PHD, Communication Studies

Degree Program Summary:

The Department of Communication Studies (formerly Speech Communication) offers programs leading to the MA and PhD degrees. Students focus on either an Interpersonal & Health or Rhetorical Studies track. The goals of graduate education in the Department of Communication Studies are to provide students with tools for generating new knowledge about human communication, to cultivate highly developed skills in transmitting knowledge about communication to various constituencies in need of that information, and to foster an attitude of eager inquiry and service. Graduate education in this Department is particularly founded upon the ideal that each advanced learner’s individual interests and talents can be recognized, nourished, and honed in a climate of rigorous study. Consistent with this ideal, the Department encourages graduate students to engage in individually tailored interdisciplinary study.

Students focus on either an Interpersonal & Health or Rhetorical Studies track. During their first year of study, students in the rhetoric track are required to take SPCM 8200, SPCM 8020 (1 hr.), and SPCM 8010 (3 hrs.) in the fall semester and SPCM 8300 in the spring, plus additional seminars. Students in the Interpersonal & Health track take SPCM 8500, SPCM 8020 (1 hr.), and SPCM 8011 (3 hrs.) in the fall semester and SPCM 8700 in the spring, plus additional seminars. Additional requirements for PhD candidates include:

• research skills,
• competence in two areas within communication,
• three hours of SPCM 8050,
• comprehensive examinations, and
• dissertation