Ph.D. in Public Communication & Technology

The Ph.D. degree in Public Communication and Technology focuses on two important concerns: the role of information in the public’s understandings of contemporary issues and the impact of new communication technologies in people’s lives.

As a research-based degree, the program prepares students for careers in two areas:

• Teaching and research at the university level. Universities and colleges worldwide seek colleagues who are knowledgeable about new and traditional media, and how these can be applied in practical contexts. Students pursuing this path receive a solid grounding in communication theory and research methodology so that they can speak to these issues. Students also have opportunities to develop their instructional skills by teaching in the department’s undergraduate program and by taking advantage of instructional training opportunities provided by CSU’s Institute for Learning and Teaching.
• Communication research and research management positions outside academia. For-profit, non-profit, and governmental organizations seek employees qualified to address their media and communication-related issues. By taking a mixture of research methods and theory courses, students will be prepared to help organizations address communication-related issues.

Although the curriculum may be tailored to individual interests, students are expected to demonstrate expertise in one of the three concentrations within the program. In addition to developing a specialization in one of these areas, students are encouraged to develop a depth of knowledge in at least one other concentration.

• Human Behavior and Technology: the processes and effects of how individuals use communication and information technologies.
• Organizations and Technology: how organizations and groups deploy communication technologies for information, education, advocacy, promotion, and community-building purposes.
• Social Policy and Technology: the development of media and information technologies and their political, economic, and social consequences, including implications for public policy.