PROGRAM ADVISING AND PLAN OF STUDY
Ideally, initial or temporary faculty advisers may be assigned to students when
they begin the program based on research interests; if not, one's adviser for the first year is the area coordinator in that student's
primary area of study. The initial adviser, in consultation with area
faculty and the program director if needed, works with students to
develop a preliminary plan of study which includes schedules for
completion of necessary prerequisite and required courses, and for
transfer of master's degree credits.
In the second semester
(ideally prior to course registration for the third semester), each
student should select an adviser to guide her or him in their remaining
coursework and through the qualifying exam process (this may in many
cases be the initial adviser assigned, if both student and
faculty member agree to that). The student and this program adviser
develop a plan of study designed to prepare the student for qualifying
exams and dissertation research in the student's chosen area of study.
Advisers
must be full members of the Ph.D. program
in communication, information, and media (CIM) faculty. Advisers shall also keep track
of their advisees and meet with them regularly, at least once prior to each course
registration period, and more frequently as needed. It is, however, ultimately the student's
responsibility to stay in close contact with his or her adviser. The
advising relationship is one of the most important aspects of graduate
education.
Annual Review of Student Progress
All students are encouraged to involve themselves with faculty research as early as possible with multiple and varied research experiences. Doctoral students are required to attend program-sponsored colloquia, regularly held on Wednesday afternoons throughout the academic year. Students are encouraged to also take advantage of the many additional colloquia, conferences, lectures, symposia, and workshops scheduled each year, not only at SC&I, but throughout the university, and at the many other fine research universities in the surrounding metropolitan area. As an additional part of one's doctoral preparation, students are expected to actively submit to and present at various regional, national, and/or international scholarly conferences relevant to their research and to publish their work in appropriate scholarly venues.
The faculty of the Ph.D. program meets each spring semester to review the progress of all
students in the program. This review of student progress is conducted
initially by members of the faculty within the student's area of study.
The executive committee of the Ph.D. program (director and area
coordinators) and other interested faculty will also meet to discuss any
problematic situations at a program-wide review.
Prior to the review, all
students in the program must meet with their advisor and submit a copy of the
annual review and individual development plan form (due usually on April 1st).
This information is used not only to assess student progress, but also to identify
future goals and develop plans and strategies for achieving stated professional
pursuits. Doctoral Student Annual Review and Individual Development Plan Forms
are submitted online https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/phd-program/handbook.html
(click on Annual Review and Individual Development Plan Form in bullet list).
One goal of the
annual review is to assure that each student is making expected progress
in fulfilling program requirements. Key measures of expected progress
include:
- Quality and focus of coursework, including grades
- Minimal
number of incompletes, which are taken care of quickly
- Selection
of and contact with a primary adviser
- Formation of committees
for qualifying examination and dissertation
- Timeliness in
completion of requirements (for coursework, qualifying examination, proposal, and dissertation research)
- Involvement
in scholarly activities (e.g., conference submissions/presentations)
- Additional
expectations for teaching assistants, graduate assistants, and fellows as set by funding departments
The
program director and area coordinators are responsible for
informing students of the results of the annual review, including
faculty recommendations/requirements for resolving difficulties in
making progress as expected.
An
annual letter is prepared and sent to each of the students.
CONFERENCE TRAVEL SUPPORT AND REPORTING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Two markers of progress beyond coursework and program
milestones are your participation at various international, national, and
regional conferences and other accomplishments (grants, publications, guest
lectures, etc.). The program would like to both support and recognize those.
Travel:
Students may apply for travel funds from both the SGS and the CIM Ph.D.
program, via the same form and submitted online. This happens three times per year, one week prior to Nov. 1, March 1, and June 1. The program office will announce deadlines for receipt of travel requests and forms must be submitted online (with complete information, including a statement about the importance of the conference to the student's professional development). Those decisions are made within two weeks and students notified of any amounts received soon afterwards.
To apply one must be an
author
on a paper, panel, or poster accepted for a scholarly conference (applications may be submitted no more than six months before the conference and no more than two months after the conference).
Accomplishments:
To better promote the activity that you as doctoral students are doing, all
students are asked to list any scholarly activity (e.g., conference
presentations and posters, invited talks, fellowships received, submitted grant
proposals, publications, honors/awards, etc.) in their annual review form. We
use these reports to feature you in various venues where the CIM Ph.D. program
is being promoted. In addition, please send the note on your accomplishments
for schoolwide distribution to this email address: pr@comminfo.rutgers.edu. It is
important to submit information when you have activity to report. If you share
an accomplishment with a faculty member or another student here in SC&I,
only one of you needs to submit it. You will find the published annual lists of
student research accomplishments on the CIM Ph.D. program website at: https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/academics/graduate/phd-program/dissertations-and-accomplishments.
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS WITH OTHER PROGRAMS/UNIVERSITIES
The Inter-University Doctoral
Consortium is open to doctoral students from participating schools who have
completed at least one year of full-time study toward the Ph.D. The consortium
accommodates students only in the arts and sciences and in the field of
education. Students may, with the required permissions, attend courses at any other
participating school as part of their home school registration. The program
permits up to two courses that may count toward degree requirements at these
other schools. For more information and relevant forms, contact the Rutgers SGS. Participating schools are:
Columbia University, GSAS
CUNY Graduate Center
Fordham University GSAS
Graduate Faculty, New School University
New Jersey Institute of Technology
New York University, GSAS
Princeton University - The Graduate School
Rutgers University, School of Graduate Studies
Stony Brook University
Teachers College, Columbia University
University of Pennsylvania
Additionally, we have a double-degree program available between students interested in organizational communication and organization management. Contact the program office for
additional details.
Ph.D. Program in Communication, Information, and Media 
