The department also offers an M.A. in Public History.
International Studies
Master of International Studies: allows students and professionals in government, business and non-governmental organizations to accelerate or refocus their careers to meet the demands of a global society and marketplace.
Liberal Studies
Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS): an interdisciplinary program with individually designed concentrations. Students undertake a broad program that integrates and expands knowledge, and is geared to personal interests
Public Administration
Master of Public Administration (MPA): prepares students to be effective and responsible managers in public and nonprofit agencies. This program suits both pre-service students with no prior professional experience and in-service administrators.
Public History
Master of Arts in Public History: prepares graduates to work in a variety of public and applied history settings, including museums, parks and historic sites
Social Work
Master of Social Work (MSW): prepares students for practice that is sensitive to the social, economic, cultural demographic and political contexts that shape our state and beyond.
Technical Communication
Master of Science in Technical Communication: prepares professional communicators for advanced positions in industry and research organizations.
Certificate Programs
Digital Humanities
Certificate in Digital Humanities: allows degree or non-degree seeking graduate students to design a curriculum of interdisciplinary study at the forefront of digital methods in the humanities.The graduate certificate in digital humanities allows degree or non-degree seeking graduate students to design a curriculum of interdisciplinary study at the forefront of digital methods in the humanities.
Nonprofit Management
Certificate in Nonprofit Management: provides students with the basic management knowledge and skills needed to succeed in nonprofit organizations. This 15-credit program also exposes students to the fundamental aspects of nonprofit advocacy, analysis and policy.
Professional Communication and Managerial Skills
Certificate in Professional Communication and Managerial Skills: provides students with a set of courses that will enhance their understanding of management and communication principles. This certificate enables students to transfer their achievements in the laboratory to success in their organization and in the global marketplace.
Public Policy
Certificate in Public Policy: prepares students of any discipline to become effective analysts and advocates for realistic, effective and responsible public policy. This 12-credit program can be completed as a stand-alone certificate or as an additional credential to other graduate studies.
All graduate admissions are handled through the NC State Graduate School. For more information, visit http://www.ncsu.edu/grad/future-students/
1926
The Ph.D. in rural sociology, first awarded in 1926, is the oldest doctoral program in the South.
Visit the department homepage.
