This program creates a cadre of scholars and practitioners capable of engaging with academic and professional communities to meet the challenges of our increasingly interdependent and globally diverse social worlds.<br><br>This program creates a cadre of scholars and practitioners capable of engaging with academic and professional communities to meet the challenges of our increasingly interdependent and globally diverse social worlds. We encourage students to develop a program of study that meets their unique professional goals. Students may take courses from any of our three areas of study: Rhetoric and Civic Engagement, Relational and Organizational Communication, and Media and Visual Culture. We dont track students into one of our specializations. Instead, we emphasize the ways in which students can take advantage of faculty members complimentary and overlapping areas of expertise. Our PhD program prepares students for a variety of careers: academic jobs at research institutions, academic jobs at teaching institutions and community colleges, and practitioner/consulting jobs in the public, private, and non-profit sectors.