The PhD with a major in communication and information is intended to prepare scholars for research, teaching, administration, and service in the fields of communication and information. The goal of the PhD program is to prepare graduates for positions in research-intensive institutions. This preparation will also enable them to work at other types of educational institutions and industry positions. Doctoral students develop publishable research in their course work and provide evidence of publishable research prior to taking comprehensive exams. Graduates are expected to be competent in using at least one research method and should be literate in statistics. The program includes training in the foundational origins and contemporary literature of communication and information theories and professions. The program offers the opportunity for students to learn to be good teachers and to participate in service and outreach activities.

Campus Code

Knoxville Campus

Distance Education

Admissions Standards/Procedures

• The master’s degree is required for entry into the doctoral program. Students lacking academic or professional experience in communication and information may be required to take prerequisite courses.
• The following are normally minimal requirements for admission to full potential candidate status.
  • A 3.0 (4.0 system) grade point average in undergraduate studies, and 3.5 for graduate work.
  • At or above the fiftieth percentile in verbal, quantitative, and analytical aptitude on the Graduate Record Examination.
  • Recommendation letters from at least three former teachers or professional colleagues.
  • A statement of the applicant’s goals and reasons for pursuing the doctorate. Personal interviews with members of the PhD Admissions Committee may be required. Professional experience in some field of communication and/or information is a desirable criterion for admission.
  • For students whose native language is not English and who have not earned an earlier degree at an American college or university in the past two years, the Test of English as a Foreign Language is required. The test must have been taken within the past two years. Students should show mastery of the English language.
  • New students normally begin classes in the fall semester. Applications for both admission and financial aid are due on January 15.

Academic Standards

• A student in the College of Communication and Information whose graduate grade point average is below 3.0 after the end of 9 hours of graduate credit will be placed on academic probation. A student will be allowed to continue graduate study in subsequent semesters if each semester’s grade point average is 3.0 or greater. Upon achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.0, the student will be removed from probationary status. A student must achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 in order to graduate. A student who earns less than a grade of C in a required course will have his/her program terminated. A graduate student cannot repeat a course.

Communication Studies Concentration

Credit Hours Required

Minimum of 62 credit hours approved graduate work beyond the master’s degree

Required Courses

• Core Courses (17 credit hours)
  • CCI 605  
  • CCI 631  
  • CCI 635  
  • CCI 620  (2 credit hours)
  • CCI 611  or advanced statistics (selected in consultation with the major professor and guidance committee)
  • CCI 600-level course (selected in selected in consultation with the major professor and guidance committee)
• Primary Concentration (12 credit hours)
  • CMST 680  
  • Other courses will be defined by the student and his/her program committee
• Cognate Area (9 credit hours)
  • Defined by the student and his/her program committee
• Dissertation (24 credit hours)
  • CCI 600  

Additional Course Requirements

• Within the combined primary concentration and cognate areas, a total of 6 credit hours must be from theory-focused courses and 6 credit hours must be from methods courses.
  • Courses both inside and outside the college (including graduate-level courses in the schools) may be identified as theory and/or method courses.
  • Courses will be selected in consultation with the major professor and guidance committee.

Non-Course Requirements

• All courses require the approval of the student’s program committee and the Associate Dean for Academic Programs.
• A preliminary program plan must be submitted to the associate dean’s office by April 1st of the second semester of study.
• A final program plan must be submitted before the student undertakes his/her comprehensive exam.
• On the Admission to Candidacy form, master’s coursework does not have to be listed.
• Students complete their comprehensive exam prior to working on the dissertation.