PhD in Communication

Catalog Year: 2025-2026

Banner Code: LA-PHD-COM

The PhD in Communication explores key issues in the discipline such as communicating complex information, social influence and behavior change, the digital divide, public advocacy, intercultural sensitivity, media literacy, and national security. The PhD program offers three major areas of emphasis: health communication; science, environment, and risk communication; and strategic communication. Faculty and students conduct research concerning health communication, risk communication, climate change communication, science communication, crisis management, organizational communication, media systems, public communication campaigns, new information technologies, communication policy, and media advocacy.

Admissions

Applicants to all graduate programs at George Mason University must meet the admission standards and application requirements for graduate study as specified in Graduate Admissions. For information specific to the PhD in Communication, see Application Requirements and Deadlines.

Policies

For policies governing all graduate degrees, see Graduate Policies.

Master's Degree - recommended

It is strongly recommended that applicants have a conferred US or international master’s degree (from a Mason-recognized institutional accrediting agency or international equivalent) prior to starting the PhD program. The PhD requires 90 credits. Up to 30 credits may be transferred from the prior master’s degree. More information can be found in AP.6.5.2 Transfer of Credit. 

Program Requirements

To receive the PhD in Communication, students must complete a minimum of 90 credits, 60 beyond the master’s degree, including core courses in theory and research methods, coursework in substantive fields of study, and a research practicum. Following completion of all required coursework, students must pass a written qualifying examination and an oral defense of it, after which they are advanced to candidacy by the dean and complete a dissertation, an original and independent research project.

If specific requirements are waived, students must complete substitutions, which are recorded on their Program of Study. All substitutions to degree requirements must be approved by the graduate committee.

Degree Requirements

Total credits: 90

Students should be aware of the specific policies associated with this program, located on the Admissions & Policies tab.

Core Courses

Four Theory Courses

Three Research Methods Courses

¹

This course should be chosen to help prepare for the dissertation and must be approved by the graduate committee.

Substantive Field of Study

Students choose one of the following substantive fields of study. 

Health Communication

Science, Environment, and Risk Communication

Strategic Communication

One Research Practicum

Elective Courses

Advancement to Candidacy

To advance to candidacy, students must complete all coursework required on their approved program of study. Students must also successfully pass a written qualifying exam and an oral qualifying exam. In addition, students must have a dissertation committee appointed by the Dean’s Office as well as an approved proposal. Evidence of the approved proposal must be on file in the Dean’s Office before a student can advance to candidacy.

Dissertation

Once enrolled in COMM 998 Doctoral Dissertation Proposal, students in this degree program must maintain continuous registration for at least 1 credit. Once enrolled in COMM 999 Doctoral Dissertation Research, student must maintain continuous registration each semester (excluding summers) until the dissertation is submitted to and accepted by the University Libraries. Once enrolled in COMM 999 Doctoral Dissertation Research, students must follow the university's continuous registration policy as specified in AP.6.10.6 Dissertation Research. Students who defend in the summer must be registered for at least 1 credit of COMM 999 Doctoral Dissertation Research.

Students complete a minimum of 3 credits of COMM 998 Doctoral Dissertation Proposal and 3 credits of COMM 999 Doctoral Dissertation Research. They must apply a minimum of 18 dissertation credits (COMM 998 Doctoral Dissertation Proposal and COMM 999 Doctoral Dissertation Research combined) to the degree. Because of the continuous registration policy, students may be required to register for additional credits of these courses.