NCA's Doctoral Program Guide

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University of Minnesota, Department of Communication Studies

The University of Minnesota's Department of Communication Studies continues a rich heritage of teaching and research that began in 1914 under the leadership of Frank M. Rarig and H. B. Gislason. Today, with 14 faculty members, about 50 graduate students, and over 600 undergraduate majors, the department pursues a wide range of interests including: the criticism of public discourse, interpersonal communication, language and gender, small group communication, discourse analysis, intercultural communication, mass media studies, feminist and African-American rhetoric, communication theory, and rhetorical theory.

Association of American Universities Member

 

Carnegie "Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity"

 

Communication doctorates conferred between 2010-19: 122

 

Areas of Study

  • Feminist Media Studies
  • Communication and Social Movements
  • Environmental Communication
  • Critical Cultural Communication
  • Rhetorical Studies
  • Interpersonal and Organizational Studies
  • Critical Media Studies

Rankings

QS World University Rankings—Communication & Media Studies

  • #51-100 of 200 World Universities

URAP University Rankings—Language, Communication & Culture 

  • #38 of 300 World Universities

Admission Requirements

  • Writing Sample
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Transcripts of Prior Education
  • English Language Proficiency for Non-Native Speakers

Graduate Faculty

  • Professor Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, Ph.D., University of Minnesota
  • Professor Ronald Walter Greene, Ph.D., University of Illinois
  • Assistant Professor Atilla Hallsby, Ph.D., University of Georgia
  • Professor Dean E. Hewes, Ph.D., Florida State University
  • Associate Professor Susanne M. Jones, Ph.D., Arizona State University
  • Assistant Professor Zornitsa Keremidchieva, Ph.D., University of Minnesota
  • Professor Ascan F. Koerner, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
  • Assistant Professor Kate Lockwood Harris, Ph.D., University of Colorado
  • Professor Laurie Ouellette, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts
  • Professor Mark Pedelty, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
  • Associate Professor Gilbert B. Rodman, Ph.D., University of Illinois
  • Professor Catherine Squires, Ph.D., Northwestern University
  • Associate Professor Mary Douglas Vavrus, Ph.D., University of Illinois
  • Assistant Professor Emily Winderman, Ph.D., University of Georgia

NCA Awards Received by Faculty and Students, 2000-present

  • Ecroyd Award for Outstanding Teaching in Higher Education, 2010
  • Diamond Anniversary Book Award, 2003, 2009
  • Miller Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award, 2002, 2008
  • Golden Anniversary Monograph Award, 2005
  • Golden Outstanding Student Essay in Rhetoric Award, 2015
  • Winans-Wichelns Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Rhetoric and Public Address, 2009
  • Woolbert Research Award, 2013, 2016