Graduate Program

Welcome to the Graduate Program in Communication at Purdue University. We are delighted that you are interested in our program. Communication Studies at Purdue University celebrates a long and distinguished history, having granted doctoral degrees since 1948 and having offered masters degrees since 1947. As our field has developed over time, Purdue faculty and graduate students have been at the forefront leading those advancements in discovery, learning, and engagement. We celebrate our rich history and long-standing tradition, as well as the many alumni who have contributed to Purdue's outstanding reputation and who continue to have distinguished impacts on our discipline and beyond.

Our award winning faculty are among the thought leaders in their areas of specialty. Indeed, among our faculty are some of the top scholars in our field who have made major theoretical, methodological and applied contributions to the study of Communication. Our faculty are also some of the most prolific scholars in the field. Indeed, the Chronicle of Higher Education's "Top Research University Faculty Scholar Productivity Index" for 2007 placed Purdue at # 2 in the nation. Our graduate students are award winning as well, having received national and international recognition for their research and teaching. Another indicator of our commitment to research is the number of grant-funded research activities and interdisciplinary research that members of our school have recently engaged in. Our community is a vibrant one, dedicated to excellence in research, teaching, and service to the communities in which we reside.

Our graduate program is organized along six instructional units: Health Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Organizational Communication, Media Technology & Society, Public Affairs and Issues Management, and Rhetorical Studies. We also are delighted to offer opportunities for interdisciplinary study including the Joint Ph.D. Program in Communication and Philosophy, a dual title Ph.D. in Communication and Gerontology, a PhD and MS in Information Security with Purdue's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS), and a Health Communication track in the Masters of Public Health degree program. Our interpersonal, health, and organizational areas of study all ranked in the top 10 in the 2004 NCA repulational study of doctoral programs. The current ComVista rankings place Purdue at # 4 in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication, and #2 in Health Communication. In addition, our public relations area was rated as one of 16 "Premier Programs for Graduate Study in Public Relations" based on nominations from PR faculty across the country (Source: B. L. Baxter, "Graduate Study in Public Relations, Profiles of the Country's Best College Programs, " 2002).

Purdue graduate students can earn either a thesis or non-thesis Masters degree or a Doctoral degree. To do so, our graduate students enjoy the opportunity to develop their own major and minor area(s) of study. Each degree program consists of certain requirements; yet at the same time our graduate students have tremendous flexibility in designing a plan of study that meets their interests. For instance, a student may choose to major in Organizational Communication or he/she may choose to major in a more specific area such as Organizational Rhetoric. Graduate students work with their major professor and committee in order to design a plan of study that fits their needs.

Another strength of our graduate program is its diversity. Our graduate student community consists of individuals from China, Germany, India, Lebanon, South Korea, Turkey, and the United States, to name a few. Our community members' diversity contributes to the diversity of thought that you will find in our program. In addition, our faculty and graduate students embrace diverse approaches to research. This diversity makes Purdue an intellectually stimulating and engaging place to be.

Our graduate students are active researchers, dedicated teachers, and engaged citizens. Many of our graduate students have solo-authored or collaborative publications. They are actively involved in individual research projects or research teams, and they are visible at regional, national, and international conferences, having received top paper awards for their research. Our graduate students also have received university and national recognition for excellence in teaching. They work with faculty as teaching assistants and have the opportunity to teach courses on their own. Many of our graduate students also work on grant-funded research with faculty. In addition, our Communication Graduate Student Association (CGSA) organizes professional development opportunities and social activities for our school. I continue to be impressed with our graduate students' commitment to scholarship, publishing, and to teaching, as well as their support for one another.

This is an exciting time to be a member of the School of Communication at Purdue. I invite you to continue to explore our website and learn more about our graduate program. I also encourage you to get in touch with me at sconnaug@purdue.edu and/or Patty Mason, our Graduate Secretary, at patty@purdue.edu to learn more about opportunities for graduate studies in Communication at Purdue. We look forward to hearing from you.

With very best wishes,

Stacey L. Connaughton, Ph.D.

Director of Graduate Studies

Associate Professor

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