About Graduate Studies

Graduate work draws students to examine mass communication in greater depth, either to earn a professional degree or to prepare for teaching and research in the field. Ralph O. Nafziger’s sought and obtained the establishment of a Ph.D. in mass communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which was among the first such programs in the nation. The J-School granted its first degree in 1953. By 1973, we graduated more Ph.Ds in mass communication than any other school.

Today, the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication’s graduate program continues to count among the very best. The J-School’s Ph.D. program ranked first out of twenty-seven schools in a recent study entitled “Evaluating Doctoral Programs in Communication” presented at the International Communication Association's annual conference held in May 2001. It ranked Ph.D. programs by conducting an online survey of 221 U.S. communication faculty members about the quality of American graduate programs in communication, the qualities that communication scholars deem important in a communication Ph.D. program and the adequacy of the number of Ph.D. program stressing specific specialties in communication.

Our mission: Our driving forces for instruction and research

Degrees offered: Learn more about our professional vs. academic Master’s opportunities as well as our doctorate program

Instructional approaches: A description of the quantitative and qualitative approaches incorporated into our programs

Research areas: A sampling of the various areas of specialization offered through graduate program faculty

Projects of excellence: See the impact our graduate students and faculty have been making on mass communication

Frequently asked questions: Learn the answers to common questions about our grad program