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Graduate Program

Communication Graduate Students Fall 2023

The Department of Communication is recognized for its overall excellence in graduate education.

Program Highlights

  • Ranked as a top 5 program offering a doctoral degree in Communication according to Academic Analytics 2017.
  • Among the top 12 PhD granting-institutions to receive NCA and ICA top convention paper awards in five different divisions. 
  • Features six different research emphasis areas.
  • Faculty maintain high research standards, and their work can be found in top journal including Journal of Communication, Communication Research, and Communication Monographs.
  • Faculty serve as editors of Management Communication Quarterly and Journal of Applied Communication Research.
  • Faculty and graduate students are responsible for teaching students in one of the fastest growing majors on campus.

The goal of our department is to create an environment where our students acquire and hone the skills to become top researchers and scholars in the Communication discipline.

Doctoral (PhD) Program

Our PhD program is a research-intensive program where students become experts in communication scholarship, reporting original findings in their specific focus area of study. Our PhD program aims to prepare future faculty members with superior research and teaching experience. We have a 95% completion rate of PhD students enrolled in the program. We have a 100% job placement rate at both research- and teaching-focused institutions as well as in government and private sector positions.

Doctoral Program Learning Objectives

  1. Demonstrate mastery of key theories, concepts, and canonical research in the communication discipline.
  2. Design, execute, and disseminate original research that builds or extends theories of human communication and contributes to the knowledge base of the communication discipline.
  3. Demonstrate effective presentation skills to communicate complex ideas and research findings to academic and lay audiences.

Master’s (MA) Program

Our Master’s program is housed in a research-intensive program where M.A. students work alongside PhD students. The program prepares students for future scholarship endeavors while equipping students with tools that are transferable to the workplace.

Master's Program Learning Objectives

  1. Demonstrate mastery of key theories, concepts, and canonical research in the communication discipline.
  2. Design, execute, and disseminate original research that builds or extends theories of human communication and contributes to the knowledge base of the communication discipline.
  3. Demonstrate effective presentation skills to communicate complex ideas and research findings to academic and lay audiences.