Program Options

Students in the Ph.D. program in communication, information, and library studies may elect to focus their study in any of the following areas:

• Communication 
• Library and Information Science
• Media Studies 

Communication (COM) reflects faculty research and scholarship focusing on five interrelated core areas: communication and technology; health communication; interpersonal communication; language and social interaction; and organizational communication.  Students in this area conduct problem-oriented research at the intersection of these areas that focuses on a variety of prominent contemporary topics, such as social networks, social media, online privacy and anonymity, children's media use, community health programs, health campaigns, doctor-patient interaction, family involvement in palliative care, global teams, organizational change, corporate social responsibility, and institutional leadership. Multiple centers and labs provide various opportunities for doctoral students.

Library and Information Science (LIS) provides a strong academic foundation for students seeking theoretical and research skills for scholarly and professional leadership in the library and information fields. LIS offers concentrations in information science and library science. Information science focuses on information behavior and systematic responses to it. Students in this area develop an understanding of and research capability in human information-seeking activity, information retrieval systems, and information and knowledge structures. Library science concentrates on electronic as well as physical libraries and information centers as part of a diverse global information environment. The concentration considers the design, management, and evaluation of information systems and services responsive to users' information and cultural needs.

Media Studies (MS) is concerned with the political, social, psychological, and economic impact of the media, as well as with the cultural and historical conditions that give rise to contemporary media. The area includes the study of both the traditional mass media and newer electronic technologies and telecommunications. Research and coursework cover media content and effects; audience reception and interpretive processes; the emergence of audiences understood in terms of race, age, gender, class, and politics; the sociology and production of culture; communication law, regulation, and policy; and the media's roles in political and international communication and in educational systems.

The program encourages students whose interests fall across these three areas to develop an individual plan of study in consultation with the program director, area coordinators, and their adviser.