Admission Requirements

Applications for the Master of Science in Health Communication online program are accepted year-round. Applicants will be reviewed for admission on the strength of their ability for graduate studies, based upon the following criteria:

• Show completion of a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university
• Complete the Boston University Metropolitan College and College of Communication MSHC Graduate School Application
• Submit official transcripts of all colleges or universities attended
• Present professional portfolio including:
  • Three professional letters of recommendation
  • Resume
  • Personal Statement - Write a narrative about your life. This should include information about your accomplishments, family, educational experience, and outside activities. Be creative rather than philosophic. Remember that you are writing for a reader who knows nothing about you or your background. (1,000 words maximum)
  • Professional Statement - Write an appraisal in clear declarative English of your experience in any area of communication or health (if any). Include what you expect from a career in health communication and why you chose to enter it. If you feel you do not have sufficient experience in the areas of communication or health, address what you expect from a career in  health communication and why you are choosing to enter it. (1,000 words maximum)
• A GPA of 3.0 (on a scale of 4.0) is preferred, but please contact an Enrollment Advisor at 1-877-674-9682 to further discuss your academic history.
• ALL international students (non-US citizens) must submit a three-minute video as described below. Students should state his/her name and intended major. They should then answer each of the following questions:
  • How do you plan to advance your community as a result of your study in the field of communications?
  • Discuss a significant person in your life and describe the ways in which you have been influenced (positively/negatively) and why.
  • If you were to describe where you grew up to someone who hadn’t visited there before, what would you highlight?
• Video should not exceed three-minute limit. The video may be in VHS, DVD or PAL format, OR as a video on a CD (Windows Media Player). It must be unedited and unscripted. Label should contain the student’s name and intended major.
• Students who have studied at a non-English speaking school must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Minimum scores from TOEFL tests:
  • Paper TOEFL (PBT) - minimum score 600
  • Computer based TOEFL (CBT) - minimum score 250
  • Internet Based Test ( iBT) TOEFL - minimum score 100
  • Since all four components of the iBT TOEFL test are critical to students in the Master’s of Science in Health Communication, we require the following of our applicants:
• Listening: 25 (max. of 30)
• Reading: 25 (max. of 30)
• Speaking: 25 (max. of 30)
• Writing: 25 (max. of 30)