Communication Arts, Ph.D.

Program Overview

The University of Wisconsin in Madison's Communication Arts graduate programs offer doctoral degrees in Communication Science, Film, Media and Cultural Studies, and Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture. These programs focus on research and scholarship, providing students with opportunities to specialize in areas such as social influence, computer-mediated communication, film history, and media studies. Graduates are prepared for careers as independent researchers and scholars in their respective fields.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin in Madison has a long-standing legacy as one of the world's leading centers for study and research in communication. The graduate programs in communication arts are designed to educate research scholars who can attain doctoral degrees and work independently in their fields, contributing to human knowledge.

Outline:

Communication Science

Focuses on interpersonal interactions, group and organizational dynamics, information exchange, persuasion, and other influence processes in various social contexts. As a flexible and tailored program, it offers opportunities for students to develop fluency in two of the following areas:

Social influence

Interpersonal interactions, both online and offline, as well as group and organizational dynamics. Examines information exchange, persuasion, and other influence processes in various social contexts.

Computer-mediated communication

Individuals' uses of the media with digital, interactive, and networking features, as well as the effects of such usage on self, relationships, group dynamics, and other social processes.

Human development and communication

Communication in relation to life cycle, focusing on life cycle patterns in the means and modes of communication, as well as the effects of communicative engagement and media usage of youths and aging.

Political communication

Patterns and effects of communication, both face-to-face and mediated, on the democratic process. Examines how communication shapes the public sphere, how public deliberation over political issues takes place, and how the media may be related to civic and political engagement.

Film

Engages in study of film history, theory, and criticism through intensive critical analysis of individual films; research into the primary documents of filmmakers and the film industry and the construction of theoretical models of film forms and styles, national cinemas, film genres, and the economics of the film industry. The program underscores the connection between film studies and film practice. Courses in film production enhance understanding of motion picture history, theory, and criticism by revealing the practical decisions filmmakers confront.

Media and Cultural Studies

Focuses on the study of media in their historical, economic, social, and political context. Courses examine the cultural forms created and disseminated by media industries and the ways in which they resonate in everyday life, on the individual, national, and global level. The program draws on a broad range of cultural theories.

Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture

Involves the exploration of discourse to understand its role in shaping social forces, significant themes, trajectories, and transformations in politics and society. Courses delve into power, digital media, citizenship, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, globalization, religion, inclusion and exclusion, social status, and marginalization. In this program, the study of discourse encompasses three areas: discourse, theory, and method.