Soon, students pursuing a master’s degree in political science will be able to add communication or business administration to their degree.

T. Daniel Griffiths, vice provost for Research and Graduate Programs, has announced final approval for two new joint graduate programs — one in political science and communication, the other in political science and business administration.

The two programs were born out of the realization that political science complements communications and business administration, said Ana Garner, associate dean for graduate studies in the College of Communication.

“We realized that there is enough of an overlap that students could go through both programs essentially at the same time and it allows for a true interdisciplinary approach to each field,” she said.

Craig Pierce, director of Graduate Admissions, said the programs meet a “real, though small, demand.” He said does not expect to programs to have high enrollment numbers initially, but said he expects them to grow with time.

One major perk of the new programs is that students can earn a master’s degree in political science as well as a master’s in communication or a master’s of business administration in less time than it would take to earn each degree on its own.

“The way each program works is you end up saving about a year compared to if you had pursued both degrees separately,” said Lowell Barrington, assistant professor of political science and assistant chair and director of graduate studies.

Students enrolled in these new programs will be able to obtain both degrees and save a year because of cognate courses. Cognate courses count for both programs — a sort of overlapping that allows certain courses to count for credits in each program. Nine political science credits will count toward a student’s communications masters and vice versa. In the political science and MBA program, nine of the 40 credits required for an MBA will come from political science courses and nine of the 30 credits required for a master’s in political science will come from business administration courses.

Another favorable aspect of the new programs is that a student can enroll in one of them and plan to pursue both degrees, but later can opt to study only one if they lose interest or find the workload too heavy, Garner said.

Holding a master’s degree in political science in conjunction with a master’s in communications or business administration will help students find employment, according to Barrington.

“Because you’re getting a fuller understanding of the topics related to these fields, you’re more likely to land a job,” Barrington said.

Garner identified campaign work, international reporting and public relations as three examples of the jobs graduates of these programs could pursue and said that there are many jobs in communication and business fields that require “a solid understanding of the political arena.”

Although these new programs allow students to earn their degrees in less time, they do not decrease the credits students are required to take to earn their degrees. Nor do they waive them of any requirements.

“It’s not a shortcut to either degree,” Barrington said. “You still have to meet the degree requirements of each degree.”

The new programs are based on university rules and regulations that already existed and represent a coordinated effort to have students take cognate courses, according to Barrington.