Information and Media

We invite you to join an exciting interdisciplinary field of study at the intersection of the social sciences and socio technical systems. We develop and apply transformative knowledge about media and society and evolving information and communication technologies. The program engages students to become active scholars, teachers, and leaders in the media and information fields.

Top ranked nationwide, this Ph.D. program in Information and Media (formerly Media and Information Studies) prepares students to become active scholars, teachers and leaders.

The Director of the IM PhD program, Dr. Manuel Chavez, welcomes you to explore the offerings and content of our doctoral program.

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

• Department of Advertising + Public Relations
• Department of Media and Information
• School of Journalism

The student must meet the requirements specified below:

• The fee is $65 for domestic students, $75 for international students, and can be paid with credit card, check (US funds), or money order (see application for details). 
• Three (3) letters of recommendation from persons familiar with your academic or professional work and are willing to assess your aptitude for graduate work. Once you have listed your recommenders and their email addresses the system will generate an email to your recommenders explaining the process to submit their letters electronically (NO HARDCOPIES accepted).
• An Academic Statement: A concise academic statement of your plans for doctoral study, your career goals, and how the Information and Media Ph.D. program will help you meet your career and educational objectives. Be sure to relate your plans and goals to the interests of the faculty you have contacted.
• A Personal Statement: A concise personal statement about how your background and life experiences, including social, economic, cultural, familial, education, or other opportunities or challenges, motivated your decision to pursue a doctoral degree.
• A Resume: Include all activities that account for your time since earning a bachelors degree (e.g. employment, military service, travel). Include the type of activity, name of employer, city/state, and dates. List the most recent activity first. Also include all relevant professional experiences, locations, dates and any scholarly conference presentations or publications.
• Indicate your area of interest: Advertising and Public Relations; Journalism; or Media and Information.
• One original paper copy of official transcripts and degree certification documents for all college work should be sent directly from the institution to Nancy Ashley
• For International Applicants ONLY: The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required. For the paper version, a minimum score of 580 with no subscore below 55 is required. For the Internet based test a total score of 93 with no subscore below 21 is required. When submitting scores use the university code 1465. Waivers are permitted only for those who have completed a four-year college degree in the United States, at an institution with English as the language of instruction, or an MA degree at an AAU Tier I institution.

Scholarships

Graduate teaching and research assistantships with generous monthly stipends, tuition remission, and health benefits are available and over 90 percent of our current students are supported. University fellowships, dissertation completion fellowships, summer research fellowships, and stipends for travel to academic conferences round out the resources available for students