Most of my peers in the Master's in Communication Management program seemed eager to get out into the industry and apply their newly-learned knowledge in practice. After all, the program is promoted as one for working professionals - I quote from the program site, "The Master of Communication Management program teaches concepts and skills relevant to today’s communication professional."
But what if you want to continue in academia and get into a PhD program? This post is for you! I just went through the PhD application process and am coming out the other end with pretty solid footing. I wanted to get my thoughts on the application process and how to best prepare for it out on paper while things were still fresh in my head.
Note: This post is oriented toward my colleagues in the master of communication management program, but most of it applies to anyone interested in applying for PhD programs in general.
Take Theory Oriented Classes
I'll be the first to admit that going in to the MCM program, I didn't really want to take theory oriented classes. With so many interesting classes on the entertainment industry and digital media in the program, it's easy to brush aside theory for the glitz and glam and 'practical'. The thinking goes something like, "Why listen to lectures and read about models and theories when you read about pop culture and design marketing campaigns and learn software?"
But if you want to go for your PhD, you need to learn theory, read journal articles, fall in love with APA (please don't gag), and write scientific papers. When it comes application time and you're writing your statement of purpose, the ability to speak the lingo, refer to the literature, and frame your interests in the context of extant theory will be critical.
So take theory-oriented classes! I know, it might sound a little dry, but it's fun, I promise! You eventually realize that having data and science to back up your ideas is great, it's like boom (Johnson & Johnson, 2010), bam (Vader & Sidious, 1970), kaboom (Bonnie & Clyde, 2004). And the real fun begins when you start connecting the dots in your head and realize how these theories apply in day-to-day life and to your own interests.
Which classes fall under 'theory-oriented'? I enjoyed CMGT510: Communication Values, Attitudes, Behavior; CMGT506: Images and Image Management; and CMGT583: Social Marketing and Entertainment Education. I can't speak to the rest of the curriculum, but when in doubt, ask your advisor.
Build Relationships with Tenured Faculty
Obviously, build good relationships with anyone and everyone, does that even need to be said? But the same way you would want to specifically network with high-powered industry professionals if you want an internship, if you want to go for your PhD, it is critical to build relationships with the high-powered executives of academia - tenured faculty.
It's easy to be intimidated at first about interacting regularly with professors. I've personally found that once you prove yourself by either doing awesome in their class or doing good work other projects, professors are incredibly easy-going, understanding, and appreciative of your talents. And as you get to know them, they will get to know you and answer any questions you have about academia, research, and more and introduce you to opportunities and people they believe you might find of interest. I've learned so much just by chatting with my professors and asking them random questions I have.
All this is good, because once you get around to applying to PhD programs, the support of professors is critical. Think about that episode of How I Met Your Mother where they talk about the Stamp of Approval. Letters of recommendation are exactly that. Doctoral admissions committees are looking for an endorsement of your aptitude as a scholar and character as a human being from other experts in the field who they are familiar with at a personal or at least professional level, and, as such, a solid rec stemming from a great relationship with a well-known professor can have a significant sway on your odds.
Oh, a completely valid question for those who aren't familiar with the structure of academia (I didn't quite understand myself until about a year or two ago): how do you identify tenure-track/tenured faculty? They're faculty with the title of assistant professor (tenure-track), associate professor, or professor.
Research Experience Matters
Building relationships with faculty will facilitate gaining research experience.
First, what exactly is research experience? Do I get to wear a lab coat and use a big baster to drop mysterious blue chemicals into a glass tube? (yes, that was my mental image at first, a confession to which my pre-med friend replied, "Danny, that makes no sense, you're in the social sciences.") At the most basic level, research experience when working for a faculty member entails doing any task for a faculty member that facilitates their research endeavors. Ideally, your relationship with your faculty mentor stems from a genuine interest in their area of research and leads to you working on projects you're really invested in. Some common, easy to visualize examples of tasks that fall under the umbrella of gaining research experience would be distributing questionnaires, going to a field location and making observations, or setting up a survey in Qualtrics.
But that's not to say your individual talents can't apply to research. I have never distributed surveys myself, and for me, a solid bit of my experience was gained performing graphic design to make data visualizations, research posters, and presentations; if you have cool talents, professors will notice and want you to apply your abilities. However, the 'high level' purpose of gaining research experience isn't just about getting used to doing these tasks. It's about getting familiar with research as a complex production process just like any other craft, requiring clarity of thought and careful management of multiple moving parts at any given time.
A concern I often hear about being a research assistant is that you work for free. Not necessarily true. You should most definitely be more than willing to put in volunteer hours if gaining research experience is something you're serious about, but I have personally never not been paid for any of my research assistant time.
The ideal outcome of research experience is that you end up with a publication or a conference presentation; doctoral programs love it when you have that kind of cred on your belt. But even if you don't - I didn't - the greater awareness of the research scene you gain and the rapport you build with your mentors will get you far.
Where Do I Apply?
By far the golden currency when you decide where you apply should be research fit. Not city, not school name, not climate. "Research fit" means how well your interests mesh with the research done by faculty at a given school. At the graduate level, what matters most is the ability to work with faculty who will be able to help you develop your research interests in a given area.
Furthermore, when it comes to placing academically afterwards, the departmental reputation is far more important than the name of the university at large. Even if you care about school name for personal reasons, "let's pick a brand name school and try to look for super sideway research fits with faculty," DOES NOT WORK. THEY CAN TELL. If you must care about school name, your mentality should be, "let's look for faculty I mesh with at a bunch of different schools!" and if you do that, you're bound to run into a few schools that both give you a good research fit and stroke your school brand ego.
At the same time, I'd be lying if I said other things besides research fit don't matter at all. Obviously quality of life matters because five years, so if you're a city person, don't apply to schools in the middle of nowhere. But on the flip side, don't let the allure of location cloud your objective evaluations. From my experience, deciding where to apply and where to go ultimately becomes a game of juggling 1) quality of life, 2) research fit, 3) departmental strength, and 4) institutional prestige.
How do you know where your research fit is good? Well, if you've been reading journal articles (which you should be), a good place to start is to look up the authors of the articles that most interest you and see what schools they're at. And from there, it's kinda a free for all - the Related Articles and Cited By functionality in Google Scholar will take you all sorts of places.
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Danny maintains a blog at his personal website, SeePlayLive.com.