Doctor of Philosophy

The Ph.D. program emphasizes interdisciplinary inquiry into media communication phenomena from cultural, historical and social perspectives. The program's substantive nature is defined by the scholarly interests of its faculty, which include investigations of historical, legal, critical, cultural, social, feminist and international aspects of media communication, both verbal and visual; comparative communication, convergence, new media, health communication, popular culture and globalization. Faculty use qualitative or quantitative research methods in their research and teaching.

Students’ Ph.D. programs are highly individualized. Drawing on courses in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication as well as other academic units, each student, in consultation with an academic adviser, develops a course of study that reflects his or her academic background, experience, professional goals, and intellectual preferences.

The Ph.D. requires 80 s.h. Students may transfer up to 30 s.h. from their master's degree with the approval of the Graduate Committee. Transfer courses must be relevant to the student’s Ph.D. plan of study. The Graduate College does not accept transfer credit for professional skills courses. The Ph.D. program is designed for students who have completed an M.A. thesis. Students who have earned professional master’s degrees must take additional courses beyond the minimum Ph.D. requirements.

The following courses are required for the Ph.D. degree.

019:231	Media Communication Theory I	3
019:232	Media Communication Theory II	3
019:235	Media Communication Research Methods I	3
019:236	Media Communication Research Methods II	3
019:265	Approaches to Teaching Media Communication	3
019:320	Ph.D. Seminar (1 s.h. for 4 semesters)	4
	Advanced research methods, at least 3 s.h.	3
	Advanced theory, at least 3 s.h.	3
	Journalism and Mass Communication electives, at least 6 s.h.	6
	Outside concentration, at least 9 s.h.	9
	Minimum course credits during Ph.D. studies	40
	Maximum transfer credit from master’s degree	30
	Dissertation credits, at least 10 s.h.	10
	Minimum total credits for Ph.D. degree	80

Joint Degree in Law

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the College of Law offer a joint degree program to M.A. and Ph.D. students. To participate, students must be admitted to both the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the College of Law. Some law credits will count towards degrees in the School, and some journalism and mass communication credits will count towards a law degree. Students who complete the program will earn two degrees.

Facilities

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication moved into the new 65,000 square foot Adler Journalism and Mass Communication Building in January 2005. The building has computer laboratories for audio, video, design, writing and web publishing. Photography and typography laboratories are located nearby. Housed in Adler are a resource center, the offices of the Iowa High School Press Association and the Quill and Scroll, an international honor society of high school journalist, as well as the University’s award-winning student newspaper,The Daily Iowan.

Iowa Center for Communication Study

The center encourages and facilitates student and faculty research in the field of communication. It also sponsors publications and oversees editing of two periodicals, the Journal of Communication Inquiry and the online periodical, The Iowa Guide: Scholarly Journals in Mass Communication and Related Fields http:iowaguide.uiowa.edu.

Financial Aid

Research and teaching assistantships are available for graduate students, with preference given to doctoral students. Journalism and mass communication students have been successful in winning competitive fellowships open to all graduate students. Fellowships require nomination by the Graduate Committee. The school also has a program of modest financial support for undergraduate and graduate student research projects.

Job Placement

The school's internship and placement coordinator helps students seeking career guidance and employment opportunities. The school posts notices of professional jobs open to journalism students and graduates and publicizes them on its electronic mailing list. It cooperates with the University's Career Center in providing career guidance and placement services as well as workshops and programs on job-seeking skills.

Special Activities

The school engages in a variety of activities for the enrichment of students, faculty, and the entire campus. Speakers visit campus each year under lectureships funded by the John F. Murray and Leslie G. Moeller Fund. In addition, guest speakers are funded through the Hearst Visiting Professionals Program and the Hageboeck Daily Iowan Visiting Professionals Program. Campus organizations for students include Kappa Tau Alpha (KTA), a national society honoring scholarship in journalism), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), and the Radio and Television News Directors’ Association (RTNDA).