Students that gain admission into our competitive PhD program come from all over the world. We pride ourselves on having a supportive and collaborative approach for PhD students rather than one of intense competition. Our program provides opportunities for teaching, research, funded conference travel, and career development through fostering collaboration with our award-winning faculty. While most begin as graduate teaching assistants, we also provide opportunities for you to excel to the role instructor of record and/or as a graduate research assistant when possible. We provide training and resources for developing your competence as a teacher. While your coursework and dissertation prepare you to develop rigorous, theoretically-grounded research and scholarship with impact. Our small class sizes provide students regular access to faculty in the classroom as mentors and as research supervisors. Graduate students can receive funding for tuition, insurance, and a salary stipend through teaching and research assistantships. Our students may take courses and work with faculty who have expertise in:
Science Communication: Examines theories, processes, audiences, and methods to enhance the communication of science in areas of health, environment, agriculture, and more. See our Center for Science Communication.
Strategic Communication: Focuses on strategies and issues in the disciplines of advertising and public relations. Includes audience research, persuasion, crisis communication, and public diplomacy.
Storytelling, Media, and Democracy: Focuses on journalism practices, storytelling, storylistening, and media behaviors, attitudes, and ownership structure.
Digital Culture and Identities: Examines the production of personal identities and cultural movements in digital spaces. Research includes performance and performativity theories, immersive technologies, game studies, technocultural discourse, digital narrative analysis, and persona studies.
