The University of Alabama’s online graduate offerings use different learning and completion structures. This profile concerns the Tuscaloosa university, with library/information and communication/media programs researched here.
Choose the academic work, then the university route
The general MLIS, the MA in Communication Studies and the MA in Journalism & Media Studies are distinct credentials. Information-service work, organizational communication and journalism/media study can overlap, but the required core and final work determine the learning. Start with a concrete activity you want to perform and ask how the curriculum develops it, rather than choose among them by a generic promise of leadership.
Understand the route and completion work
Concentrations and completion choices are not counted as separate master’s degrees. The MLIS has options involving different professional questions. The current Communication Studies specialization is a curated 30-credit sequence with a final capstone; Journalism & Media Studies describes a project or examinations rather than a thesis. Ask what each route requires, how it is supervised and what prior preparation supports it.
Check the actual online commitments
The MLIS cohort is an important format example: the university describes live virtual meetings, often in evening scheduling. It should not be labeled unrestricted asynchronous study. For the other degrees, confirm the exact course interaction, deadlines and any physical or practical requirements. A remote location for coursework does not answer every question about time, support or completion work.
Prepare for the correct admissions process
Use the current program and Graduate School instructions together. A program welcoming different undergraduate majors can still require academic evidence and supporting materials. A nondegree summer option should not be assumed to guarantee later admission or the application of every credit. Obtain the formal decision required for your route before reducing time or cost in a comparison.
Compare a complete financial scenario
The researched library and journalism pages display a tuition-per-hour figure, but a tuition rate alone is not a complete degree price. Verify the applicable academic year, mandatory fees, materials and any practical or travel expenses. Keep the 36-credit MLIS, 30-credit Communication Studies route and 31-credit Journalism & Media Studies route on their own correct bases.
Accreditation and professional scope
UA Online’s state-authorization information identifies SACSCOC as its accreditation agency. Check institutional status and any programmatic scope separately. If your intended role involves school-library or another professional credential, use the exact pathway disclosure and the relevant authority’s requirements. Do not extend one state’s pathway description to every jurisdiction or to every concentration.
Use the official program pages to confirm current requirements before applying. Keep unresolved price, preparation, attendance and professional questions with your shortlist. A directory profile is a research aid; the university and relevant professional authorities make their own decisions.
The federal figures below describe the matched institution and reported fields of study. They are separate from our reviewed online master’s program facts.
Matched federal reporting entity: The University of Alabama (100751)
The University of Alabama The curated institution and the selected federal reporting entity match by exact name/campus,existing ID where present,and official domain. Metric populations and years still require separate interpretation.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Retrieved November 3, 2026 22:24 UTC. Latest available figures may describe different reporting years and cohorts.
Federal institution ID
100751
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0100
Graduate enrollment, institution-wide
6,457
Undergraduate enrollment
33,227
Undergraduate annual tuition, in-state
$12,484
Undergraduate annual tuition, out-of-state
$35,342
Undergraduate annual tuition is not the price of an online master’s degree. Federal admission, completion, debt and earnings measures describe defined cohorts, not an individual’s future result. Missing or suppressed values are not zero.
Choose a category or search field names, definitions and reported values. All returned fields remain available in the paginated explorer and complete downloads, including missing values. “Latest” can combine different reporting years. The retrieval date is not the cohort year.
58 matching data elements · Page 2 of 2.
College Scorecard fields, values and definitions
Data element
Reported value
Source field
Carnegie Classification — Institutional Classification Definition and coverage
Published dictionary most-recent cohort mapping: AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. This mapping is not confirmation of the API’s update date.
Explicit dictionary VALUE/LABEL code table; codes are not quantities.
16 — Professions-focused Undergraduate/Graduate-Doctorate Large
school.carnegie_inst_class
Carnegie Classification — Student Access and Earnings Definition and coverage
Carnegie Classification — Student Access and Earnings
Published dictionary most-recent cohort mapping: AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. This mapping is not confirmation of the API’s update date.
Explicit dictionary VALUE/LABEL code table; codes are not quantities.
5 — Lower Access, Higher Earnings
school.carnegie_access_earnings
Carnegie Classification — Research Activity Designation Definition and coverage
Carnegie Classification — Research Activity Designation
Published dictionary most-recent cohort mapping: AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. This mapping is not confirmation of the API’s update date.
Explicit dictionary VALUE/LABEL code table; codes are not quantities.
1 — Research 1: Very High Spending and Doctorate Production
school.carnegie_research
Carnegie Classification — Institutional Size Definition and coverage
Carnegie Classification — Institutional Size
Published dictionary most-recent cohort mapping: AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. This mapping is not confirmation of the API’s update date.
Explicit dictionary VALUE/LABEL code table; codes are not quantities.
5 — Very Large
school.carnegie_inst_size
Carnegie Classification — Award Level Focus Definition and coverage
Carnegie Classification — Award Level Focus
Published dictionary most-recent cohort mapping: AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. This mapping is not confirmation of the API’s update date.
Explicit dictionary VALUE/LABEL code table; codes are not quantities.
5 — Undergraduate/Graduate-Doctorate
school.carnegie_award_focus
Carnegie Classification — Undergraduate Academic Program Mix Definition and coverage
Carnegie Classification — Undergraduate Academic Program Mix
Published dictionary most-recent cohort mapping: AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. This mapping is not confirmation of the API’s update date.
Explicit dictionary VALUE/LABEL code table; codes are not quantities.
2 — Professions-focused
school.carnegie_ug_program
Carnegie Classification — Graduate Academic Program Mix Definition and coverage
Carnegie Classification — Graduate Academic Program Mix
Published dictionary most-recent cohort mapping: AcadYr 2025-26, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26. This mapping is not confirmation of the API’s update date.
Explicit dictionary VALUE/LABEL code table; codes are not quantities.
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