BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Communication Studies has entered a joint agreement with the Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) to provide graduate students from Malaysia the opportunity to study at UAB.

Through the agreement, five students from UUM are taking research methods and communication management courses offered through the UAB Department of Communication Studies. The students will study at UAB for one year before returning home.

The students' tuition is being paid for by the Malaysian government, said James C. McCroskey, D.Ed., the department's scholar-in-residence who arrived at the idea for the joint agreement after speaking at UUM nearly two years ago. Research methods aren't often taught in Malaysia, and taking the courses at UAB will make it easier for the Malaysian students one day to publish in Western academic journals, McCroskey said.

"The joint agreement will lead to new teaching and research opportunities for our own students and faculty," says Virginia Peck Richmond, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Communication Studies. "The experience also is raising our intercultural knowledge, and it's a chance to see the Malaysian perspective on different topics in communication studies."

The UUM students are Zuraidah Abu Talib, Herman Anuar, Jamilah Jamal, Rafeah Mat Satt and Alminnourliza Noordin.

About the UAB Department of Communication Studies

The UAB Department of Communication Studies offers bachelor and graduate degrees in communication management and bachelor degrees in mass communication with specialization in journalism, broadcasting and public relations.