PhD in Communication Studies - Interpersonal and Health Communication in Athens United States | University of Georgia

The Department of Communication Studies (formerly Speech Communication) offers programs leading to the MA and PhD degrees. Students focus on either an Interpersonal & Health or Rhetorical Studies track. The goals of graduate education in the Department of Communication Studies are to provide students with tools for generating new knowledge about human communication, to cultivate highly developed skills in transmitting knowledge about communication to various constituencies in need of that information, and to foster an attitude of eager inquiry and service. Graduate education in this Department is particularly founded upon the ideal that each advanced learner's individual interests and talents can be recognized, nourished, and honed in a climate of rigorous study. Consistent with this ideal, the Department encourages graduate students to engage in individually tailored interdisciplinary study.

The regular PhD track is normally completed in four years and requires a Masters to be earned before acceptance.

The graduate program in Interpersonal & Health Communication provides students with a theoretical and methodological foundation in the study of verbal and nonverbal communication in contexts related to interpersonal interaction (including socio-cognitive, relational, influence, interracial, and mediated contexts) and health settings (including doctor-patient, campaign, intervention, and mediated contexts). Our faculty are committed to maintaining high standards in both undergraduate and graduate instruction and our alliances with the Institute of Behavioral Research and the Center for Health and Risk Communication allow for a focused study of interpersonal communication and health communication processes that are directly relevant to a variety of real world contexts.