Ph.D. in Information and Media

We invite you to join an exciting interdisciplinary field of study at the intersection of the social sciences, humanities, and technology. We develop and apply transformative knowledge about all media systems, society and evolving information and communication technologies. This STEM designated program (09.0702 Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia) engages students to become leaders in academia, government, and industry in the media and information fields.

Our approach is multidisciplinary, combining faculty members with degrees in communication, advertising, public relations, journalism, economics, information studies, sociology, law, marketing and computer science, all pursuing teaching and research opportunities in three participating departments.

Benefits to an interdisciplinary program vs. a traditional program

• Students are exposed to a wider range of theories and schools of thought which facilitates complex problem solving from multiple perspectives
• Students gain a broader toolkit of research methods and analytical tools, including both quantitative and qualitative research methods
• Enhances communication skills because students learn the “language” of multiple disciplines

Faculty in the three participating departments have complementary skills and research interests. Students typically participate in one or more research groups and design a dissertation to take advantage of the interdisciplinary environment offered by the program. One of these 3 departments/schools will become your home department. Research in our departments currently focuses on the following areas: