The Ph.D. program emphasizes communication as a social science. Graduates are prepared for university positions and careers in government, the media and other organizations as researchers, consultants and policy makers. Students must demonstrate general knowledge of communication, as well as competence in a core area of specialization. Current core areas include communication and information systems, health communication, interpersonal communication, and mass communication.

Students must demonstrate a thorough grasp of communication theory and research methods and must take course work in a cognate area outside of Communication. Proficiency in a foreign language is not required for successful completion of the Ph.D. in Communication. A student's advisory committee may, however, stipulate certain graduate-level courses in another language for the student's program that are consistent with the objectives of the student's program.

The required first-year curriculum is as follows:

Fall Semester
CJT 651: Communication Theory
CJT 664: Qualitative Methods in Communication Research
STA 570: Graduate Statistics Course

Spring Semester
CJT 665: Quantitative Methods in Communication Research
CJT 645: Proseminar in Mass Communication OR
CJT 631: Proseminar in Interpersonal Communication

The required second-year curriculum is as follows:

Fall Semester (second year)
CJT 751: Advanced Topics in Communication Theory Construction

All students are also required to complete at least 3 credit hours of CJT 790 by the last semester of course work.

The Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, in consultation with the Graduate Review committee, can waive any of the above requirements for a student who has previously taken the same or equivalent course at UK or another university for graduate credit.

Each student works with a major professor and an advisory committee to plan course work and complete the dissertation. The committee also administers the qualifying examination and the final oral examination. The qualifying examination consists of a written and oral examination over general communication, the core area of specialization, research methods/statistics and the cognate area.

Standards for admission to the doctoral program are similar to those of the Graduate School, including satisfactory scores on the verbal, quantitative and analytical portions of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). For additional information about program requirements and opportunities for financial assistance, write to the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, College of Communications and Information Studies.

* Although every effort is made to ensure that this list of graduation requirements is accurate and up to date, it is provided for the convenience of the user and should not be considered the official version. The official version of this material is available at/in The Graduate Bulletin . The user is advised to refer to and rely upon the official version of this material when making significant decisions or judgments.