Required Hours of Study
The doctoral degree program requires a minimum of 44 semester credit hours of coursework. This total is considered a minimum, not a norm. Additional hours are required during the qualifying examination and dissertation phase of the program. Applicants found deficient in preparatory background courses in their discipline or requisite breadth of knowledge in the area of study, may be required to take prerequisite coursework such as COM 601 Evaluation Methods.
Full time is defined as 9 semester credit hours or three courses. The required maximum length of the program is five full years from the fall semester of admission. Within that time period, students should carefully calculate their coursework per semester in order to successfully complete the program within the required timeframe, taking into consideration qualifying exams and dissertation work. Any leaves of absence (any semester in which the doctoral student does not register for coursework) are counted within the five year limit for completion of the degree requirements.
Mandatory Classes
The doctoral program requires all doctoral students in the program to complete seven core classes. Three research methods courses must be taken.
COM 701 Communication Research: Historical and Critical Methodologies.
The study and practical application of historical-critical research methodologies in the field of Communication. Topics include: research and writing in communication history, rhetorical history and rhetorical criticism. Consideration of the field of Communication from the perspective of humanities research.
COM 702 Communication Research: Qualitative Methodologies.
Advanced studies of ethnography, focus group interview techniques, in-depth personal interview methods, participant observation and other qualitative research methodologies.
COM 703 Communication Research: quantitative Methodologies.
Advanced study of classic and contemporary social science research methodologies and techniques utilized in human communication fields. Students are required to have had a graduate level social science research methods research course at another institution, COM 601 (Evaluation Methods), or an equivalent experience.
COM 705 Advanced Communication Theory.
An interdisciplinary examination of the most current theories, scholarship, published research, and trends and issues in all areas within the communication fields.
COM 707 Philosophy and Communication.
Broad, yet intensive study of the philosophical underpinnings of the communication fields. The history of ideas, comparative worldviews, ethical issues, and other philosophical concerns will be addressed from a Judeo-Christian perspective.
COM 708 History of Communication.
Historical and interdisciplinary analysis of the development of communication theories, concepts, and practices from the classical rhetorical tradition to the present.
COM 709 Theology and Communication.
Biblical analysis and evaluation of the purposes and practices of human communication.
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Doctoral Seminars (COM 785)
Doctoral students have the opportunity to take special topics courses either broad in nature and of interest to all students, or reflecting subject matter in a particular academic discipline within the School. Topics of doctoral seminars vary considerably depending on the interests and needs of students who enroll in the program and the special interests and expertise of the current faculty. Doctoral seminars have variable credit attached to them (1 – 3 credit hours each). At least two doctoral seminars are required toward a student’s program of study.
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Doctoral Tutorials (COM 788)
One of the innovative aspects of the doctoral program is the concept of a tutorial. The tutorial as academic process comes from the English university tradition of schools such as Cambridge and Oxford. By definition, a tutorial is a class conducted by a tutor for one student or a small number of students.
Tutorials are designed to provide opportunities for students to pursue specialized areas of research and to be mentored by faculty on a one-to-one basis.
The tutorial is a class at the doctoral level with a teaching component and a syllabus, designed between a doctoral student and a member of the doctoral faculty. Tutorials are not independent studies. (Credit hours, 1-3.)
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Master’s Degree Program Courses
Doctoral students may choose from a select list of regularly offered master’s degree program courses. Normally, they must be in the student’s expressed major field of interest. Doctoral students must insure that the particular course relates to their individual academic programs and that specific additional course assignments and requirements beyond those required of master’s degree students in the course are clearly understood by both the doctoral student and the course faculty.
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Dissertation Research Credit (COM 795)
The dissertation research credit is doctoral level credit assigned to independent academic work which the doctoral student undertakes directly related to his/her dissertation. Dissertation research credits is available for two purposes: to be used toward the candidate’s program of student for independent work on the dissertation, and to remain registered prior to ABD (All But Dissertation) status. Up to 4 semester dissertation research credit hours may be applied toward a student’s individual degree program. After successfully completing qualifying exams and being advanced to candidacy, doctoral students must register for 3 continuing dissertation credits (COM 799) per academic term until the dissertation is successfully defended and one continuing dissertation credit thereafter for every whole or partial semester (excluding summer sessions) until the final manuscript is approved by the dissertation committee and all University degree clearance procedures are successfully completed.
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