(Program note: Though terminal M.A. degrees may occasionally be awarded, the programs are designed with successful completion of the Ph.D. as the goal.)
The Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has long been one of the world's leading centers for study and research in communication. It was the first department in the United States to award a Ph.D. degree in the field, and its graduates serve on the faculties of leading universities, in research institutions, and in public and private agencies throughout this country and abroad.
The graduate programs in communication arts are designed to educate research scholars. Through intensive coursework within the department and in other departments, and through close professional association with appropriate faculty, graduate students in communication arts gain proficiency and sophistication in their chosen areas of study. Their attainment of doctoral degrees signifies their readiness to work as independent scholars in their areas and to make original contributions to human knowledge.
Communication Arts offers four distinct areas of graduate study:
Communication Science1
Communication science is concerned with how people interact with one another in various means, modes, and contexts. It involves social scientific exploration utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods. Reflecting the multi-faceted nature of the subject matter and a cross-disciplinary orientation of the field, students in communication science typically complete course work both in the department and in other social science fields. Graduate study in communication science is flexible and tailored to the individual. With a low faculty-to-student ratio and close collaboration with related academic units on campus, students have high access to faculty and with it, opportunities to work closely with faculty on research and broaden their horizon. Students are expected to develop fluency in at least two of the following areas:
- Social influence that focuses interpersonal interactions, both online and offline, as well as group and organizational dynamics. It examines information exchange, persuasion, and other influence processes in various social contexts.
- Computer-mediated communication that examines individuals' uses of the media with digital, interactive, and networking features, as well as the effects of such usage on self, relationships, group dynamics, and other social processes.
- Human development and communication that addresses communication in relation to life cycle, focusing in particular on life cycle patterns in the means and modes of communication, as well as the effects of communicative engagement and media usage of youths and aging.
- Political communication that focuses on patterns and effects of communication, both face-to-face and mediated, on the democratic process. In particular it concerns how communication shapes the public sphere, how public deliberation over political issues takes place, and how the media may be related to civic and political engagement.
Film1
The study of film concentrates primarily on motion picture history, theory, and criticism, approached through intensive critical analysis of individual films; research into the primary documents of filmmakers and the film industry; and the construction of theoretical models of film forms and styles, national cinemas, film genres, and the economics of the film industry. The program believes in the connection between film studies and film practice. Courses in film production enhance our understanding of motion picture history, theory, and criticism by revealing the practical decisions filmmakers confront. The program is not designed for students whose sole interest is in film production.
Media and Cultural Studies1
The media and cultural studies (MCS) program emphasizes the study of media in their historical, economic, social, and political context. MCS courses examine the cultural forms created and disseminated by media industries and the ways in which they resonate in everyday life, on the individual, national, and global level. Focusing primarily on sound and screen media—television, new media, film, popular music, radio, video games—but reaching out across boundaries, MCS encourages interdisciplinary and transmedia research. MCS courses draw on a broad range of cultural theories spanning a spectrum of concerns all centrally relevant to the functioning of sound and screen media in a diverse and globalizing cultural environment.
Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture1
Whether speaking from the podium or chatting on Facebook, people use discourse to craft identities, enact social change, and form a shared sense of community. Seeking to better understand this social force, the study of discourse explores significant themes, trajectories, and transformations in politics and society while considering particular individuals and groups, cultures, eras, genres, and topics. Courses in this area explore issues of power, digital media, citizenship, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, globalization, religion, inclusion and exclusion, social status, and marginalization.
Graduate work in rhetoric focuses on three interrelated areas: discourse, theory, and method. All three areas of study in rhetoric, politics, and culture are united by a common commitment to understanding the role of discourse in society as we act together to engage in culture and politics. Students are encouraged to investigate a wide range of discursive phenomena as they develop expertise that will empower them to conduct significant research and to take an active role in scholarly communities.
- 1
These tracks are internal to the program and represent different pathways a student can follow to earn this degree. Applicants choose their area of study when applying to the program; however, the specific area of study will not appear on the transcript.
Please consult the table below for key information about this degree program’s admissions requirements. The program may have more detailed admissions requirements, which can be found below the table or on the program’s website.
Graduate admissions is a two-step process between academic programs and the Graduate School. Applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate School as well as the program(s). Once you have researched the graduate program(s) you are interested in, apply online.
| Fall Deadline | December 15 |
| Spring Deadline | This program does not admit in the spring. |
| Summer Deadline | This program does not admit in the summer. |
| GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) | Required.* |
| English Proficiency Test | Every applicant whose native language is not English or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English must provide an English proficiency test score and meet the Graduate School minimum requirements (https://grad.wisc.edu/apply/requirements/#english-proficiency). |
| Other Test(s) (e.g., GMAT, MCAT) | n/a |
| Letters of Recommendation Required | 3 |
- *
Due to COVID-19, there have been challenges for students attempting to take the GRE. For students applying in Fall 2023 (for admissions in Fall 2024), the GRE requirement is optional. Regardless of whether GRE scores are submitted, all applications will be held in equal regard.
(Program note: Though terminal M.A. degrees may occasionally be awarded, the programs are designed with successful completion of the Ph.D. as the goal.)
Applicants must have earned a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. The Graduate School minimum GPA is 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. The department likes to see at least a 3.25 in courses relevant to the area in which you apply, although successful applicants usually have much higher GPAs.
Within the department, students may apply to only one pathway of study, which must be indicated on the statement of purpose: Communication Science; Film; Media and Cultural Studies; or Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture.
There are five supporting documents which complete the application:
- Statement of purpose clearly telling us what you want to study and why you think you can do it here. Although it cannot be said to be the most important part of your application, the statement of purpose is our introduction to you as a student and as such, you will want it to be as professional and persuasive as possible to put your application in the best light.
- Three letters of recommendation, preferably from academic sources. Email addresses of recommenders are submitted within the online application.
- Official GRE score sent to us from ETS. The department requires no minimum GRE scores; however, successful candidates typically score well on portions of the examination related to their area of study. We don't set absolute numbers because each year's applicants are judged against all others in that year only. UW–Madison is institution #1846; no department code is necessary.
- PDFs of transcripts from all postsecondary schools attended after high school. Official transcripts will be requested upon admission.
- A writing sample (in English), 15–20 pages long. The best writing sample is an academic paper you wrote for a class related to the area in which you apply. It should have citations and footnotes. You may send a portion of a longer thesis if you wish, but please select a representative sample no longer than 20 pages. Include a cover page identifying it as a chapter or section of a longer work.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS: An official TOEFL, IELTS or MELAB score sent to us from ETS is required for all applicants whose native language is not English. UW–Madison is institution #1846; no department code is necessary. The minimum scores are as follows:
- TOEFL: 92 on an internet-based exam; 580 on a paper-based exam
- IELTS: 7
- MELAB: 82
We will waive the TOEFL requirement if you have a bachelor's degree from an English-speaking institution.
Graduate School Resources
Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.
Program Resources
(Program note: Though terminal M.A. degrees may occasionally be awarded, the programs are designed with successful completion of the Ph.D. as the goal.)
Beginning graduate students in communication arts receive 10 consecutive semesters of guaranteed funding if they are entering with a bachelor's degree, complete their master's degree, and plan to continue on to the Ph.D. The guaranteed funding package for graduate students includes full tuition remission, monthly compensation, and benefits including health insurance.
Most communication arts graduate students are supported by teaching assistantships (TA). Additional funding comes in the form of research assistantships (RA), project assistantships (PA), Graduate School–supported fellowships, departmental awards, and conference travel awards.
Graduate Assistantships
Graduate students who hold an appointment as a TA, RA, or PA will be entitled to remission of tuition in any semester in which their appointment equals at least 33.4% of a full-time appointment for the semester. Graduate assistantships in communication arts are typically offered at the 50% level, which is a full-time appointment for a full-time student.
Graduate School–Supported Fellowships
A limited number of fellowships are available. All students are considered for fellowships at the time of application; no separate application is necessary. These fellowships may be for terms from one semester to two years and include tuition remission and benefits including health insurance.
Department Awards
The Department of Communication Arts is pleased to be able to grant yearly monetary awards to graduate students based on scholastic performance. Nominations for the awards are generated by the faculty in the four areas of graduate study. To be eligible for consideration, graduate students must be continuing in the program, must be making satisfactory progress toward their degree, and must not have any incompletes on their transcript. The amount and number of awards vary from year to year depending on funds available.
Conference Travel Awards
The department provides a once-per-academic-year travel stipend for students to present academic papers at a conference. Students not residing in Madison during the semester in which they present at conference are not eligible for this funding.
Minimum Graduate School Requirements
Review the Graduate School minimum academic progress and degree requirements, in addition to the program requirements listed below.
Major Requirements
MODE OF INSTRUCTION
| Face to Face | Evening/Weekend | Online | Hybrid | Accelerated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | No | No | No |
Mode of Instruction Definitions
Accelerated: Accelerated programs are offered at a fast pace that condenses the time to completion. Students typically take enough credits aimed at completing the program in a year or two.
Evening/Weekend: Courses meet on the UW–Madison campus only in evenings and/or on weekends to accommodate typical business schedules. Students have the advantages of face-to-face courses with the flexibility to keep work and other life commitments.
Face-to-Face: Courses typically meet during weekdays on the UW-Madison Campus.
Hybrid: These programs combine face-to-face and online learning formats. Contact the program for more specific information.
Online: These programs are offered 100% online. Some programs may require an on-campus orientation or residency experience, but the courses will be facilitated in an online format.
CURRICULAR REQUIREMENTS
| Minimum Credit Requirement | 40 credits |
| Minimum Residence Credit Requirement | 16 credits |
| Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement | 20 credits must be graduate-level coursework. Details can be found in the Graduate School’s Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) policy (https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1244). |
| Overall Graduate GPA Requirement | 3.00 GPA required. (See below for GPA requirement of coursework taken within the department.) This program follows the Graduate School's policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-1203. |
| Other Grade Requirements | A cumulative GPA for coursework within the department of 3.5 or above. |
| Assessments and Examinations | To assess satisfactory progress toward the degree and to facilitate determinations of good standing, graduate students must complete a Professional Activities Report (PAR) each spring. A PAR indicates a student's academic and professional activities on and off campus each year. Faculty will use the PAR in their annual evaluations of student progress. A PAR represents one means of communication between graduate students and faculty, providing graduate students with an opportunity to enumerate their activities in a single document. PARS must be completed by April 1 each spring. M.A. comprehensive examinations or theses are generally done in the student's fourth semester of study. To take comprehensive exams or complete a thesis, a student must be in good standing, and must have completed the basic and specific area course requirements. Additional requirements vary by area of study. They are as follows: Communication Science students must complete and defend an M.A. thesis. In rare exceptions, students admitted to the graduate program may decide to leave with only an M.A. In that case, they may complete the non-thesis, terminal option. In lieu of the thesis and oral defense, two of the courses in Communication Science must be at the 800 level or above, and students must pass a four-hour written comprehensive examination which covers communication theory, research methodology, and a topic area of the student’s specialization. Film students' Comprehensive Exam consists of six hours of writing and an oral defense. The writing portion is divided into three two-hour sittings concentrating respectively on the areas of film theory, film history, and film analysis and criticism. The oral defense—affording students an opportunity to correct, inflect, or expand upon their written answers—takes place a week or two later and typically runs about an hour. There is no option to write a thesis in lieu of the comprehensive exam. Media and Cultural Studies students' comprehensive exam, consists of six hours of writing, normally distributed across four questions, followed by an oral defense. Exam areas are drawn from the coursework the examinee has taken in media and cultural studies. Reading lists are determined in consultation with the student’s advisor and core faculty members. There is no option to write a thesis in lieu of the comprehensive exam. Rhetoric, Culture, and Politics students must complete and defend an M.A. thesis. In rare exceptions, students admitted to the graduate program may decide to leave with only an M.A. In that case, students may complete the non-thesis, terminal option and take a comprehensive exam consisting of three, one-hour written exams addressing theory, critical method, and public discourse. |
| Language Requirements | Students interested in writing a dissertation on a national cinema other than the U.S. are expected to complete two years of foreign language study. |
Required Courses
Successful completion of the master’s degree requires a minimum of 40 credit hours, which includes coursework, independent study, and research credits. This requirement stipulates that at least 50 percent of these credit hours must be received in courses specifically designed for graduate work, which the Graduate School defines in the Minimum Graduate Coursework (50%) Requirement policy. The department requires that a minimum of 16 credit hours must be completed in residence.
Each area of graduate study has further specific requirements for the completion of the M.A:
Communication Science Pathway1
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| COM ARTS 760 | Advances in Communication Theories | 3 |
| COM ARTS 762 | Communication Research Methods | 3 |
| Four additional Communication Science courses numbered 500 or above 2 | 12 | |
| At least two courses in statistics (see below for options) | 6 | |
| COM ARTS 904 | Communication Science Colloquium 3 | 4 |
| Electives | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 40 | |
- 1
These pathways are internal to the program and represent different curricular paths a student can follow to earn this degree. Pathway names do not appear in the Graduate School admissions application, and they will not appear on the transcript.
- 2
Only one of these courses may be COM ARTS 990 Research and Thesis. Colloquium does not count toward this requirement.
- 3
One credit of COM ARTS 904 Communication Science Colloquium must be taken each semester.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Statistics Course options | ||
| ED PSYCH 760 | Statistical Methods Applied to Education I | 3 |
| ED PSYCH 761 | Statistical Methods Applied to Education II | 3 |
| ED PSYCH 762 | Introduction to the Design of Educational Experiments | 3 |
| ED PSYCH 763 | Regression Models in Education | 3 |
| ED PSYCH 773 | Factor Analysis, Multidimensional Scaling and Cluster Analysis | 3 |
| ED PSYCH/CURRIC/L I S 803 | Computational Research Methods | 3 |
| ED PSYCH 871 | Test Theory II | 3 |
| ED PSYCH 960 | Structural Equation Modeling | 3 |
| ED PSYCH 964 | Hierarchical Linear Modeling | 3 |
| ED PSYCH 965 | Applied Bayesian Statistics for Education Research | 3 |
| SOC/C&E SOC 360 | Statistics for Sociologists I | 4 |
| SOC/C&E SOC 361 | Statistics for Sociologists II | 4 |
| SOC 362 | Statistics for Sociologists III | 4 |
| SOC 952 | Seminar-Mathematical and Statistical Applications in Sociology | 3 |
| PSYCH 610 | Design and Analysis of Psychological Experiments I | 4 |
| PSYCH 710 | Design and Analysis of Psychological Experiments II | 4 |
| POLI SCI 812 | Introduction to Statistical Methods in Political Science | 3 |
| POLI SCI 813 | Multivariable Statistical Inference for Political Research | 3 |
| POLI SCI 818 | Maximum Likelihood Estimation | 3 |
Film Pathway1, 2
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Production Course | ||
| COM ARTS 355 | Introduction to Media Production | 3-4 |
| or COM ARTS 609 | Special Topics in Production | |
| Required Courses | ||
| COM ARTS 454 | Critical Film Analysis | 3 |
| COM ARTS 669 | Film Theory | 3 |
| National Cinema Courses | 3 | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| French Film | ||
| The American Film Industry in the Era of the Studio System | ||
| Special Topics in Film 3 | ||
| Modes-and-Practices Courses | 3 | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| History of Documentary Film | ||
| Global Art Cinema | ||
| Avant-Garde Film | ||
| Contemporary Hollywood Cinema | ||
| The American Film Industry in the Era of the Studio System | ||
| Special Topics in Film 3 | ||
| Power, Identity, and Representation Course | 3 | |
| Select one of the following: | ||
| Gender, Sexuality, and the Media | ||
| Special Topics in Film 3 | ||
| Seminar | ||
| One seminar numbered 900 or above | 3 | |
| Film Colloquium | ||
| COM ARTS 902 | Film Colloquium 4 | 4 |
| Electives | 15 | |
| Total Credits | 40 | |
- 1
These pathways are internal to the program and represent different curricular paths a student can follow to earn this degree. Pathway names do not appear in the Graduate School admissions application, and they will not appear on the transcript.
- 2
Some required courses may be transferred if the student already has taken equivalent courses. A determination about transferring courses is made by a student’s advisor after reviewing syllabi and other relevant materials. Students who enter the program without an undergraduate degree in film may be required to take additional coursework.
- 3
As COM ARTS 613 Special Topics in Film includes a range of offerings, students should work with their advisor to select appropriate topics.
- 4
One credit of COM ARTS 902 Film Colloquium must be taken each semester.
Media and Cultural Studies Pathway1,3
All students are required to complete at least 24 credits numbered 600 and above.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Media Production Elective | ||
| COM ARTS 355 | Introduction to Media Production | 3-4 |
| or COM ARTS 609 | Special Topics in Production | |
| Seminar | 9 | |
Three MCS Seminars numbered 900 or above 2 | ||
| Colloquium | ||
| COM ARTS 903 | Media and Cultural Studies Colloquium 4 | 4 |
| Electives | 24 | |
Courses numbered at least 400 and above. At least 9 credits must be in MCS (in addition to those listed above). Students may take COM ARTS 609 as an elective if it was not taken as a Media Production Elective. | ||
| Total Credits | 40 | |
- 1
These pathways are internal to the program and represent different curricular paths a student can follow to earn this degree. Pathway names do not appear in the Graduate School admissions application, and they will not appear on the transcript.
- 2
Seminar options include COM ARTS 950 Seminar-Radio Television Film and COM ARTS 955 Media History and Historiography.
- 3
Students who enter the program without an undergraduate degree in media studies may be required to take additional coursework.
- 4
One credit of COM ARTS 903 Media and Cultural Studies Colloquium must be taken each semester.
Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture Pathway1, 2
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| COM ARTS 570 | Classical Rhetorical Theory | 3 |
| COM ARTS 969 | Seminar: Contemporary Rhetorical Theory | 2-3 |
| Seminar | ||
| COM ARTS 976 | Seminar in Rhetorical Criticism | 3 |
| Colloquium | ||
| COM ARTS 905 | Rhetoric Colloquium 3 | 4 |
| Electives (courses numbered 300 above) | 27 | |
At least two courses must be in COM ARTS. | ||
At least two courses must be numbered 700 and above. | ||
At least one course must have primary content focused on issues of race and ethnicity. | ||
| Total Credits | 40 | |
- 1
These pathways are internal to the program and represent different curricular paths a student can follow to earn this degree. Pathway names do not appear in the Graduate School admissions application, and they will not appear on the transcript.
- 2
Some of the preceding courses may be transferred if a student has taken the equivalent elsewhere. All other courses should be chosen in consultation with the student’s advisor. Of the remaining courses, at least two courses must be at the 700 level or above.
- 3
One credit of COM ARTS 905 Rhetoric Colloquium must be taken each semester.
Graduate School Policies
The Graduate School’s Academic Policies and Procedures provide essential information regarding general university policies. Program authority to set degree policies beyond the minimum required by the Graduate School lies with the degree program faculty. Policies set by the academic degree program can be found below.
Major-Specific Policies
Prior Coursework
Graduate Work from Other Institutions
With program approval, students are allowed to count no more than 9 credits of graduate coursework from other institutions. Coursework earned five or more years prior to admission to a Master’s degree is not allowed to satisfy requirements.
UW–Madison Undergraduate
UW–Madison University Special
Probation
All graduate students must stay "in good standing" in the department to be eligible for teaching assignments, awards, and fellowships, and in order to be considered to be making satisfactory progress in the program. Students whose progress is rated unsatisfactory by their faculty may face loss of funding and/or dismissal from the program.
The department's minimum criteria for good standing are:
- Timely progress through the program, consisting of successful completion of M.A. requirements and compliance with coursework, advising, and thesis/comprehensive exam expectations.
- A cumulative grade point average for coursework within the department of 3.5 or above.
- No grades of Incomplete on the student’s record.
- Fulfillment of responsibilities for teaching/project assistantships or lectureships.
Students are expected to carry a full load, defined as three courses (nine credits) plus colloquium (one credit) per semester, unless a student's advisor recommends an exception.
ADVISOR / COMMITTEE
Although an initial faculty advisor is assigned to each student during the summer prior to matriculation in the graduate program, students should seek out regular advisors by the end of their first year in residence. The regular advisor should be a faculty member whose research interests and methodological expertise match closely to those that the student intends to acquire. While no faculty member is obliged to accept a student's request to serve as advisor, invitations are usually accepted except where the faculty member judges that a different advisor would serve the student's needs and interests better.
Early in the semester in which the comprehensive exam/thesis will be completed, students will form an M.A. defense committee consisting of three to four faculty members, one of which is their advisor. In the case of comprehensive examinations, all committee members will write exam questions, read the answers, and sit on the M.A. defense. In the case of a thesis, all committee members will read the manuscript and sit on the M.A. defense.
CREDITS PER TERM ALLOWED
10-credit maximum unless additional credits are approved by faculty advisor, up to 15
Time limits
Master's degrees are generally expected to be completed within five semesters of matriculation.
Grievances and appeals
These resources may be helpful in addressing your concerns:
- Bias or Hate Reporting
- Graduate Assistantship Policies and Procedures
- Hostile and Intimidating Behavior Policies and Procedures
- Dean of Students Office (for all students to seek grievance assistance and support)
- Employee Assistance (for personal counseling and workplace consultation around communication and conflict involving graduate assistants and other employees, post-doctoral students, faculty and staff)
- Employee Disability Resource Office (for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to have equal employment opportunities)
- Graduate School (for informal advice at any level of review and for official appeals of program/departmental or school/college grievance decisions)
- Office of Compliance (for class harassment and discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence)
- Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (for conflicts involving students)
- Ombuds Office for Faculty and Staff (for employed graduate students and post-docs, as well as faculty and staff)
- Title IX (for concerns about discrimination)
Students should contact the department chair or program director with questions about grievances. They may also contact the L&S Academic Divisional Associate Deans, the L&S Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning Administration, or the L&S Director of Human Resources.
Other
Incoming M.A. students who move on for the Ph.D. are generally offered five academic years (fall semester and spring semester) of support in the form of teaching assistantships, project assistantships, fellowships, and lectureships. Incoming Ph.D. students are generally offered three years of support. This support includes a stipend, tuition remission, and benefits.
Graduate School Resources
Take advantage of the Graduate School's professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career.
Program Resources
Graduate students should consider opportunities for professional development as they begin their programs of graduate study. As students plan programs of study, participation in campus and disciplinary organizations, scholarly presentations at academic conferences, and potential outlets for publication of research, they should consider the ways that these activities begin to establish areas of scholarly and pedagogical competence, connections with other researchers and teachers in the field, and audiences for their scholarship. Some of the best resources for professional development are the people—both faculty and other graduate students—in the Department of Communication Arts. These people may serve as sources of valuable advice and information, and their actions may provide examples of practices that promote professional development. Further, campus-wide resources are available to enrich students’ graduate studies and enhance their professional skills.
department resources for professional development
Two important departmental resources for professional development are a graduate student’s advisor and the department colloquia.
The advisor is concerned with a graduate student’s academic progress as well as with the professional development of advisees. Throughout a graduate student’s residence in the program (and often beyond), an advisor will discuss and answer questions and concerns about professional development. For instance, as submission deadlines to academic conferences approach, an advisor may discuss with a student potential submission options and the appropriate venues for these submissions. If a student is working on revising a seminar paper for potential publication in an academic journal, an advisor will often guide the student through the revision process. When a student is applying for jobs, an advisor will often edit application materials. When a student is interviewing for a position or negotiating a job offer, an advisor will often provide tips for how to proceed.
The department colloquia offers additional resources for professional development. The four areas of study (Communication Science; Film; Media and Cultural Studies; and Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture) hold individual and joint colloquia on most Thursday afternoons during the academic year. Often, these colloquia are devoted to research presentations from department faculty and graduate students as well as campus visitors. Sometimes, the colloquia will address issues of professional development. Colloquia topics on professional development include practicing conference presentations; preparing a teaching dossier; practicing job talks; negotiating the revise and resubmit process in journal publishing; and networking. Colloquia on professional development engage graduate students in discussion on professional topics, workshop materials, and offer advice on best practices.
faculty reviews of graduate student teaching
Since most Communication Arts Ph.D. students pursue academic careers, developing teaching skills constitutes an important aspect of professionalization. Some colleges and universities may ask a student to prepare a teaching demonstration as part of the on-campus interview process, or otherwise seek evaluation and evidence of a graduate student’s teaching abilities. To facilitate the development of graduate student teaching, faculty will provide reviews of teaching assistants (TA) in courses in which they have worked directly with graduate students in the classroom. Graduate students should expect these reviews in every semester in which they serve as a TA in one of these faculty-led courses (e.g., a lecture-discussion section course taught by a faculty member). These reviews are intended to help students identify strengths in their teaching as well as areas in which they may improve. In relevant courses, faculty will deposit an electronic copy of a teaching review with the graduate coordinator no more than two weeks after a semester has concluded. The graduate coordinator will maintain files of teaching reviews for each graduate student in the department. The graduate coordinator will send a copy of the review to the student’s advisor. Faculty also will share a copy of the review with the student reviewed, who may wish to incorporate favorable reviews and quotations into a teaching dossier. Graduate students should feel welcome to discuss all reviews with their supervising faculty members. Graduate students should note, too, that these reviews will assist faculty in addressing matters of pedagogy when preparing letters of recommendation for academic employment, which will benefit students in their job searches.
travel to meetings and conferences
The Department of Communication Arts provides a once-per-academic-year travel stipend for those students who will be presenting a paper at an academic conference. Students who are not residing in Madison during the semester in which they present at a conference are not eligible for this funding.
Instructional Media Center
Located on the third floor of Vilas Hall, the Instructional Media Center (IMC) provides media and technology services for the entire department. The IMC houses the Hamel Family Digital Media Lab, the Walter Mirisch Seminar Room, and Communication Arts media production classrooms. The IMC circulates laptops, video projectors, and other equipment to graduate students for instruction and short-term use. The IMC also maintains a media library containing thousands of DVDs and blu-rays of films, television shows, video games, and off-air recordings. Graduate students may check out any item not reserved for classroom use for their research. IMC staff can assist graduate students with their research needs. Upon request, the IMC can provide film to video transfers, media creation (files, DVDs, blu-rays), and video capture, as well as training in these areas. The IMC provides assistance for the Center for Communication Research. The IMC is staffed by individuals with a wide range of media knowledge and skills to assist graduate students.
- Articulates, critiques, or elaborates the theories, research methods, and approaches to inquiry or schools of practice in the field of study.
- Identifies sources and assembles evidence pertaining to questions or challenges in the field of study.
- Demonstrates understanding of the primary field of study in a historical, social, or global context.
- Selects and/or utilizes the most appropriate methodologies and practices.
- Evaluates or synthesizes information pertaining to questions or challenges in the field of study.
- Communicates clearly in ways appropriate to the field of study.
- Recognizes and applies principles of ethical and professional conduct.
FACULTY
Professors Kelley Conway (chair), Robert Asen, Jonathan Gray, Robert Glenn Howard, Lea Jacobs, Derek Johnson, Marie-Louise Mares, Zhongdang Pan, Jeff Smith, Lyn Van Swol, and Michael Xenos
Associate Professors Eric Hoyt, Jenell Johnson, Lori Lopez, Sara McKinnon, Jeremy Morris, Ben Singer, and Catalina Toma
Assistant Professors Jason Lopez, Allison Prasch, and Lillie D. Williamson