Ph.D. in Communication

Are you excited about the possibility of influencing the field of communication through original research and dedicated to helping students navigate this rapidly changing field? If so, the faculty in the School of Communication is experienced in guiding doctoral students through the process of building a career in communication research and teaching and is eager to share that experience with you.

Program Emphases

The Ph.D. program offers two emphases: mass communication and speech communication. The general requirements of each are identical. The primary differences between the two emphasis areas are the (1) nature of the courses you take, (2) different faculty members traditionally associated with each, and (3) emphasis area distinction itself, which may be of importance based on your career plans.

The mass communication program has in recent years been our largest and is designed for students interested in studying mass communication theories and effects, research, and institutions, including training in research design, data analysis, and statistics.

The speech communication program is designed for students interested in the academic study of communication, emphasizing speech and rhetoric, as well as the methodological and analytical skills needed for producing scholarship in the area.

Career Opportunities

As a research-oriented institution, The Florida State University is committed to preparing the next generation of communication scholars. Therefore, we place an emphasis on preparing doctoral students to conduct significant, original research in her/his area of expertise and to teach communication in a university or college setting. Depending on individual career goals, however, graduates of our doctoral program should also be qualified to hold management positions in a communication or research organization, as well as to consult in media, research, or marketing.

Program Structure

The typical student in our Ph.D. program in communication completes or participates in:

• 66 credit hours of graduate coursework, including a minimum of 12 hours in an outside cognate area;
• supervised teaching experiences, usually including an opportunity to teach undergraduate communication courses;
• supervised research experiences, with individual professors or as a part of a research team, often resulting in academic conference presentations and scholarly publication submissions;
• an ongoing graduate research colloquium and professional development series;
• preliminary examinations after coursework; and
• an original, independent, and significant dissertation project, requiring a minimum of 24 credit hours.

Please see the Ph.D. Courses page for more information.