Placements

See where our recent graduates have found placements after earning their PhD in Communication from USC Annenberg:

Academic placements

Soyun Ahn, PhD (2025)       
Assistant Professor
Boston College

Andrea Alarcon, PhD (2022)
Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital Cultures and Societies
University of Queensland

Jeeyun Baik, PhD (2021)
Assistant Professor
University of San Diego

Thi Ngoc Bich (Becky) Pham, PhD (2025)                        
Assistant Professor
Temple University - Japan Campus

TJ Billard, PhD (2020)
Associate Professor
Northwestern University

Sierra Bray, PhD (2022)
Assistant Professor
CSU Los Angeles

Max Brichta, PhD (2025)
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Virginia

Matthew Bui, PhD (2020)
Assistant Professor
University of Michigan

Ho-Chun Herbert Chang, PhD (2023)
Assistant Professor
Dartmouth College

Suk Young Choi, PhD (2024)
Assistant Professor
Yonsei University

Frances Corry, PhD (2022)
Assistant Professor
University of Pittsburgh

Ignacio Cruz, PhD (2021)
Assistant Professor
Northwestern University

Ming Curran, PhD (2020)
Assistant Professor
Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Stefanie Demetriades, PhD (2020)
Assistant Professor
DePaul University

Brooklyne Gipson, PhD (2020)
Assistant Professor
Rutgers University

Eduardo Gonzalez, PhD (2024)
Assistant Professor
San Diego State University

Rohan Grover, PhD (2025)  
Assistant Professor
American University

Jessica Hatrick, PhD (2024)
Teaching Fellow
The University of Nottingham - Ningbo, China

Joo-Wha Hong, PhD (2022)
Assistant Professor
Sungkyunkwan University

Eugene Jang, PhD (2025)
Assistant Professor
Rochester Institute of Technology

Edward Byungkwon Kang, PhD (2023)
Assistant Professor
New York University

Do Own Donna Kim, PhD (2022)
Assistant Professor
University of Illinois - Chicago

Hye Min Kim, PhD (2022)
Assistant Professor
University of Massachusetts - Boston

Jillian Kwong, PhD (2022)
Research Scientist
MIT

Lauren Levitt, PhD (2021)
Postdoctoral Researcher, XCITE Center for Teaching & Learning
UC Riverside

Eugene Lee, PhD (2025)
Assistant Professor
Rutgers University

Yiqi Li, PhD (2021)
Assistant Professor
Syracuse University

Mingxuan Liu, PhD (2023)
Assistant Professor
University of Macau

Azeb Madebo, PhD (2022)
Assistant Professor
University of Portland

Rachel Moran, PhD (2020)
Senior Research Scientist, Center for an Informed Public
University of Washington 

Yuanfeixue Nan, PhD (2025)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
University of Alabama - Birmingham, Center for AIDS Research

Tyler Quick, PhD (2023)
Assistant Professor of Liberal Arts
Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design

Ruqin Ren, PhD (2020)
Associate Professor
Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Christiana Robbins, PhD (2020)
Postdoctoral Scholar, Center of Media Psychology and Social Influence
Northwestern University

Cerianne Robertson, PhD (2024)
George Gerbner Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Pennsylvania

Junyi Lv (2023)
Assistant Professor
University of Macau

Amber Lynn Scott, PhD (2023)
Assistant Professor
University of Kentucky

Sonia Jawaid Shaikh, PhD (2020)
Assistant Professor
University of Melbourne

Emily Sidnam-Mauch, PhD (2020)
Project Manager/Research Scientist
Clemson University, Humans and Technology Laboratory

Lauren Sowa, PhD (2022)
Visiting Assistant Professor
Pepperdine University

Jingyi Sun, PhD (2021)
Assistant Professor
Stevens Institute of Technology

Jack Lipei Tang, PhD (2024)
Assistant Professor
University of Alabama

Liyuan Wang, PhD (2021)
Assistant Professor
University of Georgia

Yunwen Kathy Wang, PhD (2022)
Assistant Professor
University of Kansas

Larry Zhiming Xu, PhD (2020)
Assistant Professor
Marquette University

Meiqing Zhang, PhD (2023)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Wesleyan University

Lichen Zhen, PhD (2024)
Assistant Professor
Pennsylvania State University

Sulafa Zidani, PhD (2021)
Assistant Professor
Northwestern University

Corporate/Nonprofit/GMOs placements

Soledad Altrudi, PhD (2022)
Conservation Safeguards Specialist
World Wildlife Fund

Deborah Neffa Creech, PhD (2020)
Director of Research & Evaluation
Sentient Research

Cat Duffy, PhD (2018)
Policy Analyst
National Health Law Program

Yomna Elsayed, PhD (2018)
Head of Research
Credo AI

Natalie Jonckheere, PhD (2022)
Data and Analytics Strategy Manager
Choice Hotels International

Hyun Tae Calvin Kim, PhD (2020)
Senior Investment Associate
Hanwha Life

Steffie Kim, PhD (2023)
Data Analytics and Research
Insomniac Games

Nathalie Marechal, PhD (2018)
Co-Director, Privacy & Data
Center for Democracy & Technology

Aalok Mehta, PhD (2020)
Responsible AI Policy Lead
Google

Christopher Persaud, PhD (2024)
Research Scientist
Intel Labs

Pam Perrimon, PhD (2025)
Education and Communications
Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network

Ashley Phelps, PhD (2024)
Communication/Journalism Consultant
Wellness Equity Alliance

Prawit Thainiyom, PhD (2018)
Senior Data Analyst
Microsoft

Sarah Myers West, PhD (2018)
Co-Executive Director
AI Now Institute