Degree Requirements
The Ph.D. program is designed to be completed in 4 years, and requires at least 60 credit hours beyond the master's degree. These hours will be in a planned course of study approved and overseen by the student's advisor and advisory committee.
The department currently offers three areas of concentration:
- Interpersonal Communication
- Organizational Communication
- Media and Society
Students with a master's degree in another discipline may be required to complete additional graduate course work in specific areas of communication deemed necessary by the student's advisor and advisory committee. Graduate work taken beyond the master's degree may be judged applicable by the advisory committee, but post-master's graduate credits beyond 9 semester hours will not count toward the 60 credit minimum required for the Ph.D.
Students are strongly encouraged to take all of the Summer Scholars courses and are required to take at least two.
Course Requirements
Core Courses (9 credits)
- COMM 701 - Research Design
- COMM 711 - Communication Theory
- One of three foundational theory courses based on student's focus area.
Content Concentration (at least 20 credits)
- Minimum of 15 credit hours in the department's 700-level courses in the student's major concentration area
- Minimum of 9 credit hours in the department's 700-level courses in the student's minor concentration area
Research Courses (at least 12 credits, exclusive of COMM 701)
- Minimum of 3 credit hours of research method courses
- Maximum of 6 credit hours of independent study
Dissertation (at least 15 credit hours)
