Be sure to visit the UIS Bookstore on the UIS campus to purchase commencement-related items.  Bookstore hours are posted online.

If you have an iCard, please bring it to Commencement to expedite check in. If you do not have an iCard, you can check in using your UIN and NetID.

Review proper etiquette for Commencement.

Your NetID will remain active for three (3) semesters after graduation. After that time, you will no longer be able to use your NetID to access email, Canvas, or other campus services such as Box, Office 365, etc. Please see the User Account Lifecycle for NetIDs policy for more information.

The First Destination Survey (FDS) is a national survey that is meant to gain knowledge about what activities students are engaging in after graduation from college. The information gained from the survey helps to determine institutional effectiveness and provides data for reporting needs, to enhance UIS academic offerings, and support career exploration for current and future students. Prior to commencement day, you will receive emails with additional information and be asked to complete the Outcomes Survey. By completing the survey, you will qualify to win a variety of prizes including iPads and gift cards. For further information, you may visit the UIS Career Development website.

Directions to the Bank of Springfield Center (where the commencement ceremonies will be held) can be found on the Visitors page. The University of Illinois Springfield campus is located at One University Plaza Springfield, IL 62703.

Information regarding parking near the Bank of Springfield Center can be found on the Visitors page.

Numerous events are being planned to help graduates celebrate. Special events will be scheduled for certain groups. Please be sure to check the Commencement homepage for more information.

PAR is an affordable, 10-month master’s degree program that trains students to become journalists who produce intelligent news coverage about government and politics. A new class begins every August. The program’s centerpiece is a six-month paid internship covering the Illinois General Assembly’s spring session for a professional news organization.

No.

PAR is the most time- and cost-efficient way to level up your journalism experience while also earning a master’s degree that will enhance your job prospects throughout your career. We offer these financial benefits for all PAR students:

• Tuition waivers during the spring and summer semesters
• Scholarships (priority consideration for students who submit an application by the April 1 ahead of the fall semester they wish to enter the program)
• A paid internship funded by the university, internship hosts and a generous grant from the Joyce Foundation.

First, fill out an online application. We’ll need writing samples, reference letters and college transcripts. Each applicant must complete a timed news writing test. If you demonstrate a strong desire to be a serious journalist and an ability to succeed in graduate school, you have a strong chance of being accepted to the program.

About 12.

We begin in August. Each student takes four courses during the fall semester: Advanced Public Affairs Reporting (PAR 501), Developing Public Policy in Illinois (PAR 510) and two graduate-level electives. Many students choose electives from Communication, Political Science or Legal Studies.

In January, students begin their Statehouse news internships (PAR 504). They also take one required course (Legislative Issues – PAR 503) and one more elective during the spring semester. The internship continues into the summer semester (PAR 505).

Students can depart PAR as early as June 1 if they’ve secured a job. The program officially ends June 30.

PAR partners with professional media organizations to provide state government news reporting positions for students. Internship hosts include newspapers, wire services, television stations and radio outlets. In November, students and internship hosts meet for a series of job interviews. The PAR director then matches each student to an outlet. Students work as journalists under the supervision and mentorship of the outlet’s bureau chief, editors or news director. Students’ work will be read, seen and heard by audiences throughout Illinois.

No. Instead of a thesis, PAR’s capstone requirement for a master's degree is a portfolio featuring a student’s best work from their internship, demonstrating a mastery in public affairs journalism.

We're close to 100 percent for each graduating class. If a student successfully completes the program, is ready to enter the workforce and is willing/able to be flexible with a job location, chances are excellent a job will be waiting for you. The results aren’t surprising, considering what PAR graduates bring to the table. The reporting internships provide students with published or aired work products to show what they did in the demanding environment of the Statehouse.

Students leave PAR prepared to step into the most demanding beats a newsroom has to offer, and hiring managers know it. That’s why editors and news directors call us looking for alums who might be available to fill openings. In fact, the callers are often PAR grads themselves.

“Full” admission requires the completion of all admissions requirements.

At a minimum, the application/fee and transcripts can be submitted. (Transcripts are required from every school attended.) This will result in “conditional” admission. Prerequisite courses may be taken as a conditional MBA student, but no MBA coursework is allowed until all entrance requirements are completed.

See a complete list of prerequisites in the course catalog.

When the MBA faculty review your application portfolio (including your undergraduate transcripts), your prerequisite deficiencies, if any, will be identified.

As a rule, prerequisite requirements need to be completed within the past 5 years. From time to time, exceptions are made based on the total content of the application portfolio.

To evaluate substantial managerial experience, faculty need your resume, statement of purpose and three reference letters. After these are reviewed, you will be notified of whether you qualify with experience or whether you will need a GMAT.

Letters can be from instructors, employers, professional peers or those who can evaluate your capacity to work at a graduate level. If you want the GMAT waived in place of substantial managerial experience and supervisory responsibility, ensure that these letters thoroughly document this experience.

If you include reference names and email addresses in your online application, the application will automatically email your references on your behalf.  References will be given a link to return letters that are posted to your application file.  In this case, you will not be able to see the content.  You will only know the letters have been received.  But you may retrieve your reference letters yourself and then upload them to your application file.  These letters you will be able to review. Either process is acceptable.

The application is completed online and the application fee is paid online. Once you begin the process, you are able to return to your file and upload other requirements.  Official transcripts should be sent to the UIS Office of Admissions.