Ph.D. in Information and Media

The interdepartmental Information and Media Ph.D. Program prepares students to become scholars, teachers and leaders. Three highly ranked academic units of MSU College of Communication Arts and Sciences participate in the academic training: the Department of Advertising + Public Relations, the School of Journalism and the Department of Media and Information.

Our Program

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

Ph.D. Ranking

Winter 2019 Ph.D. Commencement Ceremony

QS World University rankings place MSU 13th in the world and 8th in the U.S. in communication and media studies. The National Communication Association (NCA), in their most recent doctoral program reputation study, ranked MSU’s Ph.D. programs as No. 1 in educating researchers in communication technology, and in the top four in mass communication. Michigan State University ranked third in frequency of faculty publication in communication in a study reported in The Electronic Journal of Communication in 2012.

Faculty Research Areas

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. Research in our departments currently focuses on the following areas:

Advertising + Public Relations

  • Media Psychology and Persuasion
  • Neuroscience and Social Influence
  • International Advertising and Public Relations
  • Effects of Media on Child and Family Development
  • Political Communication
  • Social Media and Advertising

Journalism

  • Media Sociology
  • International and Comparative Media systems
  • Political Communication
  • Visual Communication
  • Science, Health, Environment, and Crisis Communication
  • News Content and Effects

Media and Information

  • Social Media and Social Computing
  • Human-computer Interaction, Games and Meaningful Play
  • Management Info System (policy and economics)
  • Health (media, ICT and development)

Questions?

Additional information about the Information and Media Ph.D. program may be obtained from:

Image of open laptop

Patricia Huddleston, Ph.D.
Information and Media Ph.D. Program Director
huddles2@msu.edu
(517) 353-9907

College of Communication Arts and Sciences
404 Wilson Road, Room 304
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan 48824