The Department of Communication and Media is a top department at an internationally renowned university. The newly redesigned Ph.D. in Communication and Media at the University of Michigan is an interdisciplinary program with two major strengths: the Social Scientific Analysis of Mass Media Effects and the humanities-based study of Media, Culture and Society.

What is distinctive about our program is that we introduce students to both humanities and social science methods and traditions, encourage students to choose the approaches that best suit their areas of interest, and especially promote the use of multi-methodological techniques.

The program offers a solid foundation in communication studies while also permitting you to design a highly individualized program of study tailored to fit your needs and interests. The program will provide you with advanced knowledge of the latest research and theory in the field, a solid understanding of the major analytical approaches to communication studies, and opportunities to do original and collaborative research beginning in your very first year of the program. To see if our program is a match for your interests, see our research strengths.

Qualifications 

You are eligible to apply as long as you have a US equivalent bachelor’s degree. However, strong candidates for the program will have with some prior research experience or research exposure. If you did not participate in research as an undergraduate student (e.g., by working as a research assistant or by completing an honor’s thesis), you may also have gained that experience by pursing a Master’s degree.

International applicants need not complete this document in order to be considered for admission to the program.