Communication, New Media, and Cultural Studies (PhD)

The PhD in Communication, New Media, and Cultural Studies brings together three interdisciplinary fields that all originated in attempts to understand and debate big problems using tools from the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Students complete coursework, including a required seminar on professionalization activities, and field examinations in their area of specialization. The dissertation can take the form of written work and/or a creative project. The program draws faculty members from

• Communication Studies and Media Arts
• English and Cultural Studies
• other departments in the Humanities

to act as supervisors. Students graduating from the program may enter a number of different academic, artistic or professional fields.

Areas of Research

• New media arts
• Digital media & code art
• Communications law and policy
• Copyright history
• Diasporic and international media
• Critical approaches to race, ethnicity, disability, gender, and sexuality
• Feminist media and technology
• Critical disability studies and health humanities
• Television and radio studies
• Political economy
• Networked creativity
• Augmented Reality
• Sound art
• Performance
• Visual culture
• Critical environmental studies
• Physical computing
• Animation and design
• Political communication
• Media management
• Digital games studies
• Participatory culture
• Digital cultural theory
• Reputation and brand management
• Public relations management
• Media literacy
• Audience research
• Media and activism
• Popular music studies
• Professional communications
• Crisis management