Communication Studies Ph.D.
The deadline to apply for the COMS Doctoral Program is January 1.
The School of Communication Studies traces its roots to the founding of Ohio University, where the first curriculum emphasized persuasion, logic, and rhetoric. As Ohio University has grown and developed, so has our Ph.D. program.
Although the School is not divided into formal "tracks," our faculty emphasizes three primary teaching and research areas for the Ph.D.: Interpersonal and Organizational Communication, Rhetoric and Culture, and Health Communication. These areas are not fixed; students are encouraged to blend across them to meet their personal and professional goals.
We believe that strong doctoral students should have a broad understanding of the discipline in addition to specialized coursework. Core classes are explicitly designed as first-semester courses, and they provide foundation for the other courses in the School. In the first semester, students also take a course in their primary area of study to become initiated in the expectations of their subfield.
Curriculum
Students must complete a minimum of 47 credit hours, excluding dissertation hours. These hours must be in accordance with an approved Plan of Study (POS).
View the Full Curriculum in the Academic Catalog Here.
English Proficiency Requirement
Please review information about Ohio University's minimum English Language Proficiency requirements for graduate study.
Interpersonal and Organizational Communication
Faculty in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication blend theory from both organizational communication and interpersonal communication to ask provocative questions about communication contexts ranging from traditional organizational settings to the classroom and more traditional interpersonal relationships. Although students and faculty in this area perform conventional foci like Organizational, Interpersonal, and Instructional Communication, many also select coursework and research projects that blend across one or more of those traditional areas.
Interpersonal and Organizational Communication Faculty
Although our faculty cross multiple areas, the following scholar-mentors specialize in topics related to Interpersonal and Organizational Communication:
Inbal Leibowits, Ph.D.
Health Communication
Faculty in Health Communication adopt a broad orientation to health, with students and faculty addressing topics ranging from narrative approaches to understanding health to health message effects. Students and faculty who emphasize health communication are encouraged to examine the full spectrum of health, from intrapersonal and interpersonal approaches to organizational, social, and mediated contexts of health communication. Faculty scholars in this area have developed meaningful connections with the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, the College of Health Sciences and Professions, as well as several health-related community advocacy organizations. Our courses and research projects build on these relationships.
Health Communication Faculty
Although our faculty cross multiple areas, the following scholar-mentors specialize in topics related to Health Communication:
Rhetoric and Culture
Faculty who emphasize Rhetoric and Culture tend to specialize in the study of contemporary discourses on issues ranging from politics to sports. Students and faculty in this track are exposed to a wide range of rhetorical theorists, as well as many other interdisciplinary theorists. Courses and research projects in this area seek to help us understand how we participate as advocates in society and enable us to become better advocates.
Rhetoric and Culture Faculty
Although our faculty cross multiple areas, the following scholar-mentors specialize in topics related to Rhetoric and Culture: