The PhD in Journalism Studies offered by the Department of Journalism is one of three separate and distinct tracks of the Media Research and Practice doctoral program within the College of Media, Communication and Information. The PhD in Journalism Studies is a distinct track that focuses on exploring the intersection of journalism and society. Students gain a solid foundation through coursework that explores the theories and methods that shape mass communication research. The multidisciplinary program examines not only traditional journalism, but also the ever-increasing boundaries of the industry, including user-generated content, citizen journalism, the audience's impact on news production, social media's role in news, new quasi-journalistic outlets, etc. Students research institutions, content, audiences and publics – and they can approach these subjects through many lenses: sociological, psychological, historical, cultural, political, economic, legal and more.