Institute of Communications Research
Director of Graduate Studies: John Nerone
228 Gregory Hall
810 South Wright Street
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 333-1549
E-mail: icr@illinois.edu
Major: Communications and Media
Degrees Offered: Ph.D.
Medical Scholars Program: Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Communications and Media and Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) through the Medical Scholars Program
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 and Media; 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.
The Institute's faculty and graduate students are also active in the Department of Advertising, the Department of African American Studies, the Asian American Studies Program, the Unit for Cinema Studies, the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory , the Gender and Women's Studies Program, the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities , the Campus Informatics Initiative, the Department of Journalism, the Latino/a Studies Program, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and the Program in Media Studies.
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
*For additional details and requirements students should request an e-mail copy of ICR Abbreviated Graduate Handbook for further, detailed information on program requirements, and refer to the Graduate College Handbook.
Doctor of Philosophy
| Required Courses: | Required Hours |
|---|---|
| Proseminar: MDIA 571 and 572 | 8 |
| Two research methods courses, 1 quantitative and 1 qualitative | 8 |
| Thesis Hours Required – MDIA 599 (min/max applied toward degree): | 32 |
| Total Hours | 96 |
| Other Requirements:* | |
| Minimum GPA: | 3.0 |
| Qualifying Exam Required | No |
| Preliminary Exam Required | Yes |
| Final Exam/Dissertation Defense Required | Yes |
| Dissertation Deposit Required | Yes |
Coursework: ICR requires 64 credits of coursework, of which 16 may have been earned in previous graduate work. Students are responsible for designing their own programs of coursework, which are submitted for approval by the Institute's Program Evaluation Committee. Although students are given the broadest latitude in designing interdisciplinary programs, they must include courses that fill certain requirements.
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 in the field of communications research. 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 research 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 communications research, 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 research.
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. 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
574 Communications Systems
575 Cultural Studies and Critical Interpretation
577 Philosophy of Technology
578 Communication Ethics
580 Advanced Interpretive Methods
Many courses listed as MDIA 590: Special Topics also qualify as overview courses. Recent examples include International Communications, US Media History, and New Media Theory.
Research Methods
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 Media 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.
Preliminary Exams
Students, in consultation with their chosen advisors, select a committee of four faculty members for their preliminary exams. Upon completion of coursework, students undertake preparing written examinations. Upon completing written answers for each examiner, along with a dissertation proposal, students undergo a 2-hour oral examination. Upon passing the preliminary examination, students proceed with work on their dissertations.
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 within the general area of communications research.
Final Examination
After students distribute polished drafts of their dissertations, they take final oral examinations administered by their chosen 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.
Medical Scholars Program
The Medical Scholars Program permits highly qualified students to integrate the study of medicine with study for a graduate degree in a second discipline, including Communications and Media. Students may apply to the Medical Scholars Program prior to beginning graduate school or while in the graduate program. Applicants to the Medical Scholars Program must meet the admissions standards for and be accepted into both the doctoral graduate program and the College of Medicine. Students in the dual degree program must meet the specific requirements for both the medical and graduate degrees. On average, students take eight years to complete both degrees. Further information on this program is available by contacting the Medical Scholars Program, 125 Medical Sciences Building, (217) 333-8146 or at www.med.illinois.edu/msp.
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
www.media.illinois.edu/faculty/icr.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 receive 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, 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.
See also UIUC Graduate College Financial Aid and Fellowship Office.