Communication (PhD) Fall 2026
Application Deadline: December 1, 2025
Application Requirements
The online USC Graduate Admission Application opens August 1, 2025.
Assemble the following documents and program materials, which must be uploaded to your application:
- Résumé or CV
- Personal Statement
- Writing Sample
- Recommender Names and Email addresses
- Copy of Official Transcript(s)
All program materials must be in English and uploaded to the online application.
Once your application has been submitted, you may not add, edit or change any document or program material. All submitted documents and program materials become the property of USC and will not be returned.
Review the detailed instructions in the dropdowns for each section of the online application. All application materials must be submitted by the deadline. Click here to access the application.
The personal statement is an expression of three areas: (1) research experience, (2) professional background and (3) conceptual questions and phenomena of interest to you. In addition to addressing these three areas, your statement must include a detailed explanation of why you would like to work with the USC Annenberg faculty members that you identify in your application as possible mentors and/or committee members. Limit this statement to five pages, double-spaced with one-inch margins.
Select a 10-page representative sample from an essay, article, or book chapter that you solely wrote that demonstrates a research area of interest that you wish to pursue in the doctoral program. This sample must be entirely your own writing and not co-authored. Please describe why you wrote the piece and where it was submitted.
Three faculty recommendations are required. However, if you have substantial work experience, you may provide one professional reference (a direct manager or supervisor only) in place of one faculty recommendation.
Create online profiles for your recommenders in the Program Materials section of the application by providing names and email addresses. Instructions and forms will be emailed from the CAS application to your recommenders. If you or your recommenders encounter difficulties, contact the CAS help desk.
Complete the questionnaire designed to identify your interests in doctoral program faculty, research and courses.
The application will ask you to list several faculty members with whom you may be interested in working. Please note that applicants with a broad interest in various faculty best demonstrate potential fit with the PhD degree program as a whole.
While prospective students and applicants are welcome to reach out to individual faculty members, applications to the Annenberg PhD program are reviewed holistically by a faculty admission committee. Accepted students are offered placement in the program as a whole, rather than in any individual faculty member’s lab or under their advisement. This means that applicants may apply to the PhD degree program without seeking agreement to work with or be supervised by any faculty member.
Copies of a registrar-issued official transcript (with registrar’s signature, stamp or seal) from all colleges and universities attended (including USC) must be uploaded to your application in the Academic History section. If you do not possess copies of your registrar-issued official transcripts, request to have official transcripts with legend or grading scale emailed to you from your previous colleges/universities.
After submitting your online application and receiving your 10-digit USC ID, request to have e-transcripts sent from all colleges and universities attended to USC Graduate Admission at etrans@usc.edu.
Note:
- International transcripts must include the original language and the English translation as one document.
- Transcripts from your institution’s student portal are unacceptable.
GRE scores are not required for admission to summer 2026. Submitted scores are not considered in the application review process.
TOEFL, IELTS or PTE scores are required from international student applicants unless waived; see below for the exception. English-proficiency scores must be dated within two years (24 months) of the date you submit your graduate application. To be considered official, USC must receive scores electronically from the testing service. Applicants are encouraged to take exams by November 30, 2025. Photocopies or paper copies of scores are unacceptable.
- For TOEFL, request to have your scores sent to USC institution code 4852.
- For IELTS or PTE, select “University of Southern California” from the list of available institutions when you register for the test. Alternatively, provide this information to your testing center after you have taken the test.
- Exception: If you completed your entire bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in the United States or another Anglophone country where English is both the language of instruction and the only official language of the country, English proficiency scores are waived.
Email USC Graduate Admission at askUSC If you have questions or concerns.
If you plan to request a fee waiver, initiate your application at least seven (7) business days before the application deadline.
Review the fee waiver requirements at USC Graduate Admission website: https://gradadm.usc.edu/lightboxes/us-students-fee-waivers/.
Applicants seeking a fee waiver must start the online application and then wait for the fee waiver approval from USC Graduate Admission before submitting the application.
Pay the $105 non-refundable application fee with a credit card or request an application fee waiver prior to submitting an application.