The PhD in Media Studies offered by the Department of Media Studies is one of three separate and distinct tracks of the Media Research and Practice doctoral program within the College of Media, Communication and Information. Drawing largely from contemporary cultural and critical theory, the PhD in Media Studies focuses on interactions among the major components of modern communication media institutions, their contents and messages, and their audiences or publics as a process by which cultural meaning is generated. It examines that process on an interdisciplinary basis through social, economic, political, historical, legal/policy/regulatory and international perspectives, with a strong emphasis on issues involving new communication technology and policy.