Strategic Communication Ph.D.

This program is located on the UCF Downtown Campus.

The Ph.D. in Strategic Communication offers advanced instruction in health communication, instructional emergency risk communication, and crisis communication; it prepares students with the necessary knowledge and skills to pursue a successful, advanced career in communication and related fields in both academic and applied settings.

Strategic communication, one of the fastest growing areas situated within the broader field of communication, is an innovative and unique subfield. It is distinct from other communication subfields in that it is intentionally goal-driven communication wherein communication scholars work in partnership with professionals working in the public and private sectors to solve real world problems.

The curriculum provides a rigorous program of study preparing students to research, teach, develop, and test messages that prepare for, and/or respond to, critical situations where health and/or social and/or economic interests are at risk or in crisis. The core feature of this program is training experts to bring the best social science research and theory to instructional emergency risk communication, crisis communication, health communication, and public relations; and policy-relevant issues in both academic and non-academic settings.

The program emphasizes considerable flexibility in the theoretical, contextual, and methodological diversity characteristic of the field of strategic communication. The curriculum combines core offerings in strategic communication, theory building, and methodology; along with elective courses from concentrations in health communication or risk and crisis communication. After completing these requirements, students take the candidacy examination, and then complete the dissertation.

The applied nature of research and theory in the program concentrations prepares students for career success in non-academic and professional settings. For example, the instructional communication courses provide students with strategies to communicate with the public on issues of health and crisis related topics. Much of health, risk, and crisis communication involves instructing the public on issues such as safer-sex, disease management, preparedness for natural disasters, and other important issues related to the health and well-being of Florida residents, as well as national and international publics. To prepare students for an academic career, students in the doctoral program are required to present or publish original research under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

Admissions

Application Requirements

• Applicants must have an earned master’s degree or its equivalent in Communication or a related field (e.g., public relations, emergency management). The director of graduate studies and doctoral admissions committee will evaluate the suitability and applicability of M.A. or M.S. degrees in other related disciplines for admission purposes. Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 for all graduate work and must also have a cumulative 3.0 GPA in their undergraduate degree.
• Three letters of reference that evaluate the applicant’s academic performance, suitability, and potential for undertaking doctoral study, at least one of which must be written by a faculty member at the institution where the master’s degree was earned, preferably the thesis advisor or program director.
• A personal statement outlining the applicant’s academic and professional experience, the applicant’s professional and research goals, and a statement indicating a preference for working with a particular faculty member(s).
• A writing sample of the applicant’s work (at least 2500 words in length) demonstrating the ability to complete graduate-level research, preferably a portion of the student’s M.A. thesis.
• A CV or Resume.
• International applicants whose first language is not English are required to submit results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) unless they hold a degree from a U.S. accredited institution. The TOEFL is strongly preferred. The minimum TOEFL score for full admissions consideration is 90 on the Internet-based test (IBT) and must take the speaking portion of the TOEFL and score a 26 or higher, 232 on the computer-based test, or 575 on the paper-based test. The minimum IELTS score is 7.0. Applicants should plan to take the appropriate test no later than December 1st to ensure they meet the January deadline.
• Applicants applying to this program who have attended a college/university outside the United States must provide a course-by-course credential evaluation with GPA calculation. Credential evaluations are accepted from World Education Services (WES) or Josef Silny and Associates, Inc. only.

Please submit all application documents through the online application system or email to nicholsongrad@ucf.edu.

 

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Deadlines

Strategic Communication Ph.D.	*Fall Priority	Fall	Spring	Summer
Domestic Applicants	Jan 15	Mar 15	—	—
International Applicants	Dec 1	Dec 1	—	—

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Curriculum

The doctoral degree in Strategic Communication requires 45 hours of coursework including core requirements, research requirements, a community engagement requirements and unrestricted electives. For more information about the curriculum, visit the catalog.

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Candidacy Examination

Upon completion of 36 hours of coursework, including a minimum of 9 hours of methodology coursework, all core courses and coursework in one area of concentration (6 hours), students will be eligible to take the written candidacy examination.

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Admission to Candidacy

The following are required for admission to candidacy and enrollment in dissertation hours:

• Submission of an approved program of study.
• Completion of all previously identified coursework, except for dissertation hours.
• Successful completion of the candidacy examination.
• The dissertation advisory committee is formed, consisting of approved graduate faculty.
• Completion of academic integrity requirement.

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Dissertation

The Ph.D. dissertation entails independent original research. A student must complete a minimum of 15 credit hours of doctoral dissertation research (COM 7980). The work must represent an achievement in research; it must be a significant contribution to its field; and it should be deemed publishable in refereed journals or a quality press. The defense is given as a public seminar presentation of the dissertation (publicly announced two weeks before the defense), followed by an oral examination by the committee. If the candidate successfully defends the dissertation, the committee recommends that the final form of the dissertation be completed, and that University of Central Florida confer the Ph.D. degree.