Institute of Communications Research
Director: Clifford Christians
Director of Graduate Studies: John Nerone
228 Gregory Hall
810 South Wright Street
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 333-1549
E-mail: icr@uiuc.edu
Major: Communications
Degrees Offered: Ph.D.
Joint Degree Program: Doctor of Philosophy in Communications and Doctor of Medicine (Medical Scholars Program)
Degrees Offered: Ph.D. and M.D.
Graduate Degree Programs
Please note: The ICR no longer has information regarding our programs of study available in hard copy format. All information can be found via the Web. On the graduate level, the Institute of Communications Research offers a doctoral degree in communications; students wishing to study for a master's degree do so in related fields outside the Institute.
The Institute cooperates with the University of Illinois’ College of Medicine in offering the combined M.D. and Ph.D. degrees. The Medical Scholars Program is the largest and broadest program of its kind in the world, with more than 150 students enrolled in fifty graduate programs. Equipped with an excellent medical education and Ph.D. training, graduates of the Medical Scholars Program have the credentials to assume leadership roles in academic medicine, medical research, and health policy. The advisor is Amanda Cuevas, MSP, 125 MSB, 506 S. Mathews Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801; (217) 244-7800.
Admission
Any student with a bachelor's or master's degree and with a substantial background in the humanities, social sciences, or physical sciences is eligible to apply to the doctoral program. It is suggested but not required that students have or will have a master’s degree. All candidates for admission must submit an application for admission along with the application fee, official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate courses taken and grades earned, three letters of recommendation, and Graduate Record Examination scores.
Our application process is now conducted primarily via the world wide web, using the University of Illinois' web-based application for admission called ApplyYourself. We encourage you to apply electronically using the web application. If applying on the web is inconvenient for you, please print out a paper copy of the application and send it (by first class or air mail) to our mailing address listed below.
Foreign students from non-English-speaking countries are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) before they come to the University. Depending on the results, they may be required to take further instruction in English after their arrival.
Students are normally admitted to start the program only during the fall term. Only under exceptional circumstances are they allowed to begin it in the spring or summer term. All material for fall admission should be submitted by January 15.
Degree Requirements–Doctor of Philosophy
Proseminar (Communications 571 and 572). Because students are admitted from diverse backgrounds, the Proseminar first introduces them to the history of communication research. The second semester revolves around the current debates, typically divided into the four major lines of inquiry that characterize the Institute's research tradition. While gaining an overview of the central issues and learning a common language, students in the Proseminar are also able to locate their own interests more precisely within the field of communications in its historical and contemporary forms.
Overview Courses
While flexibility is the hallmark of ICR's program, students are strongly urged to take two or more overview courses that augment their area of specialization. Such courses, systematically extending proseminar material, give a broad overview of a significant body of scholarship in established areas of communication study, enable students to locate their own interests within the field as a whole, and provide solid preparation for courses that many students are likely to teach. Overview courses ensure breadth of knowledge within an interdisciplinary program such as the Institute's, where students have great latitude in designing their programs and are encouraged to take courses outside the field of communications.
A number of currently available courses accomplish these goals. Specific examples are listed below, and the list is periodically updated to reflect developments in the field and available faculty resources. Though these courses are not formal requirements for obtaining the Ph.D., students are expected to include at least two of them in their proposed program of study for the Program Evaluation Committee. Under exceptional circumstances, substitute courses that are equally broad might be proposed, or a proposal justified that forgoes these designated courses. In preparing proposals, students should consult with their faculty advisors; they are welcome to seek additional help from other experienced faculty, including members of the Program Evaluation Committee.
560 Feminist Media Studies
568 Political Economy of Communications
570 Popular Culture
573 History and Theory of Freedom of the Press
575 Cultural Studies and Critical Interpretation
590 Media and Politics
590 Philosophy of Technology
590 Communication Ethics
590 Race and the U.S. Empire
Research Methods
Within the 64 hours of course work, students must complete at least 8 hours in research methods. In order to provide a competent background for constructively understanding the field's wide-ranging literature, students are required to take one quantitative and one qualitative course.
In addition to methodology courses taught by the College of Communications faculty, students are encouraged to consider relevant courses in quantitative or non-quantitative methods elsewhere on campus. Listings of such courses are available in the ICR office.
While following the principles of breadth and flexibility, in consultation with their advisor, students will typically take more than two methodology courses in order to prepare adequately for dissertation research and for a productive scholarly life beyond graduation.
As early in the doctoral program as possible, the student submits to the Student Evaluation Committee a preliminary Petition for Advancement to Candidacy that outlines the student's tentative program leading to the dissertation. The committee reviews the program and may make recommendations about the selection of proposed courses. Normally during the last year of course work a second petition is submitted that must be approved before the student can take the preliminary examination.
Dissertation
Because the Doctor of Philosophy degree is primarily a research degree, candidates are required to demonstrate a capacity for independent research by producing an original dissertation on a topic connected with the special area of study.
Final Examination
After students distribute polished drafts of their dissertations, they take final oral examinations administered by the appointed committees. The student is required to support and interpret the dissertation to the committee's satisfaction, as well as to show an adequate grasp of the selected area of concentration that it represents.
Program policies, practices and expectations
Students should request an e-mail copy of ICR Abbreviated Graduate Handbook for further, detailed information on program requirements.
Joint Degree Program
For the Ph.D.-M.D. joint degree program, the specific requirements of both the graduate and medical programs must be met.
Graduate Teaching Experience
The ICR feels strongly about the teaching component and tries very hard to afford students the opportunities to teach courses relevant to communication studies.
Faculty Research Interests
http://www.comm.uiuc.edu/icr/faculty/profiles/faculty_list.html
Financial Aid
Financial aid is available in the form of assistantships, fellowships, and tuition and fee waivers. Students of color underrepresented in communications research are eligible for University fellowships. Most Institute students eventually receive some kind of financial support. The application for admission includes a section to be completed if you wish to be considered for financial aid. Insofar as possible, the Institute makes financial aid and admission decisions simultaneously.
Teaching assignments are also periodically available in other University departments or programs - for example, Advertising, Journalism, Speech, English, Business and Technical Writing, Unit for Cinema Studies, and Agricultural Communications - and in the communications program at Parkland College. Students with editing, writing, computer programming, keypunching, tutoring, or other skills often can find support in other units of the University. Usually these positions must be obtained once you are on campus and can arrange interviews. A few students also find part-time employment with the local media.