A&S—Communication: Rhetoric and Communication
The department offers the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in communication: rhetoric and communication. Areas of specialization include rhetoric, public address and argument, and media and cultural studies. There is also an area of concentration offered in rhetoric of science. The curriculum emphasizes theoretical, philosophical, critical, cultural, and historical approaches to communication.
Contact Information
- Director of Graduate Studies: Dr. Ronald J. Zboray
- Main Office: 1117 Cathedral of Learning
- 412-624-6567
- Fax: 412-624-1878
- E-mail: zboray@pitt.edu
- http://www.comm.pitt.edu/
Additional information concerning the department's graduate program
may be obtained by contacting comm@pitt.edu or writing to University
of Pittsburgh, Department of Communication, Graduate Admissions,
1117 Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh, PA 15260.
Admission to either the MA or PhD program is highly selective. In order to be considered for admission to graduate standing, students must meet the requirements of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and supply (by January 1) all materials called for in the department's application guidelines, including a completed application form, certified copies of all post-secondary educational records, Graduate Record Examination scores sent directly from the Educational Testing Service, at least three letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, and an article-length academic writing sample. Non-native speakers of English without a degree from an accredited institution of higher education in the U.S. must also have the Educational Testing Service send TOEFL scores as part of the application. Citizens of other nations follow a separate set of guidelines that include TOEFL requirements and certified /notarized translations of transcripts and diplomas for applicants from countries where English is not the official language. Upon admission, candidates will be assigned an advisor who will assist them in planning a course of study.
The department has a limited number of teaching assistantships with full tuition scholarships each year that traditionally go to all new graduate students not otherwise funded and continuing students who remain in good standing. The department makes every effort to sustain funding during the first five years of doctoral study for students entering directly from undergraduate programs and the first four years of students entering with an M.A. or equivalent in Communication or cognate field. There are also several fellowships, including some dedicated to minorities, available through the University. See listing of available fellowships for all graduate students at the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences http://www.as.pitt.edu/graduate/assistance/.
Requirements for the MA
Master's degree candidates must successfully complete 30 credits of graduate course work, including two core offerings required during the first fall semester in residence: a teaching practicum and an introductory proseminar. In the second semester of their course work, students will, in consultation with their advisor, convene a committee to oversee a comprehensive written and oral examination testing general knowledge of the field, specialized knowledge derived from specific course work, and mastery of individually tailored reading lists. Requirements for the PhD
Doctoral students must complete 72 hours of course work (including the MA credits as well as the departmental core requirements of COMMRC 2296 Proseminar and COMMRC 3384 Teaching Practicum). Students will, in consultation with their advisor, develop a multi-area plan of study in light of their prospective dissertation research topic. Students’ successful achievement of this plan, as well as their comprehensive grasp of the field, will be tested by a written and oral examination, under the supervision of the advisor and a faculty committee convened for this specific purpose. On passing this examination, students will work with their advisor to develop a dissertation prospectus and to devise an appropriate faculty committee to launch and guide the ensuing research and writing and, eventually, to sit as a body for a publicly open defense of the finished work.
Graduate students interested in public argument and argumentation theory can pursue cocurricular study and teaching of argumentation practices by working with the William Pitt Debating Union (WPDU), one of the nation's most venerable debating societies.
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