phd media us

Journalism and Media

Doctoral program.

Our doctoral program is among the best programs in journalism and media in the U.S.  Led by faculty with distinguished research and publication records – many with professional journalism or media experience – our program is designed to equip students with a strong theoretical grounding and versatile research methods.  Graduates of our four-year program can go on to positions in the academy, and they also may join think tanks, advocacy and non-governmental organizations and professional associations working with information and media systems.   

We offer a far-reaching array of electives and research opportunities. The faculties’ fields of interest broadly include news and media engagement; online incivility; digital media; mis and disinformation; the digital divide and information equity; media law and policy, including the impact of Artificial Intelligence and algorithms on media; journalism and democracy; global media systems; media and representation; visual communication studies; critical data studies; social media and platform studies; media economics, among other topics.  Please look at  faculty bios  and description of research opportunities  to learn more about current projects.   

Our program incorporates many opportunities to undertake research independently or to work with groups associated with research centers, institutes or research groups. We have an excellent record of participation with the major professional associations including the Association for Education in Journalism and Media Communication ( AEJ MC ), the International Communication Association ( ICA ),  the International Association of Media and Communication Research ( IAMCR ), the Association of Internet Research ( AoIR ), as well as smaller highly focused forums such as The Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy. 

Interdisciplinary Work

Our students also participate with the many interdisciplinary  Portfolio Programs  on campus.  Moody College is home to three such programs, including the  Communication, Information and Cultural Policy  program focused on media systems, directed by some of our faculty.  Additionally, summer internships with professional or research programs are sometimes sponsored by associated research institutes.  Students have taken advantage of UT’s  Archer Program , and the multi-University COMPASS program associated with the Technology and Information Policy Institute.   

Program of Work 2023-2024

Doctoral Handbook 2023-2024

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Doctor of Philosophy Media, Culture, and Communication

Grounded in an interdisciplinary approach to the study of media and culture, our doctorate draws from a rich array of disciplines and theoretical frameworks. Department expertise spans the globe: the Middle East, East Asia, the Global South, Africa, and Europe. Our faculty generate some of the most original scholarship in their respective fields, creating a stimulating environment in which to pursue graduate work.

Degree Details

Official degree title.

PhD in Media, Culture, and Communication

Research Focus

Alumni placements, funding for full-time phd students.

Five research areas operate as guiding frameworks for intellectual inquiry across the department: Global Communication and Media, Technology and Society, Visual Culture and Sound Studies, Media Industries and Politics, Interaction and Experience.

Your work as a doctoral student will be shaped by our commitment to:

• Engaging with theoretical concepts from a range of disciplines—media and cultural studies, visual culture, history, science and technology studies, anthropology, sociology, disability studies, sound studies, political science.
• A multi-methodological approach to research—from semiotics, global ethnography, gender and queer theory, critical race theory, qualitative and quantitative discourse analysis, to political/cultural economy, among other critical frameworks.
• A global perspective—conceiving of the global mediascape as transnational and transcultural.
• Recognizing media and technology’s long history and antecedents.

Read some sample dissertation abstracts .

After graduating, alumni join academic departments of media and communication, with placement in the social sciences and interdisciplinary humanities becoming increasingly common. MCC PhDs who graduated in the past ten years are now tenure-track or tenured professors at the University of California, Berkeley; University of Washington, Seattle; Cornell University; Stanford University; UCLA; Rutgers; Fordham; University of Michigan; George Mason University; University of North Carolina; University of Arizona; College of Charleston; Memorial University of Newfoundland; University of San Francisco; Scripps; Pratt; University of Maryland; American University of Beirut; American University of Paris, Ryerson University; Trent University; St. Joseph’s College.

Over the past decade, our PhD graduates have received numerous prestigious postdocs, including a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities in the Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing at MIT; Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at MIT's Center for Art, Science, and Technology; Postdoctoral Fellow, Berkman Klein Center, Harvard University; Postdoctoral Researcher, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science; Postdoctoral, Center for Information Technology Policy, Princeton University; Postdoctoral Fellowship at Rice University in Technology, Culture, and Society; Research Associate, Center for Digital Humanities, Princeton University; Postdoctoral Fellow, Media, Inequality & Change Center, University of Pennsylvania.

If you are accepted as a full-time NYU Steinhardt PhD student without an alternate funding source, you are eligible for our competitive funding package, which includes a scholarship and tuition remission.  Learn more about our funding opportunities .

Graduate Leadership

Associate Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication; PhD Director

Susan Murray

Department chair and professor of media, culture, and communication.

If you have additional questions about our degree, please contact us at [email protected] .

Alumni Profiles

Jacob Gaboury (PhD 2014)

Jacob is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Film & Media at the University of California, Berkeley. His dissertation "Image Objects: An Archaeology of Computer Graphics, 1965-1979" investigated the early history of computer graphics and the role they play in the move toward new forms of simulation and object oriented design.

Xiaochang Li (PhD 2017)

Xiaochang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Stanford University. Her teaching and research interests include the history of computing and information systems, AI and algorithmic culture, speech and language technology, and software/platform studies. Before joining Stanford, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin.

Hatim El-Hibri (PhD 2012)

Hatim is Assistant Professor of Film and Media Studies at George Mason University. His research examines media technologies and urban space in the Middle East. His dissertation traced the history of the visualization of Beirut, from the politics of aerial photography and mapping during the French Mandate, to the visual economy of postwar construction, to the materiality of Hizballah's live satellite television.

Liz Koslov (PhD 2017)

Liz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Planning and the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA. Previously, she was a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT. Her research examines the cultural, political, and sociological dimensions of climate change adaptation. Her first book project, Retreat: Moving to Higher Ground in a Climate-Changed City , is under advance contract with the University of Chicago Press.

Devon Powers (PhD 2008)

Devon is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Advertising, Media & Communication at Temple University. Powers' research interests include popular music, 20th century history, and cultural intermediation – the people and processes that operate "in between" the production and consumption of culture. Powers completed a fellowship at the University of Leeds in 2014, and was recently elected Vice Chair of the Popular Communication Division of the International Communication Association.

Matthew Powers (PhD 2013)

Matthew is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington-Seattle. His dissertation "Humanity's Publics: NGOs, Journalism and the International Public Sphere" examined reporting roles assumed by international NGOs as legacy media outlets cut their foreign news budgets, and received the Gene Burd Outstanding Dissertation in Journalism Studies award from the International Communication Association. 

Media, Culture, and Communication

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• PhD: Media Studies

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Fall Application Deadlines

US applicants:  Jan. 15 International applicants:  Dec. 1

In the online application, select Media Studies as the department, Media Research & Practice  as the degree, and Media Studies  as the subplan/track.

How to Apply

The PhD in Media Studies offered by the Department of Media Studies is one of three separate and distinct tracks of the Media Research and Practice doctoral program within the College of Media, Communication and Information.

Drawing largely from contemporary cultural and critical theory, the PhD in Media Studies focuses on interactions among the major components of modern communication — media institutions, their contents and messages, and their audiences or publics — as a process by which cultural meaning is generated. It examines that process on an interdisciplinary basis through social, economic, political, historical, legal/policy/regulatory and international perspectives, with a strong emphasis on issues involving new communication technology and policy.

As a graduate student and colleague in the Department of Media Studies you will be working within an environment that is committed to rigorous scholarship, critical pedagogy, and intellectual and creative engagement, one that celebrates traditional forms of intellectual inquiry and other equally-profound models and road maps of knowledge pursuit. Our commitment is to ensure that:

…you will emerge with a deep understanding of a range of theoretical paradigms drawn from social, cultural and media theory and a set of significant core competencies – intellectual, methodological, and creative.

…you will develop a sophisticated understanding of a range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies.

…you will use this experience to cultivate your intellectual and creative voice, one that is unique to you.

…you will have the opportunity to express that voice in a variety of ways, whether that be the traditional forms of intellectual expression, the book, the journal article, the conference paper or, where appropriate, employing the possibilities provided by emergent technologies and creative forms. 

…you will understand the Department’s commitment to, and support of, engaged scholarship, our recognition that intellectual inquiry is also about intensifying synergies within and beyond the confines of the university, that the pursuit of knowledge is not an isolated affair, nor is it a privileged conversation, and that our scholarly labor is strong when it shortens the distance between academia and public life.

• Program Requirements
• Applications Guidelines and Resources
• Financial Support
• Contact Graduate Advising

Students take a minimum of 72 hours to complete their degrees, although they may take additional course work if there is a justified need. Students are expected to complete their course work and defend their dissertations in 4–5 years. Students may take up to 15 credit hours of course work outside the Department of Media Studies, through a required Outside Emphasis (9 hours), which complements the student’s plan of study, and through Advanced Methods in Media Research and Practice, (6 hours), which may include relevant courses offered either inside or outside of the department.

In general, course offerings toward the PhD in media studies emphasize the following cross-cutting themes that are treated throughout our curriculum:

• sophistication in the treatment of theoretical issues;
• rigor and high ethical standards in the collection, analysis and presentation of research;
• thorough knowledge of the historical context of media institutions and practices; and
• sustained focus on issues of social and cultural diversity (race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexualities), and on issues arising due to the increase in transnational media and information flows and influences.

Required Courses:

• Proseminar—6 (2 courses)
• Qualitative research methods—3
• Quantitative research methods—3
• Advanced research methods—3 hours
• One additional advanced methods course, or one media practice course—3 hours
• Inside emphasis—12-15 hours (4-5 Media Studies courses)
• Outside emphasis—9-12 hours (3-4 courses in other units)
• Dissertation hours—30 credits

Students are expected to complete the program and defend the dissertation in four-five years.

Applicants to the Media Studies track of the PhD program in Media Research and Practice are expected to hold the master’s degree or equivalent graduate work. In exceptional cases, applicants without a master’s degree may be considered for admission.

Completed domestic applications must be received by the program no later than Jan. 15 prior to the fall semester for which entrance is sought. International applications should be submitted by Dec. 1. Late applications may be considered under special circumstances.

Successful applications typically meet or exceed the following criteria:

Have an undergraduate cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.2 and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 in previous graduate work.

International applicants must have a TOEFL score of 625 (IBT 106).

Provide three letters of recommendation.

Provide a 700-word Statement of Purpose.

Provide a resume or CV that includes academic and employment experience.

Provide a writing sample that exhibits the ability to undertake the conceptual and empirical studies required of doctoral students (e.g., a chapter from a master’s thesis or graduate-level term paper).

Meeting these criteria does not guarantee acceptance into the program. Because we accept relatively few new doctoral students each fall, we may have more qualified applicants than available openings.

For review and decision purposes you are required to upload an unofficial copy of your transcript(s) in the online application. We require one copy of the scanned transcript from each undergraduate and graduate institution that you attended. This includes community colleges, summer sessions, and extension programs. While credits from one institution may appear on the transcript of a second institution, unofficial transcripts must be submitted from each institution, regardless of the length of attendance, and whether or not courses were completed.   Failure to list and submit transcripts from all institutions previously attended is considered to be a violation of academic ethics and may result in the cancellation of your admission or dismissal from the university.

ONLY after you are recommended for admission will you need to provide official transcripts. 

Instructions for Uploading Unofficial Transcripts to Your Application  (scroll to 'Uploading Unofficial Transcripts in the Application')

FAQ  |  Online Application  |  International Students Online Application

Student Information

Be Involved

Helpful Links

Center For Environmental Journalism  |  Center for Media, Religion and Culture

Research or teaching assistantships, including a tuition waiver and stipend, as well as fellowships, are available. PhD students may receive assistantships for a maximum of four years.

Phone: 303-735-0730

Email:  [email protected]

Campus Location: CASE W 361

MDST MDRP Program Handbook

Media Studies PhD Alumni

• Graduate Course Offerings

The following are Media Studies graduate courses. Not all courses are yet available. Please see an advisor if you have any questions.

• Core Courses
• Elective Courses

MDST 5000 (fall) Connected Media Practices—3 credit hours Helps students understand the evolution of film, television and gaming in the digital era. This course explores how screen media are created, circulated and consumed. Specifically referring to a multi-platform news and entertainment experience, connected media practices integrates digital technology and socially networked communication with traditional screen media practices. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only. Required of students in Media and Public Engagement MA program.

MDST 5002 (spring) Media Activism and Public Engagement—3 Explores the theory on media activism and actual activist practices within both old and new media and on a local, national and global scale. Special attention will be paid to questions of creativity and efficacy and the value of media activism as both an aesthetic and political activity. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only. Required of students in Media and Public Engagement MA program.

CMCI 6051 Theories of Mass Communication—3 Studies theories and perspectives of mass communication and explores the role of mass media in society. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only. Required of students in Media and Public Engagement MA program.

MDST 7011 (fall) Proseminar in Media and Communication Theory 1—3 Introduces principal concepts, literature and theoretical and paradigmatic perspectives of media studies and mass communication and their ties and contributions to parallel domains in the social sciences and humanities. Prerequisites: Restricted to PhD students in Media Studies (MDST), Journalism (JRNL) and Advertising, Public Relations and Design (APRD).

MDST 7021(spring) Proseminar in Media and Communication Theory 2—3 Continues the introduction of principal concepts, literature and theoretical and paradigmatic perspectives of media studies and mass communication and their ties and contributions to parallel domains in the social sciences and humanities. Prerequisites: Requires a prerequisite course of MDST 7011 (minimum grade D-). Restricted to PhD students in Media Studies (MDST), Journalism (JRNL) and Advertising, Public Relations and Design (APRD).

CMCI 7051 (fall) Qualitative Research Methods in Media—3 Examines various methods of qualitative data gathering and analysis in the mass and social media context. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

CMCI 7061 (spring) Quantitative Research Methods in Media—3 Examines various methods of quantitative data gathering methods and analysis in the mass media context. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 5211 Asian Media and Culture—3 Offers an understanding of the various people, cultures and nations of East Asia through their media systems. Provides a critical overview of the historical, cultural, social, political and economic dimensions of East Asian communication systems in today's digitally connected/disconnected world. Same as MDST 4211. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 5311 Mass Media Criticism Introduces the critical perspectives most often employed in qualitative media analysis: semiology, structuralism, Marxism, psychoanalytical criticism, sociological criticism. Texts from contemporary print and broadcast media.

MDST 5331 Gender, Race, Class and Sexuality in Popular Culture—3 Studies the construction, interconnections and replications of gender, race, class and sexuality in popular culture and how these constructs become cultural norms and mores. Uses critical methods with a focus on producing responsible viewers and readers. Same as MDST 4331. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 6071 Critical Theories of Media and Culture—3 Introduction to critical theories and analysis of media and popular culture. Examines major theoretical traditions and/or theorists that significantly inform media studies (e.g., culturalism, structuralism, Marxism, critical theory, feminism, psychoanalysis, post-structuralism) and applies these to media analysis and criticism. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 6201 Global Media and Culture—3 Covers mass communication within the international system, including similarities and differences in functions, facilities and content; social theories of the press; and the international flow of mass communication. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 6211 Communication and International Development—3 Studies and analyzes communications technologies and techniques used in addressing social problems in developing countries. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 6301 Communication, Media and Concepts of the Public—3 Introduces students to historical and contemporary uses of fundamental concepts in research and theory about media institutions, particularly public, community, mass, publicity, public space, public opinion, public interest and the public sphere. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 6311 Power, Politics and Mediated Culture—3 Examines various literatures that consider the role of power in shaping social orders and the social beings that constitute that order and the place of media in both processes.

CMCI 6331 Political Communication—3 Explores the relationships involving media and politics. Incorporates normative and empirical perspectives on the media-politics complex. Areas covered include media effects on public opinion and policy, uses of media ingovernance, journalism sociology, coverage of elections and implications of interactive media for governance and civic participation. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 6341 Children and the Media—3 Examines the concepts of children and childhood from the historical, social, cultural, economic and political perspectives, this course explores the interaction between mass media and the socialization and cultivation process of children and youth.  Multiple theoretical traditions are used as a framework to study a variety of issues related to children and media. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 6551 Media and Communication Policy—3 Surveys historical and contemporary developments in media and communications policy, emphasizing social and cultural dimensions. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 6671 Media, Myth and Ritual—3 Anthropological and interpretative exploration of cultural practices of media audiences. Addresses theoretical and methodological implications of studying audiences from a culturalist perspective, with particular focus on media audience practices. Students engage in field research projects related to course content. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 6711 Media and Popular Culture—3 Introduction to fundamental methods for understanding the construction of meaning in film, television, popular music and advertising. Traces the study of popular culture through film theory, mass media analysis and cultural studies. Surveys various strands of research that seek to understand popular culture and its effects. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 6771 History of Media and Communication—3 Examines history and the history of communication, including the means (technologies) of communication, social practices (institutional, collective, individual) that intersect with the study of communication and media and cultural forms (texts, products). Situates the study of media, technology and culture within historical contexts, comparative historical research, media archaeology, genealogy and media history. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 6781 Economic and Political Aspects of Media—3 Examines economic problems and political issues relevant to media institutions and industries. Prerequisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

CMCI 6861 Visual Communication—3 Visual communication involves understanding both perception of messages and construction of them. Students analyze their visual thinking abilities and develop habits of visual analysis and criticism, as well as visual communication skills. Requisites: Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 6XXX Youth and Media Engagement—3  (course number to be determined) Young people today have unprecedented access to information and modes of media production, but how much of this access can translate into political and social engagement? What factors indicate youth involvement in media and participation in social and political processes. This course examines how youth engage media practices for greater civic participation. Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 6XXX Practices of Social Mobilization—3  (course number to be determined) This course explores the role of mainstream and alternative media in the history of social advocacy, engagement and dissent. Through theoretical readings and case studies, the course provides an overview of the relationship between social movements and the media. Students learn theories and concepts of dissent, communication and social movements and develop critical analytical skills to apply to the analysis of specific cases. Case studies explore activist media across platforms (print, radio, broadcast, internet), contexts (from local to global, present-day to historical) and use (dialogic, contentious, hacktivist). Restricted to graduate students only.

MDST 6871 Special Topics—3 Variable topics. Restricted to graduate students only.

• Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design
• Communication
• Critical Media Practices
• Information Science
• Intermedia Art, Writing and Performance (PhD)
• BA: Media Studies
• Minor: Media Studies
• MA: Media and Public Engagement
• Mellon / ACLS Speaker Series
• CMCI Certificates
• CMCI Minors
• Communication & Society Residence Academic Program (CMCI CommRAP)
• CMCI in D.C.
• Graduation with Honors in CMCI

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• Department of Media Study >
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PhD in Media Study

The Department of Media Study’s PhD is one of a small set of innovative doctoral programs in experimental media theory and practice-led research in the United States. This program responds to the rapid development and transformation of media due to advances in digital technologies and to the growing number of artist-scholar-researchers working in technology-based art forms.

A new community of artist-scholar-researchers has emerged in the spaces between media art practice, the humanities and the sciences. This work is not easily categorized and often spans disciplines that traditionally have little overlap. Students of this program become experts in the hybrid set of conceptual and technical abilities that this field requires while they engage with the aesthetic, political and social challenges of media making. The department offers courses in film and video production, interactive media, digital media, physical computing, media networks and web-based media.

Learning Environment

This doctoral program is designed to create a framework for practice-led and scholarly research into media arts. Commensurate with the traditional PhD framework, most of the credits are earned in research and independent study. Consequently, students are free to organize their course of study around specific research trajectories. Coursework gives students opportunity to showcase and critique their work with peers. Students work closely with members of the faculty who share their research area. The dissertation combines both written and production components in a proportion and manner appropriate to the student’s area of research. The program only requires that the conversation between these two components be substantial and original. This PhD is most obviously appropriate for artists who plan to conduct their research in an academic context. However, the PhD is equally appropriate for media artists who want to explore the theoretical implications of their work or for ‘scholarly’ researchers who want to move from the purely discursive to explore practice-based research. This program is designed to be completed in five to six years. 

Program Requirements

Seventy-two credit hours are required, and students are expected to create a substantial and original media project to accompany their doctoral dissertation.

The PhD Requirements Manual offers a more comprehensive explanation of degree requirements. 

See Brad Hendricks  [email protected] for forms.

Description of required coursework follows:

Production (9 credits): PhD students must be literate in media creation. (This category was previously Methods of Making.) Students should discuss with their  faculty advisor whether any particular courses in this category would benefit them.

Media Theory and History (18 credits):  The required course DMS 570, Media Theory, provides a graduate-level introduction to media theory and research methodologies. Additional media theory and history courses prepare students to take their qualifying exams and eventually to contribute original research to the field. The preliminary media theory course should be taken in the first semester, the other two media theory courses should be taken in the semester prior to the qualifying exam.

PhD Seminars and Research Ethics (6 credits):  Students are encouraged to take these courses (I and II) in semester 1 and semester 4. PhD Seminar I focuses on research methods and practices; PhD Seminar II focuses on research strategies and preparation of manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals. Students will identify appropriate professional journals, publication venues and conferences for the presentation of their doctoral research. Students must also pass a research ethics course, either by taking a 2 credit seminar (PHI 640 or RPN 541) or by completing the online Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) with a passing score of 80% or higher. Students taking the CITI course must submit documentation of their successful completion of the course with their Application to Candidacy.

Directed Electives (30 credits):  Students may choose any UB graduate courses that support their doctoral research, chosen in consultation with their faculty advisor. Students must keep records (course work and syllabi) of all course activities performed outside of DMS. This information will become important when applying for candidacy. Some directed electives (at least 8 credits) must be taken in additional media theory classes.

Dissertation and Project Guidance (9 credits):  Thesis and project work is usually credited by registering for DMS 598 project supervision during one of the last three semesters, and DMS 702 Dissertation guidance in the final two semesters, in any combination of credits suited to the work.

Required Coursework outside DMS:  Students must take at least 3 classes outside of DMS as part of their requirements for the major. Usually these courses will be used for electives and will be chosen in concert with the student’s faculty advisor. Use of these courses for PhD requirements, other than as electives, must be approved by the DGS. Students are required to keep documentation (syllabi, semester papers, etc.) for these courses. All credits must be in graduate level courses External Courses (counted under electives or other categories)(500 level and above).

Requirements for Student Starting Prior to Fall 2021

Production (8 credits)

Media Theory and History (12 credits)

PhD Seminar I and II (8 credits)

Research Ethics (0 credits, or counted under electives)

Directed Electives (38 credits) Includes at least 8 additional credits of Media Theory and History

Dissertation and Project Guidance (6 credits)

[Includes at least 3 classes outside of DMS]

Apply Today!

Join a community of scholars and researchers working together to solve pressing global problems.  We are committed to recruiting the very best PhD students and preparing doctoral students for career success. UB features:

• World-class faculty experts  mentor PhD students in a dynamic research and learning environment. Students can focus on their research and scholarship alongside renowned faculty while preparing for the careers and professions that await them after graduation.
• A city on the rise.  Buffalo, N.Y. offers affordable housing, arts, culture and community.  Learn more about Buffalo .

PhD Funding Opportunities

• Academic year stipends of $23,000  for all full-time, funded PhD students on 10-month academic teaching assistant, research assistant or graduate assistant appointments.
• UB’s stipend levels are competitive among public Association of American Universities (AAU) member institutions.
• Arthur A. Schomburg Fellowship Program : To be eligible for a Schomburg Fellowship, candidates must contribute to the diversity of the student body, and can demonstrate that they have overcome a disadvantage or other impediment to success in higher education. Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible to receive Schomburg Fellowships.
• Presidential Fellowships :  To be eligible for Presidential Fellowships, candidates must meet the criteria listed on the Presidential Fellowship page. Both domestic and international students are eligible, if they meet these criteria. For any questions regarding funding for academic year 2024–2025, contact the director of graduate studies or department chair.

Learn more about the Department of Media Study Graduate Programs

• 10/17/23 Graduate Overview
• 11/17/23 Meet Our Faculty
• 12/11/23 Current Graduate Students

380 Academic Center

Phone: (716) 645-6242

[email protected]

251 Center For The Arts

Phone: (716) 645-0927

[email protected]

Research Areas: Documentary Theory and Practice; Media and Activism; Intersectional Politics and Aesthetics; History of the Interview; Labor

PhD in Emerging Media Studies

New media poses challenges for society and complexities for researchers. Are you ready to tackle both?

Academic Bulletin

• Degree Requirements
• PhD Students
• Request Info

The Boston University PhD program in Emerging Media Studies is the nation’s first doctorate program in emerging media and its critical, daily role in modern life.

COM’s unique program prepares its doctoral students to become sophisticated researchers and critical thinkers who are ready to advance the fields of communication, sociological, and media leadership. Designed for students with a master’s degree, this program helps candidates gain a comprehensive understanding of the role of emerging media in society and organizations and hone their research skills through independent, innovative, and mentored research.

Recent and upcoming dissertation topics address a wide array of topics, such as social perceptions of robots, the effects of television binge-watching, and media framing of direct-to-consumer genetic testing.

Meet COM’s First Doctoral Recipient, Sarah Krongard

It seems there’s always something to celebrate at COM, and the 2019 fall semester marked one particularly noteworthy achievement — PhD…

Learning and Teaching

EMS graduate students are taught and mentored by some of the leading researchers and thinkers in the field.  The faculty make full use of the most advanced theories and methods to examine communication phenomena — from social media, streaming content, and AR/VR to Big Data and AI. Under their guidance, students learn how to conduct and analyze social science research concerning all types of emerging media. 

 As a doctoral student, you’ll serve as a teaching fellow while enrolled in the program. On average, you should expect to serve as a teaching fellow a minimum of two times during the program.

Resources for Research 

COM graduate students get ready for careers by rolling up their sleeves for hands-on research.

All Emerging Media Studies students contribute to COM’s annual #ScreentimeBU conference, an opportunity to present their research in the field of digital communication and society as well as exchange their views with peers and field leaders concerning important contemporary issues. By showcasing the fruits of your research, you’ll share their ideas with the general public and industry leaders. Additionally, the conference provides an opportunity for you to develop your public communication capabilities and receive input from industry experts in a professional setting.

CENTER FOR MOBILE Communication Studies

Laptops, smart phones, and tablets have been transformed from novelties to necessities. But we’re only beginning to understand how they have transformed us.

EMS students also take advantage of research opportunities at COM’s Communication Research Center , COM’s primary research hub, and the state of-the-art technology offered at the Zimmerman Family Social Activation Center, that puts in-depth social media analytics at your fingertips.

Funding Support

Because the doctoral program is immersive and requires full-time participation for a number of years, all PhD students in Emerging Media Studies are funded for the duration of their study, up to a maximum of five years. Funding includes a full tuition scholarship, health insurance credit, and stipend in return for teaching and research obligations. Students with their own funding for the program (through the Fulbright Commission, government funding or other source) will still be required to serve as a teaching fellow for at least one semester. Compensation will be provided.

Benefit from Boston

One of BU’s greatest resources is its location. Consistently ranked among the most livable cities in the world, Boston is “America’s college town,” a city rich in history while remaining on the forefront of culture and innovation. Boston is a Top 10 U.S. media market, and home to some of the world’s best creative agencies, media companies and leading employers — offering boundless opportunities for internships and careers.

More than 80%

of our graduate students receive scholarships.

Purpose Driven

COM stands out from our peers. Our faculty offers a mix of researchers and practitioners who endorse a cross-discipline, hands-on approach to learning. Our location lies at the heart of an electric, media-savvy city.

But it may be COM’s shared values that matter most. We believe that communication requires diversity, critical thinking, and creative expression. We believe that communication must be grounded in truth, authenticity, effectiveness, and purpose. We believe that communication builds understanding among people and across society.

Emerging Media Research

Physiological response to political advertisement: examining the influence of partisan and….

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Meet the Emerging Media Faculty

Chris Chao Su

Assistant professor, emerging media studies.

Chris Wells

Associate professor, emerging media studies.

Daniel Park

Visiting assistant professor, emerging media studies.

Feld Professor of Emerging Media

James Cummings

Kelsey Prena

Emerging media news, com’s new dalton professor knows disinformation from personal experience.

When Robots Deliver the News

Joan Donovan, Nationally Recognized Expert in Misinformation and Disinformation, Joins COM Faculty

Emerging Media Studies

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• SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

The PhD in Media, Technology, and Society (MTS) program is an innovative, interdisciplinary, and flexible curriculum focusing on the dynamic media and technology environment and its impact. The program encourages students to pursue their passion by designing individualized programs of study that incorporate relevant classes from across Northwestern University. The program faculty are internationally renowned for their research in areas such as:

• Children’s development
• Digital media use and effects
• Health and well-being
• Human-computer interaction
• Innovation and change
• Media institutions
• Networks and organizing
• Social media

The MTS faculty undertake research in these areas using a wide array of traditional and innovative research methods. In addition, they actively pursue opportunities to make positive economic, cultural, and social impact through their research in businesses, nonprofit, and government agencies.

Film & Media PhD

Phd in film and media.

Students in the Film and Media PhD are encouraged to situate moving images within the larger theoretical and analytical frameworks of a range of other disciplines. They integrate the traditions of history, law, literature, cultural studies, gender studies, and political theory to the newer disciplines of film studies and digital media, applying the tools of post-structuralism, psychoanalysis, new historicism, media archaeology, Frankfurt School, feminist theory, queer theory, post-colonialism, and critical race theory. Many combine their degree study with a campus designated emphasis (graduate minor) in New Media, in Critical Theory, or in Women, Gender and Sexuality.

Designated Emphasis in Film Studies

PhD students at Berkeley outside the Department of Film & Media may add a Designated Emphasis in Film Studies to their major fields. The designated emphasis provides curricular and research resources for students who want to concentrate on film and media research within their respective disciplines and have their work formally recognized. Designed to bring together faculty and students from different departments, the program provides a unique contliext for rigorous cross-disciplinary thinking and promotes innovative research in the theory and history of cinema and media studies.

Contact Info

[email protected]

7408 Dwinelle Hall

Berkeley, CA 94720

At a Glance

Department(s)

Film and Media

Admit Term(s)

Application Deadline

December 4, 2023

Degree Type(s)

Doctoral / PhD

Degree Awarded

GRE Requirements

Radio, Television and Film

Phd media studies, doctorate with concentration in media studies.

The doctoral program in Radio-Television-Film emphasizes critical and contextual approaches to the study of media objects, industries, and cultures. With globally recognized faculty specializing in a wide array of media studies subfields, you will study and research in your chosen field and be prepared to enter into a rapidly evolving media landscape. You will be trained in an interdisciplinary array of media studies methods centered in pedagogical and professional development.

Expert Faculty Mentors

Affordable Tuition and Fees

Graduate Student Support

Program of study.

The PhD with concentration in Media Studies is a scholarly degree incorporating coursework, comprehensive exams, and research culminating in a dissertation. Students are expected to present their work at conferences and produce original work that is worthy of publication. Students admitted to this program must have already earned an M.A. degree.

Learn more about the Program of Work .

Teaching and Research Areas

Digital Media

Analyze interactive and emergent media texts and platforms, participatory digital cultures, social media, and algorithmic culture.

Global Media

Study media texts, audiences, industries, and cultures from transnational, national, regional and diasporic perspectives.

History and Criticism

Examine the sociohistorical contexts of film and media and engage in aesthetic and critical analysis.

Identity and Representation

Explore media's impact on culture and identity through interdisciplinary courses that examine the politics of representation through gender, race, sexuality, citizenship, and more.

Media Industries

Engage in topics relating to creative labor, production, distribution, infrastructures, regulation, and exhibition.

Supporting Your Success

• Structured timeline for successful program completion
• Faculty mentorship
• Annual Review with detailed, constructive feedback
• High rate of success in job placement in the academy
• Pedagogy seminars and workshops
• Opportunities to teach stand-alone courses
• Internships with local media industry, festivals, policy institutions and cultural organizations
• Biannual professional development workshops
• Harry Ransom Center Film Research Collections
• Vast RTF resources at UT Libraries
• Editorial and organization roles for department-based journals
• Interdisciplinary and portfolio program  options (in areas such as African and African Diaspora Studies, Women's and Gender Studies, and more) 

Admissions Information

Meet our students, meet our faculty, see faculty books, program contacts.

Area Head Media Studies

Suzanne Scott

Graduate Advisor

Madhavi Mallapragada

Graduate Coordinator

Teresa Warner

Email: [email protected] Phone: 512-471-4071

Academic Catalog 2023-2024

Interdisciplinary design and media, phd.

The PhD provides a rigorous, globally aware, practice-based, and human-centered approach to advanced scholarship. It aims to cultivate researcher-designers with a versatile repertoire of methods and a passion for applying those skills to the emerging epistemic perspective of integrated human, technological, and data frameworks within creative collaboration across disciplinary boundaries. The degree is designed to attract entrepreneurial self-starters who seek to break ground and invent new fields through hybrid and integrated approaches to knowledge creation.

The PhD emphasizes four pillars of excellence within a research culture:

• Engaging with the nature of human experience through innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to design
• Investigating new forms of digital media and data-driven communication across diverse disciplines
• Articulating how creativity can embrace connections between artistic practices, innovation, entrepreneurship, and research
• Connecting with changing forms of technology and media to foster shared experiences and exchange within local and global communities

The PhD is unique in its focus on practice-based research or scholarship applied to or conducted through making or creation. This is an emerging area that has been applied internationally to a wide range of creative fields and industries, many of which are represented within the College of Arts, Media and Design: music, theatre, design, studio art, games, architecture, journalism, and others. It differs from other forms of knowledge creation in that it rigorously cultivates the creation of artifacts as a mode of producing new knowledge, theories, and methodologies. Practice-based research integrates fields such as creativity and cognition or human-computer interaction to understand how practice operates, to enact that knowledge in practical applications, and to use the acts of creation themselves as a research methodology. PhD students will be encouraged to conduct their research in—and in some cases create—"living labs” embedded in real-world contexts and through on- and off-campus research partnerships.

The PhD degree program is composed of a common core and pathways of specialization. The core is centered around three areas: design research, which provides a methodology for understanding the ways design and media touch every aspect of daily life at every level of society; ethical practice, which engages with the humanistic concerns of design and cultural production; and experiential learning, which offers students the opportunity to produce research and conduct fieldwork with partner organizations.

Specialized pathways, customized according to the program of study as approved by the PhD advisors and vetted by external experts, include:

• Information design and visualization
• Design research
• Creative research

Degree Requirements

Postbaccalaureate entry.

The PhD degree requires completion of at least 48 semester credit hours beyond a bachelor’s degree. Students who enter with an undergraduate degree will typically need five years to complete the program.

Advanced Entry

Students can petition for an advanced entry, which requires completion of at least 28 semester hours. Advanced entry requires an advanced degree (MS, MA, MFA, etc.) or extensive experience aligned with the research direction of the candidate. While students can qualify for advanced entry upon acceptance, the decision for students to continue in the advanced program is made after the first year, where they have to demonstrate that they do not need additional coursework and can complete the program in four years.

Qualifying Examination

The qualifying exam is a written and/or oral examination in the primary and secondary research fields that ensures the student is intimately familiar with the relevant scholarly work in their area of concentration. The pedagogical role is not in the examination itself but in the rigorous preparation of the primary and secondary fields by the student, approved by the advisor. Prior to the qualifying exam, the student prepares a document that outlines the selected primary and secondary fields, provides an overview of the current state of research, and assembles a list of relevant literature that will serve as the basis for the examination. The emphasis of the examination (for example, short essays, a lecture presenting a scholarly argument) is to be useful for the dissertation research. Typically, the student takes the qualifying examination during the second year.

Dissertation Proposal Defense

To ensure students complete satisfactory dissertations that are appropriate for their focus area(s), all students are required to submit and defend a dissertation proposal prior to advancing to candidacy. The dissertation proposal is a detailed document outlining the scholarly context, methods, arguments, and activities underpinning the dissertation. It will include a detailed research plan and timeline and is to be approved by the student’s dissertation committee, which the student has to assemble in advance. The student then defends the accepted dissertation proposal in the context of the research seminar, inviting feedback from faculty and other students. The dissertation proposal defense is open to the entire CAMD PhD community and constitutes the last step before degree candidacy.

Degree Candidacy

A student is considered a PhD degree candidate after:

• Successfully completing core and specialization courses with a minimum of a 3.000 cumulative GPA and no grades lower than a B in core courses
• Passing the qualifying exam
• Submitting and successfully defending the dissertation proposal

Advising and Committee Formation

Each entering student will be assigned to a faculty advisor based on their interests who will guide students in completing their core requirements of their degree. Ideally, this person will also serve as their thesis committee chair, but they may transition to another committee chair as they transition into ABD status. As part of this process, in addition to their thesis committee chair, they will also be expected to identify two other readers representing their secondary and, if applicable, tertiary discipline areas. The advisory committee will be responsible for guiding the students through their individual research proposal process, helping them to develop a robust research methodology and clear plan for completion. The advisory committee will also be responsible for identifying an appropriate external expert to consult at key stages of degree progression. The advisors will also guide the students through the thesis project and its written component. Where applicable, committee members will also mentor and support the student through funded research.

Dissertation Defense

Each student will, with the aid of their advisor and committee, define the final product. The research component will typically consist of empirical and/or theoretical scholarship created using a methodology appropriate for the topic and field that is fully integrated with the practice component. The synergy between creative practice and research can take the form of knowledge production through a variety of potential means: production of digital and physical artifacts, software and hardware applications, games, paintings, documentaries, comics, exhibitions, design projects or products, theatrical productions, musical compositions, performances, or other formats. The work will include a written dissertation that can also be paired with other modes of conveyance, such as a documentary, demonstration, performance, or exhibition. A key function of the dissertation will be to contextualize the practical work in contemporary scholarship and discourse, clearly articulating its rationale and contribution to the field. Over the course of their studies, students are expected to produce peer-reviewed submissions based on their work.

The dissertation defense follows a similar format to the proposal defense. Acceptable dissertation models may include long-form (book-style) dissertations, multiple publishable papers, a system build-evaluate model, or other creative formats enumerated above.

Annual review  Individual path (including advisors) Teaching requirement  Qualifying examination Dissertation proposal       Dissertation committee Dissertation defense

Required Coursework

Discipline-specific coursework.

A minimum of 48 credit hours of coursework beyond the undergraduate degree is required. A minimum 3.000 cumulative GPA and no grades lower than a B in core courses are required.

A minimum of 28 semester hours of coursework beyond the graduate degree is required. A minimum 3.000 cumulative GPA and no grades lower than a B in core courses are required.

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PhD Program

The Media Arts and Practice PhD program offers a rigorous and creative environment for scholarly innovation as students explore the intersections of cinema, design, emerging media and critical thinking while defining new forms of cinematic experience, research and scholarship for the 21st century.

Core to the program is its transdisciplinary ethos, its open curriculum and its commitment to the union of critical thinking and making. After completing foundational coursework, students design their own curricula, drawing on expertise within all of the divisions and research labs within the School of Cinematic Arts, and in other schools across the USC campus. The areas of research investigated by MA+P PhD students are broad, and currently include attention to these core themes: interactive architecture; media activism; affect; wearables; world building; database documentary; embodiment and tangible interfaces; sustainability and technology; technology and ethics; critical and creative code; sound; design and speculative fiction; games and interactivity; digital historiography; neuro-cinematics; expanded and spatialized cinema; multimodal scholarship; performativity; pervasive/locative media; and immersive journalism.

• View Degree Requirements in the USC Catalogue
• Application Instructions
• Current PhD Student Directory
• PhD Alumni Directory

Program Objectives

• Knowledge of the history, theory and evolution of 20th and 21st century media art, critical theory and digital scholarship in the humanities context.
• Understanding of the diverse types of practices within the broad concept of media art, including new media, electronic art, internet art, media installation, immersive media, pervasive and locative media, ambient storytelling, media activism and social media.
• Understanding of arts-based research practices, and the development of the ability to articulate an appropriate research methodology for a given research question.
• Development of diverse media production skills appropriate to specific research projects, including collaboration, project planning, budgeting and scoping, and skills in visual storytelling, design fiction, audio design, tangible media and other emerging forms of media production.
• Ability to articulate ideas and concepts using written, oral, visual and interactive communication skills and an appreciation of emerging forms of textuality and digital scholarship that facilitate the sharing of ideas within scholarly networks.
• Understanding of disciplinarity, interdisciplinarity and the formation of new fields of inquiry and objects of study.
• Understanding of the legal and ethical rights and responsibilities associated in working with digital media.
• Appreciation of core cultural themes related to contemporary digital media, including access, surveillance and privacy, participation and global citizenship.
• Ability to unite theory and practice in the creation of a dissertation project that includes a clear and appropriate research methodology; that embodies concepts or communicates ideas through interaction with the project; and that exemplifies innovative scholarly research and communication.