Academics»Doctorate In Communication

Program Information

Application information

Curriculum

Students in the doctoral program learn theories that guide research into communication processes and effects and into institutions and technologies that lend pattern to communication. Applicants for the PhD are expected to acquire and demonstrate humanistic and behavioral knowledge of communication while acquiring skills requisite to scholarly research in the discipline.

Screening Procedures

Student progress is carefully monitored by the School of Communication faculty. Students are normally screened at the end of their first year of graduate study. At that time they must have completed no fewer than 16 and no more than 24 units, including COMM 525, COMM 526, COMM 550 and COMM 552. Students are evaluated on subject matter competence, teaching potential and their ability to conduct independent research. Upon successful passage of the screening procedure, the student has 30 days in which to form a qualifying exam committee.

Course Requirements

The student is required to take a minimum of 72 units and write an approved dissertation.

Four core courses

  • COMM 525x Humanistic and Social Scientific Approaches to Human Communication I (4 units)
  • COMM 526x Humanistic and Social Scientific Approaches to Human Communication II (4 units)
  • COMM 550 Quantitative Research Methods in Communication (4 units)
  • COMM 552 Qualitative Research Methods in Communication (4 units)

And Doctoral Dissertation

  • COMM 794a Doctoral Dissertation (2 units are required for all students)
  • COMM 794b Doctoral Dissertation (2 units are required for all students)

Students specialize in one of seven tracks by completing a minimum of three courses (12 units) in one of the following

(1) Rhetoric, Politics and Publics:

  • COMM 509x Classical Rhetorical Theory (4 units)
  • COMM 511x Contemporary Rhetorical Theory (4 units)
  • COMM 512x Rhetorical Criticism (4 units)
  • COMM 513x Neoclassical Rhetorical Theory (4 units)
  • COMM 514x Social Movements as Rhetorical Form (4 units)
  • COMM 515x Postmodern Rhetorical Theory (4 units)
  • COMM 517x Rhetorical Theory and Culture (4 units)
  • COMM 518x American Public Address (4 units)
  • COMM 520 The Rhetoric of the Presidential Campaign Trail (4 units)
  • COMM 521x Argumentation (4 units)
  • COMM 522x Kenneth Burke’s Dramatistic Theory (4 units)
  • COMM 573 Networked Publics: Theories and Encounters (4 units)
  • COMM 576 Civic Media and Participatory Politics (4 units)
  • COMM 580 Media and Politics (4 units)
  • COMM 657 Critical Theories of Race and Culture (4 units)

(2) Media, Culture and Community:

  • CMGT 587 Audience Analysis (4 units)
  • COMM 516x Feminist Theory and Communication  (4 units)
  • COMM 517x Rhetorical Theory and Culture (4 units)
  • COMM 519x Cultural Studies in Communication (4 units)
  • COMM 564 Communication, Culture and Capitalism (4 units)
  • COMM 573 Networked Publics: Theories and Encounters (4 units)
  • COMM 580 Media and Politics (4 units)
  • COMM 605 Advanced Macro Theories of Communication (4 units)
  • COMM 618 Mass Media Effects (4 units)
  • COMM 629 Global Culture (4 units)
  • COMM 632 Cultures of Artificial Intelligence (4 units)
  • COMM 649 Methodologies in Cultural Studies (4 units)
  • COMM 653 Research, Practice and Social Change (4 units)
  • COMM 654 Art, Artists and Society (4 units)
  • COMM 655 Studies in Sound, Music and Communication (4 units)
  • COMM 656 Theorizing Race, Culture, Cross-Cultural Exchange (4 units)
  • COMM 657 Critical Theories of Race and Culture (4 units)
  • COMM 658 Science Fiction as Media Theory (4 units)
  • COMM 662 Video Games Research (4 units)
  • COMM 672 Experiments in Critical Writing (4 units)

(3) Health Communication and Social Dynamics:

  • CMGT 581 Media in Social Services: Design and Evaluation of Campaigns (4 units)
  • CMGT 583 Social Marketing and Entertainment Education (4 units)
  • CMGT 587 Audience Analysis (4 units)
  • CMGT 588 Global Storytelling: The Power of Narrative (4 units)
  • COMM 554 Regression and Multivariate Communication Research (4 units)
  • COMM 602 Seminar in Persuasion (4 units)
  • COMM 611 Communication Technology and Healthcare (4 units)
  • COMM 612 Designing Health Communication Interventions (4 units)
  • COMM 613 Grant Writing in Communication (4 units)
  • COMM 614 Computational Approaches in Health Communication (4 units)
  • COMM 615 Health Communication (4 units)
  • COMM 616 Meta-Analysis in Health Communication (4 units)
  • COMM 650 Survey Construction and Validation (4 units)
  • COMM 651 Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs (4 units)

(4) Groups, Organizations and Networks:

  • COMM 524x Small Group Process (4 units)
  • COMM 557 Data Science for Communication and Social Networks (4 units)
  • COMM 585x Organizational Communication (4 units)
  • COMM 636 Interpretive and Cultural Approaches in Organizational Communication (4 units)
  • COMM 637 Current Readings in Organizational Communication (4 units)
  • COMM 640 Communication and Organizational Change (4 units)
  • COMM 641 Organizations and Communication Technologies (4 units)
  • COMM 645 Communication Networks (4 units)
  • COMM 648 Online Communities and Networks (4 units)
  • COMM 652 Ethnographic Field Research in Communication (4 units)

(5) Political Economy of Global Communication:

  • COMM 553 Global Internet Governance (4 units)
  • COMM 559 Globalization, Communication and Society (4 units)
  • COMM 560 Global Media and Communication in China and Asia (4 units)
  • COMM 561 Leading and Communicating Change in Global Organizations (4 units)
  • COMM 567 The Political Economy of Privacy and Cybersecurity (4 units)
  • COMM 629 Global Culture (4 units)
  • COMM 645 Communication Networks (4 units)
  • COMM 647x Network Society (4 units)
  • PUBD 504 Global Issues and Public Diplomacy (4 units)
  • PUBD 507 Public Diplomacy and Global Security (4 units)
  • PUBD 510 Technologies and Public Diplomacy (4 units)
  • PUBD 522 Hard Power, Soft Power and Smart Power (4 units)

(6) Information, Political Economy and Entertainment:

  • CMGT 582 International Communication: National Development (4 units)
  • COMM 516x Feminist Theory and Communication (4 units)
  • COMM 559 Globalization, Communication and Society (4 units)
  • COMM 560 Global Media and Communication in China and Asia (4 units)
  • COMM 563 Black Popular Culture: Theory and Central Debates (4 units)
  • COMM 564 Communication, Culture and Capitalism (4 units)
  • COMM 566 Using Theory to Craft Policies to Affect Change (4 units)
  • COMM 647x Network Society (4 units)
  • COMM 654 Art, Artists and Society (4 units)
  • COMM 658 Science Fiction as Media Theory (4 units)
  • COMM 662 Video Games Research (4 units)
  • COMM 670 Economic Cultures (4 units)

(7) New Media and Technology:

  • CMGT 530 Social Dynamics of Communication Technologies (4 units)
  • CMGT 531 Communication and the International Economy (4 units)
  • CMGT 537 The Industry, Science and Culture of Video Games (4 units)
  • COMM 524x Small Group Process (4 units)
  • COMM 569 Seminar in Science and Technology Studies (4 units)
  • COMM 573 Networked Publics: Theories and Encounters (4 units)
  • COMM 576 Civic Media and Participatory Politics (4 units)
  • COMM 577 Fandom, Participatory Culture and Web 2.0 (4 units)
  • COMM 578 New Media Literacies (4 units)
  • COMM 611 Communication Technology and Healthcare (4 units)
  • COMM 632 Cultures of Artificial Intelligence (4 units)
  • COMM 641 Organizations and Communication Technologies (4 units)
  • COMM 647x Network Society (4 units)

Additional Requirements

In addition, students must take at least two courses in one other track outside their specialization (8 units total).

Students also pursue an approved cognate program of study in which at least 8 units (normally two courses) are taken in a related field outside Communication.

Students entering the School of Communication with a master’s degree may, with approval, apply part of their previous graduate course work toward the PhD degree.

Research 

Students will develop methodological abilities through coursework, collaboration with faculty advisers and mentors, work with Annenberg research groups and centers, and individual and group research projects.

Qualifying Exam Committee

This committee is composed of five faculty members, at least three of whom have appointments in the School of Communication. Students are expected to work closely with the members of their qualifying exam committee in selecting advanced course work and shaping areas of interest and research. In addition to helping the student plan a program, the committee administers the qualifying examination.

Qualifying Examination

Qualifying examinations for the PhD usually are taken near the end of the third year of study following completion of all required courses. The examination includes both written and oral portions. The student’s qualifying exam committee composes the questions for the written portion of the exam and administers the oral defense. Students must pass both portions to advance to candidacy.

Doctoral Dissertation

The dissertation is an original research project contributing to knowledge about human communication and should demonstrate a high level of competence in methodologies of scholarly inquiry.

Defense of Dissertation

The dissertation is an original research project contributing to knowledge about human communication and should demonstrate a high level of competence in methodologies of scholarly inquiry.

Doctoral Dissertation Committee

This committee is composed of at least three and no more than five faculty members. A majority of the committee must have an appointment in the School of Communication.

Defense of Dissertation

Dissertations are defended in a formal meeting with the dissertation committee prior to submission of the final manuscript to the Graduate School.

This page is based on the current 2024-2025 USC Catalogue. The 2025-2026 USC Catalogue will be published in summer 2025.