Doctoral Degree in Communication
On-Campus and Online Degree Overview:
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John Stanton is pursuing his Ph.D. while teaching at a NATO school in Brussels. |
As a student, you will gain a comprehensive knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods as well as current and historical trends in communication. As an aspiring scholar in the field of communication, you will have the opportunity to be closely mentored in the areas of teaching, scholarly writing and research by our experienced faculty of communication scholars.
Upon graduation, you will be prepared to pursue a career as a researcher, scholarly writer, professor or communication specialist for the nonprofit and private sectors. A Ph.D. in Communication will equip you as a Christian communicator and scholar, poised to make a lasting impact on your community, nation and the world.
Alumni Profile
An experienced television producer, Dr. Varsha Ajay Sherring '10 (Communication) draws on her years in television to lead the production team for TipriTV.com, a web-based community for Indians around the world to share their beliefs and experiences with each other. TipriTV.com-powered by CBN in Virginia Beach, Va.-targets the 25 million Indians living outside India.
Varsha has a hand in many aspects of the website. In a typical day, she will review online chat sessions, assign new Christians on the site to various LifeMentors, work with an expert in Search Engine Optimization to improve web content, post video and text content online, work on training material for LifeMentors, and collaborate with a production assistant and staff writer to plan out interviews and press releases. In addition to creating and updating content, Varsha also spends time chatting about the Christian faith with visitors to the site.
Before starting her work with TipriTV.com, Varsha-who also has a master's degree in cinema-television from Regent-worked for CBN-India where she led the production team for an Indian 700 Club-style show. The first of its kind in India, the show introduced Jesus through personal testimonies and the message of the hosts. Today, that show has evolved into a daily Hindi show called "Ek Nayee Zindagi" ("A New Life") and is viewed by nearly one million Indians.
"Regent University prepared me in an exceptional fashion and equipped me fully-both academically and spiritually-to reach out to this vast global Indian diaspora with the Gospel of Jesus Christ," she says. Varsha credits the faculty and staff at Regent, as well as the university's International Student Organization, as instrumental to her success. "[They] were always on hand to provide me counsel, guidance, and instruction," she recalls. "They prayed with me, labored with me, and enabled me to reach the finish line successfully."
Steven Kiruswa graduated in 2004 with his Ph.D. in Communication. He is the son of a traditional Maasai family in Tanzania's Maasai Steppe Heartland. When he was only 9 years old, his simple life as a Maasai cattle herder came to a sudden end. The President of Tanzania had encouraged a new law that required one boy under the age of 10 from every tribe and village to attend school, and the elders selected Kiruswa as the best fit from his family.
Kiruswa excelled in his education and soon discovered a love for learning. The tribal elders negotiated a plan to send him on to college, realizing that his education could be an asset to all. Everyone contributed as they could, enabling Kiruswa to attend a reputable Christian university in Eastern Africa. Kiruswa then travelled to the United States to pursue a graduate degree. He says he chose Regent because he appreciated the combination of academic enrichment and spiritual nurture he considers essential in a postmodern world.
"Regent equipped me with the skills I needed in my field of study, and my degrees are necessary symbols for leadership in my society," he says. "My dream is to mentor as many young men and women as possible so they might acquire advanced learning. I want them to emulate exemplary Christian leadership that cares for both spiritual and physical liberation from poverty, ignorance and disease."
With strong ties to his homeland and a fierce loyalty for his people and all they have done for him, Kiruswa returned to Tanzania one week after earning his doctorate. He was the Maasai Steppe Heartland director for the African Wildlife Foundation for many years. Today, he works closely with Friends for Africa Development, a non-profit foundation that provides important resources and educational programs to the Maasai people. Kiruswa is passionate about liberating his people from the tyranny of poverty. He says, "One of the first steps is to set up an education scholarship fund to support needy students with the potential to become leaders. I want to be assured that my dream will live on long after I am gone!"
