Learning Objectives

USC Annenberg offers an interdisciplinary PhD program in humanistic and behavioral approaches to communication.You will learn theories that guide research into communication processes and effects and into institutions and technologies that lend pattern to communication.

PhD candidates at USC Annenberg are at the scholarly forefront of the communication revolution. Graduates are prepared for careers in academia as well as in other endeavors that benefit from research skills and expansive knowledge of communications processes, institutions and impact on society.

Our graduates excel as university instructors, conducting original research and scholarship that advances knowledge in the field and contributes to the success of public and private sector enterprises ranging from media and entertainment industries to governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Upon successful completion of the program students should be able to:

• demonstrate humanistic and behavioral knowledge of a wide variety communication phenomena
• demonstrate an understanding of theories that guide research into communication processes
• demonstrate a high level of competence in research methodologies and other scholarly tools within the field of communication
• display evidence of experience in funded research projects and/or publication of original research findings both as individual researchers and as members of research teams