Ph.D. in Media and Communication

Numbers of Distinction

9

AEJMC Nafziger-White-Salwen Dissertation Awards since 1984:
No other program comes close.

82%

New graduates in the last five years who have become assistant professors or postdoctoral fellows, with 61% of those assistant professors at Carnegie R1 institutions

$160,000+

Value, over three years, of a Park Fellowship

$1 million

One-year expenditures for externally sponsored research

A network of support, at Carolina and beyond

As she completed her master's at the Hussman School, Kyla Garrett Wagner wasn't sure whether she'd stay in Chapel Hill for her doctorate. She applied to eight other programs but decided to stay where she felt her ideas were most supported. "While it is a competitive school and one of the best schools, we're not competitive with one another on the inside," she says. "We all can work together, and that's an incredible feeling."

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“The Ph.D. program in mass communication at UNC is recognized around the globe. For me it was an incredibly helpful foot-in-the-door for getting job interviews because other schools already knew I would be well-trained having gone through UNC's program. There were also lots of former Tar Heels on many of the search committees I encountered during my time on the job market. The UNC connection and reputation really does span far and wide.”

Jessica Gall Myrick '13 - Associate Professor at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, Pennsylvania State University

"The doctoral program at UNC-Chapel Hill will help you develop the skills you need to make an impact through research, including working with collaborators, thinking through interdisciplinary research and throughly understanding standards of excellence in theoretical, practical and ethical research."

Sheetal Patel '11 - Content Lead, Career Management Center, Stanford Graduate School of Business

“The relationships I built with students during my time at Carolina are the lifeblood of my extended academic family. I look forward to seeing them at conferences. We support each other when we see work one another have published. We are sounding boards for professional decisions that confound us. I consider them--Peter Bobkowski (Kansas), Derigan Silver (Denver) and Dan Kozlowski (St. Louis)--to be some of my dearest friends.”

Rachel Davis Mersey '07 - Associate Professor at Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications; Northwestern University

“When you come to UNC, especially when you come to do work on health communication, you are not just coming to one program. You are coming to an environment that is truly interdisciplinary and collaborative. I had the opportunity to work with world-renowned communication, public health and medical scholars. This enabled me to collaborate on a range of projects but also to lead my own projects and start thinking about my broader research program.”

Diane Francis '16 - Assistant Professor at the Manship School of Mass Communication, Louisiana State University

“Although I began the doctoral program with extensive experience in the industry, the program positioned me for a wider range of opportunities requiring expertise in communications. The faculty embraced the individuality that my cohort and I brought to the program as a result of our diverse academic and professional backgrounds. We often engaged in lively in-class discussions about the theoretical and experiential aspects of current communication issues.”

April Raphiou '15 - International communications consultant with organizations such as the United Nations and U.S. Agency for International Development

“This program places an emphasis on expanding research horizons through taking courses outside of the Hussman School. UNC-Chapel Hill is also home to top-tier political science and information science programs. Beyond UNC, courses at Duke and NC State are also open for MJ students to take at no additional charge. The pure scope and depth of knowledge that is available for MJ students to absorb is truly second to none.”

Chris Vargo '14 - Assistant Professor of Big Data and Analytics at the College of Media, Communication & Information; University of Colorado Boulder

Student and Faculty Research

UNC Hussman at the 2023 AEJMC Southeast Colloquium	Research Publication Roundup	Research Publication Roundup: September 2022
Q&A: The local and national impact of journalism by incoming Ph.D. student and U.S. Army veteran Daniel Johnson	Research Publication Roundup: May 2022	Researching representation: Ph.D. candidate Michele Meyer works with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

Numbers of Distinction

9

82%

$160,000+

$1 million

Online info session: Ph.D. in Media and Communication

November 6, 2023

A network of support, at Carolina and beyond

Why Carolina?

Learn more

Student and Faculty Research

UNC Hussman at the 2023 AEJMC Southeast Colloquium

Research Publication Roundup

Research Publication Roundup: September 2022

Q&A: The local and national impact of journalism by incoming Ph.D. student and U.S. Army veteran Daniel Johnson

Research Publication Roundup: May 2022

Researching representation: Ph.D. candidate Michele Meyer works with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

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Ph.D. in Media and Communication

Numbers of Distinction

9

82%

$160,000+

$1 million

Online info session: Ph.D. in Media and Communication

November 6, 2023

A network of support, at Carolina and beyond

Why Carolina?

Learn more

Student and Faculty Research

UNC Hussman at the 2023 AEJMC Southeast Colloquium

Research Publication Roundup

Research Publication Roundup: September 2022

Q&A: The local and national impact of journalism by incoming Ph.D. student and U.S. Army veteran Daniel Johnson

Research Publication Roundup: May 2022

Researching representation: Ph.D. candidate Michele Meyer works with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media