Overview of PhD and MA
requirements
The
department requires 30 credits (10 courses) for the MA degree.
After completion of course work, candidates take a written and oral
examination that test general knowledge of the field, specialized
knowledge derived from their course work, and mastery of
individually-tailored reading lists.
The PhD degree requires 60 credits (10 courses beyond the
MA) plus 12 dissertation research credits or other approved independent
study credits. Nine of those course credit hours (three courses) must
be taken outside of the department. Candidates for the PhD must meet
the general requirements of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences with
respect to preliminary and comprehensive examinations, overview
meeting, dissertation, and oral defense.
Some credits may be transferred for graduate course work
completed at other universities; decisions regarding this are made at
the time of admission.
Financial Assistance
The Department of Communication admits
only about six or seven applicants each year for entry in the fall
term, out of up to 110 applications. For those admitted, the department
normally provides teaching assistantships or nonteaching fellowships
that include a full-tuition scholarship, medical insurance, free public
transportation, and a stipend for teaching services or full-time
research. First-year students with MA in hand are eligible to apply for
three departmental $3,000 summer research support grants.
Students with assistantships begin in their first Fall Semester by teaching
one section of Public Speaking in tandem with the Department's
three-credit Teaching Practicum. In the second semester of residency on
assistantships, students teach two sections of public speaking and
thereafter remain on a 1-2 or 2-1 teaching load for the duration of
their funded offer. Beyond teaching Public Speaking, there are a
variety of other teaching opportunities within the department, such as
teaching assistant positions in the large-lecture process courses and
opportunities to design and implement standalone sections of courses
below the 1000 level.
Other forms of financial assistance include:
From within the University:
Andrew Mellow Predoctoral Fellowships in the Humanities
Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowships in Chinese Studies
Cultural Studies Fellowships
Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships
Graduate Tuition Scholarships
Japanese Iron and Steel/Mitsubishi Graduate Fellowships in Japanese Studies
Latin American Social and Public Policy Fellowships
Leroy K. Irvis Fellowships for Students from Groups Underrepresented in the Academy
Nationality Rooms Summer Travel Fellowships
Pitt Alumni Association Graduate Awards
Provost's Development Fund Fellowships
Provost's Humanities Fellowships
Women's Studies Student Research Funds
Women's Studies Teaching Fellowships
External Funding Recently Applied for by Communication Students
American Association for University Women, American Dissertation
Fellowships (one received in 2006).
American Association for University Women, International Fellowships (one applied for in 2005).
American Council of Learned Societies/Mellon Dissertation Completion Fellowships (two applications pending)
DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service (one applied in 2005)
Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships, Predoctoral Fellowships (one
alternateship received in 2004)
Fulbright Doctoral Fellowships (one received in 2006)
Swann Foundation Fellowship (Library of Congress, application pending in 2006)
Woodrow Wilson Foundation, Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships (one applied for in 2005)
