Elevate Your Impact
The doctoral program in communication at North Dakota State University is unique. Students are encouraged to engage in research that seeks to solve meaningful problems. Our doctoral students, who come from a variety of academic backgrounds, strive to understand issues, solve problems, and create programs that can improve organizational, educational, technological, and mediated settings and situations.
The department currently offers two areas of concentration:
- Organizational Communication
- Media and Society
Acceptance into the program is competitive. Students may enroll in up to 12 credit hours before they complete an application for the program. 60 credit hours beyond the master's degree are required, with 30 credit hours of courses focused on theory or issues associated with their concentration, 15 credit hours of research method courses, and at least 15 dissertation credits.
The strong emphasis on research in the program; the faculty's view of the centrality of teaching; the faculty's involvement in national and international associations; and the close working relationship students have with their advisor and other faculty members produce a number of positive outcomes. Students generally have two to three publications and multiple convention presentations at graduation, and students who are pursuing careers in the professoriate have a keen understanding of teaching and learning.
For more information on the Ph.D. program, contact Dr. Justin Walden, Director of Graduate Studies.
Further details on graduate study can be found on the NDSU Graduate School's website. Prospective or admitted doctoral students may also consider setting up an account with IMAGINE PHD (unaffiliated with NDSU) to explore and plan for career options for doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences.
College Teaching Certificate
Students generally have two to three publications and multiple convention presentations at graduation, and students who are pursuing careers in the professoriate have a keen understanding of teaching and learning. For students interested in advanced training in teaching and learning, the college teaching certificate, a nine-credit certificate in pedagogy, is available through the Office of Teaching and Learning.