PhD Communication at University of Illinois Chicago

Programme overview

The Department of Communication offers work leading to degrees at the master’s and doctoral levels and participates in the interdepartmental concentrations in Black Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies, and Survey Research Methodology.

Faculty: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | Study mode: full-time | Location: Chicago, IL, United States

What you will study

Minimum 96 semester hours required. Required courses include Introduction to Communication Research (or equivalent with departmental approval); Operationalizing Communication Research (or equivalent with departmental approval); Seminar in Media Studies; Communication, Culture, and Technology; Communication, Technology, and Society Proseminar; New Media of Communication.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Prior degree: A master’s degree in communication or a related field is required. Applicants who have earned (or are completing) a bachelor’s degree and plan to pursue doctoral work should apply to the MA program. GPA: At least 3.00/4.00 for the final 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of undergraduate study, and 3.50 for any graduate study. When other data warrant, the department may grant conditional admission to students with lower grade point averages. Letters of recommendation: Three required, preferably from professors. Personal statement: Required; 600 words. Resume: Required; 1–2 pages.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Graduate and professional programmes admit for Fall, Spring and Summer terms depending on the programme; applications for Fall 2027, Spring 2028 and Summer 2028 are expected to open on August 1, 2026.

Graduate and professional application deadlines are set per programme, with separate deadlines for domestic and international applicants for most non-online programmes; optional earlier priority, recommended or fellowship dates apply to both.

Apply through the official page: https://grad.uic.edu/admissions/

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