best media phd programs

Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia Graduate Programs in America

1-25 of 81 results

MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

• Cambridge, MA ·
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology ·
• Graduate School

Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,

Graduate School ,

CAMBRIDGE, MA ,

The Graduate School at Duke

• Durham, NC ·
• Duke University ·
• · Rating 4.8 out of 5   5 reviews

Duke University ,

DURHAM, NC ,

5 Niche users give it an average review of 4.8 stars.

Featured Review: Current Master's student says The program is the best in the nation. It is the origin of the profession and it has helped developed it to what it is today. They seem to ver much involve alumni and are involved in your future. .

Read 5 reviews.

Northwestern University School of Communication

• Evanston, IL ·
• Northwestern University ·

Northwestern University ,

EVANSTON, IL ,

Emerson College

• Graduate School ·
• · Rating 4.73 out of 5   62

School of Communication, Media and the Arts - Sacred Heart University

• Sacred Heart University ·
• FAIRFIELD, CT

Valparaiso University

• VALPARAISO, IN
• · Rating 4.7 out of 5   10

Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

• Los Angeles, CA ·
• University of Southern California ·
• · Rating 5 out of 5   1 review

University of Southern California ,

LOS ANGELES, CA ,

1 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says My program is communications management. Has been very helpful in bettering myself in learning communications in a management setting. It has also helped me in my current role as a sales trainee.... .

Read 1 reviews.

Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts

• Pittsburgh, PA ·
• Carnegie Mellon University ·
• · Rating 5 out of 5   4 reviews

Blue checkmark.

Carnegie Mellon University ,

PITTSBURGH, PA ,

4 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says I graduated from the School of Design at the College of Fine Arts. This is one best design program at a major research university. The cross disciplinary approach, and ability to take courses at... .

Read 4 reviews.

Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts

• Atlanta, GA ·
• Georgia Institute of Technology ·

Georgia Institute of Technology ,

ATLANTA, GA ,

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UC Berkeley School of Information

• Berkeley, CA ·
• University of California - Berkeley ·

University of California - Berkeley ,

BERKELEY, CA ,

School of Media and Journalism - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Chapel Hill, NC ·
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ·

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ,

CHAPEL HILL, NC ,

Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development

• New York, NY ·
• New York University ·
• · Rating 4.32 out of 5   28 reviews

New York University ,

NEW YORK, NY ,

28 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says So far I’m almost a year into NYU Steinhardt’s online speech program and I love it! For those who don’t mind online learning and can time manage, this is for you. It gives me more flexibility and... .

Read 28 reviews.

College of Communication - Boston University

• Boston, MA ·
• Boston University ·
• · Rating 5 out of 5   2 reviews

Boston University ,

BOSTON, MA ,

2 Niche users give it an average review of 5 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says As a PR graduate student, I could not have asked for better course options. The between the mandated courses and electives, I have never felt more prepared to enter the industry. The courses are... .

Read 2 reviews.

School of Communication - University of Miami

• Coral Gables, FL ·
• University of Miami ·

University of Miami ,

CORAL GABLES, FL ,

College of Letters and Science - UC Santa Barbara

• Santa Barbara, CA ·
• University of California - Santa Barbara ·

University of California - Santa Barbara ,

SANTA BARBARA, CA ,

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• Public Administration Graduate Programs

University of Washington College of Arts & Sciences

• Seattle, WA ·
• University of Washington ·

University of Washington ,

SEATTLE, WA ,

College of Humanities and Social Sciences - NC State University

• Raleigh, NC ·
• North Carolina State University ·

North Carolina State University ,

RALEIGH, NC ,

Featured Review: Graduate Student says NC State's MSW program will prepare you to handle a wide variety of social work careers. The professors are amazing and teach students how to engage in various social justice activities on multiple... .

College of Communication Arts and Sciences - Michigan State University

• East Lansing, MI ·
• Michigan State University ·

Michigan State University ,

EAST LANSING, MI ,

College of Communication & Information - Florida State University

• Tallahassee, FL ·
• Florida State University ·

Florida State University ,

TALLAHASSEE, FL ,

The Media School - Indiana University - Bloomington

• Bloomington, IN ·
• Indiana University - Bloomington ·

Indiana University - Bloomington ,

BLOOMINGTON, IN ,

College of Arts and Sciences - University of Delaware

• Newark, DE ·
• University of Delaware ·
• · Rating 3 out of 5   1 review

University of Delaware ,

NEWARK, DE ,

1 Niche users give it an average review of 3 stars.

S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications

• Syracuse, NY ·
• Syracuse University ·
• · Rating 3.86 out of 5   7 reviews

Syracuse University ,

SYRACUSE, NY ,

7 Niche users give it an average review of 3.9 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says My one-year program at Newhouse offered me hands on Journalism experience in both my classes and internships. My cohort and I got to pitch stories and have our work published! The program encourages... The Newhouse alumni are also outstanding, I've been able to speak with so many past students about their Newhouse experiences and current jobs which has been a tremendous help as I wrap up my time at... .

Read 7 reviews.

Rhode Island School of Design

• Providence, RI ·
• · Rating 4.33 out of 5   6 reviews

PROVIDENCE, RI ,

6 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Master's Student says Great! Challenging school with amazing professors who care about their students. Has amazing resources and funding. .

Read 6 reviews.

Arizona State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Tempe, AZ ·
• Arizona State University ·

Arizona State University ,

TEMPE, AZ ,

Featured Review: Master's Student says Arizona State University is an inclusive and welcoming university. It connects students like me with many valuable resources for helping us to remain healthy and engaged thus minimizing the... .

School of Communication - American University

• Washington, DC ·
• American University ·

American University ,

WASHINGTON, DC ,

University of Connecticut College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Storrs, CT ·
• University of Connecticut ·
• · Rating 4 out of 5   1 review

University of Connecticut ,

STORRS, CT ,

1 Niche users give it an average review of 4 stars.

Featured Review: Graduate Student says The University of Connecticut is a very supportive, diverse, academically enriching place for education growth. I have learned a great deal from the very knowledgeable and helpful professors and... .

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences - University of Denver

• Denver, CO ·
• University of Denver ·

University of Denver ,

DENVER, CO ,

School of Journalism and Mass Communications - The University of Kansas

• Lawrence, KS ·
• The University of Kansas ·

The University of Kansas ,

LAWRENCE, KS ,

Thomas Jefferson University

• PHILADELPHIA, PA
• · Rating 4.68 out of 5   71
• PROVIDENCE, RI
• · Rating 4.33 out of 5   6

Savannah College of Art and Design

• SAVANNAH, GA
• · Rating 4.46 out of 5   74

Showing results 1 through 25 of 81

Master of Science Digital Media

Many industries use digital media, so getting a digital media graduate degree can be very beneficial. A digital media graduate program will allow you to work with various types of digital media, such as virtual and augmented reality and digital animation. It will also prompt you to acquire design skills and learn about digital media theory. Some programs expose students to gaming, user experience, and 3-D modeling concepts. Others discuss digital media management, history, ethics, and policy. If you are interested in a career in digital media, continue reading for information regarding the difficulty level, duration, requirements, and job opportunities connected to earning a graduate-level digital media degree.

You may find it moderately challenging to obtain a digital media graduate degree. Many masters in digital media grad programs require students to complete coursework, projects, theses, and internships. Some mandate that students submit a digital portfolio toward the end of the program. If you pursue a master's of digital media graduate program that stresses the need for a portfolio, you will document everything you do by taking pictures or collecting work samples. Then, you will write extensively about each piece of evidence you gather.

Some digital media grad programs are 15 to 24 months. Others are accelerated, and you can complete the degree in 6 to 12 months. Most graduate-level digital media programs are for working professionals, so many are 100% online and have part-time options. The School of Digital Media  at Savannah College of Art and Design, the Reed College of Media  at West Virginia University, and the School of Communication & Digital Content  at Liberty University are some of the graduate schools that offer digital media degrees.

People from various fields, such as communications, business, science, and health, can apply to digital media grad schools. However, they do need to demonstrate writing ability by providing writing samples. These samples could be press releases, academic papers, or published articles. The degree requirements for a graduate-level digital media program will likely vary from school to school. Some schools focus on introducing students to a wide range of digital media products. Others emphasize how digital media affects consumer behavior and how its corresponding analytics impacts business decision-making processes.

A digital media graduate degree can help you land a variety of jobs. You could work in the writing and editing field and become a copywriter, or you could work in the advertising and branding field and become a marketing strategist. Many website and application development roles, such as user interface (UI) and user experience (UE) designers, need people who are well versed in digital media. The degree could also be advantageous if you want to become a graphic designer, game designer, illustrator, or animator.

At Niche, we cherish your freedom to select whichever school you find suitable. Research the admission and degree requirements of each digital media graduate program  that piques your interest. Also, read the master of digital media grad program reviews we showcase on our site. Doing so will aid you in making an informed decision and improve your understanding of faculty and student dynamics at each school.

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2024 Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor's Degree Schools

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 67 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 425 doctor's degrees in communication & media studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Communication & Media Studies School for Your Doctor's Degree

Overall Quality Is a Must

The overall quality of a doctor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to communication & media studies students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other communication & media studies students want to attend this school to pursue a doctor's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt communication & media studies students go into to obtain their doctor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized communication & media studies related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for communication & media studies students working on their doctor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Communication & Media Studies Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings , including this Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.

Featured Communication & Media Studies Programs

Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

BA in Communication

With an online bachelor's degree in communication you'll have the opportunity to pursue a multitude of career options. From journalism and social media, to public relations, advertising and mass media, earning your BA in communication will allow you to strategize and communicate your ideas.

MA in Communication

Effective communicators are always in demand, no matter the industry. The Master's in Communication degree from Southern New Hampshire University is a cutting-edge program designed for forward-thinking professionals.

Media Communication (I Have a Bachelors)

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Communication & Media Studies in the United States

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for communication & media studies students seeking a a doctor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

10 Top Schools for a Doctorate in Communications

Every student who is interested in a doctor's degree in communication & media studies needs to look into University of Pennsylvania. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from University of Pennsylvania

It is difficult to beat University of Southern California if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in communication & media studies. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from University of Southern California

Northwestern University is a wonderful choice for individuals pursuing a doctor's degree in communication & media studies. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from Northwestern University

Every student who is interested in a doctor's degree in communication & media studies needs to look into University of Wisconsin - Madison. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Doctorate recipients from the communication & media studies degree program at University of Wisconsin - Madison make $8,246 above the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

UNC Chapel Hill is a very large public university located in the small city of Chapel Hill.

Those communication & media studies students who get their doctor's degree from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill earn $7,485 more than the typical communications graduate.

Cornell is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Ithaca. More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from Cornell University

U-M is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor. More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Located in the city of Austin, UT Austin is a public university with a fairly large student population. More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from The University of Texas at Austin

Located in the large city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from Columbia University in the City of New York

Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Stanford. More information about a doctorate in communication & media studies from Stanford University

Related Programs

Learn about other programs related to Communication & Media Studies that might interest you.

MS in Marketing - New Media & Communications

Explore how emerging media impacts the study of culture, relationships and messages with this online master's from Southern New Hampshire University.

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor's Degree Schools award.

Communication & Media Studies by Region

View the Best Communication & Media Studies Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Other Rankings

Best associate degrees in communication & media studies, best master's degrees in communication & media studies, best value in communication & media studies, best for non-traditional students in communication & media studies, best online in communication & media studies, most popular online in communication & media studies, best bachelor's degrees in communication & media studies, best overall in communication & media studies, highest paid grads in communication & media studies, best for veterans in communication & media studies, most popular in communication & media studies, most focused in communication & media studies.

View All Rankings >

Communication & Media Studies Related Rankings by Major

One of 5 majors within the Communication & Journalism area of study, Communication & Media Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Communications Concentrations

Most popular related majors, notes and references.

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System ( IPEDS ) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s ( College Scorecard ).
• Credit for the banner image above goes to UNU-WIDER from Helsinki, Finland . More about our data sources and methodologies .

Popular Reports

Compare your school options.

Film and Media Studies Program

The graduate program in film and media studies.

Inaugurated in 2002, Yale’s doctoral Program in Film and Media Studies quickly achieved the international stature it enjoys today. Building on a core faculty that had long overseen an impressive undergraduate major, the graduate program attracted incoming faculty who were eager to help shape it. The quality of the students who have applied has been superior, and the large majority of those selected have chosen to study here. Fifty students have completed, or are in the midst of, their degrees. Our alumni hold positions at a range of institutions, including universities with major graduate programs, and several have already seen their revised dissertations published as books by important presses. 

Graduate students have been able to produce such significant research thanks not least to Yale’s unparalleled resources.  Specialized librarians and curators keep our students in mind as they collect and make available the massive amounts of material held by the Sterling Memorial Library, the Haas library in the History of Art, and especially the Beinecke rare book library that houses the archives of hundreds of filmmakers, writers, and artists.  Two of America’s great art museums, The Yale University Art Gallery and the British Art Center (with buildings designed by Louis Kahn), retain a continuing relation with our graduate students.  As for primary material in our field,  the Yale Film Archive is home to a growing collection of 35mm and 16mm film prints, and is a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). The Archive also oversees a large circulating library of DVDs, Blu-rays, and VHS tapes.

A dedicated, expert projectionist oversees hundreds of screenings each year, mainly in two spaces (the auditorium of 250 in our building and a projection room holding 40 on York Street) that are equipped for 35mm, 16mm, and virtually all video formats. 4K and 2K projections are common.

Graduate students absorb and generate the energy and enthusiasm so important to dynamic film scholarship thanks to the bustling intellectual climate at the Humanities Quadrangle, where faculty and students meet continually—almost daily it seems—around screenings, lectures, conferences and workshops, some initiated by the graduate students themselves. 

By design the doctorate in Film and Media Studies at Yale is always undertaken in combination with one of ten other disciplines in the Humanities (African-American Studies, American Studies, Comparative Literature, East Asian Languages and Literatures, English, French, German, History of Art, Italian, Slavic Languages and Literatures).   It was thought, and has proven true, that upon completing their degrees, students who are prepared for positions in both Film and Media and in another discipline would hold a particular advantage, and not merely because of the wider range of openings available to them in the job market, but because the calculated interdisciplinarity of their research makes them stand out. Thoroughly grounded in Film and Media Studies, they become expert in certain of its issues by offering authoritative perspectives and methods that derive from systematic work with the outstanding faculty and graduate students in another Yale department or program. Our students are welcomed throughout the Humanities on campus as they enliven traditional disciplines with the images, sounds, and ideas they bring from Film and Media Studies.

The faculty and its curriculum represent a full range of topics that have been at the center of Film Studies from its outset: theory, criticism, and history, plus cultural approaches to American, European, Latin American and Japanese national cinemas.  Naturally, as the field and its discipline evolve, so too do we, though always keeping ourselves based in this tradition. Transnational and global approaches bring the national cinemas, and their specialists, into productive contact. Overarching concerns involving technological, aesthetic, social and cultural issues (especially race and gender), have developed to the point that in 2015 the Program added “Media” to its name and mission. FMS, as our Program is now called for short, officially embraces images and sounds from an array of sources and channels, especially as these coexist and intertwine with cinema, something that has occurred throughout its long history.  We study that history as well as the challenge and possibilities of “new media,” which we know to be on the minds of graduate students. This keeps Yale’s Program vigilant as it looks to the past for cues about ways to best approach the future. The faculty recognizes that graduate students must be in the lead of an evolving discipline, and so encourages them to take up the most current developments and debates. The goal of the Program’s pedagogy is to provide its current students with a steady anchor in what the discipline has been, so that they can confidently and creatively participate at the highest level in its discourse and institutions, leading it forward while passing continuing its legacy.

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Doctor of Philosophy Media, Culture, and Communication

Grounded in an interdisciplinary approach to the study of media and culture, our doctorate draws from a rich array of disciplines and theoretical frameworks. Department expertise spans the globe: the Middle East, East Asia, the Global South, Africa, and Europe. Our faculty generate some of the most original scholarship in their respective fields, creating a stimulating environment in which to pursue graduate work.

Degree Details

Official degree title.

PhD in Media, Culture, and Communication

Research Focus

Alumni placements, funding for full-time phd students.

Five research areas operate as guiding frameworks for intellectual inquiry across the department: Global Communication and Media, Technology and Society, Visual Culture and Sound Studies, Media Industries and Politics, Interaction and Experience.

Your work as a doctoral student will be shaped by our commitment to:

• Engaging with theoretical concepts from a range of disciplines—media and cultural studies, visual culture, history, science and technology studies, anthropology, sociology, disability studies, sound studies, political science.
• A multi-methodological approach to research—from semiotics, global ethnography, gender and queer theory, critical race theory, qualitative and quantitative discourse analysis, to political/cultural economy, among other critical frameworks.
• A global perspective—conceiving of the global mediascape as transnational and transcultural.
• Recognizing media and technology’s long history and antecedents.

Read some sample dissertation abstracts .

After graduating, alumni join academic departments of media and communication, with placement in the social sciences and interdisciplinary humanities becoming increasingly common. MCC PhDs who graduated in the past ten years are now tenure-track or tenured professors at the University of California, Berkeley; University of Washington, Seattle; Cornell University; Stanford University; UCLA; Rutgers; Fordham; University of Michigan; George Mason University; University of North Carolina; University of Arizona; College of Charleston; Memorial University of Newfoundland; University of San Francisco; Scripps; Pratt; University of Maryland; American University of Beirut; American University of Paris, Ryerson University; Trent University; St. Joseph’s College.

Over the past decade, our PhD graduates have received numerous prestigious postdocs, including a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities in the Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing at MIT; Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at MIT's Center for Art, Science, and Technology; Postdoctoral Fellow, Berkman Klein Center, Harvard University; Postdoctoral Researcher, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science; Postdoctoral, Center for Information Technology Policy, Princeton University; Postdoctoral Fellowship at Rice University in Technology, Culture, and Society; Research Associate, Center for Digital Humanities, Princeton University; Postdoctoral Fellow, Media, Inequality & Change Center, University of Pennsylvania.

If you are accepted as a full-time NYU Steinhardt PhD student without an alternate funding source, you are eligible for our competitive funding package, which includes a scholarship and tuition remission.  Learn more about our funding opportunities .

Graduate Leadership

Associate Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication; PhD Director

Susan Murray

Department chair and professor of media, culture, and communication.

If you have additional questions about our degree, please contact us at [email protected] .

Alumni Profiles

Jacob Gaboury (PhD 2014)

Jacob is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Film & Media at the University of California, Berkeley. His dissertation "Image Objects: An Archaeology of Computer Graphics, 1965-1979" investigated the early history of computer graphics and the role they play in the move toward new forms of simulation and object oriented design.

Xiaochang Li (PhD 2017)

Xiaochang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Stanford University. Her teaching and research interests include the history of computing and information systems, AI and algorithmic culture, speech and language technology, and software/platform studies. Before joining Stanford, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin.

Hatim El-Hibri (PhD 2012)

Hatim is Assistant Professor of Film and Media Studies at George Mason University. His research examines media technologies and urban space in the Middle East. His dissertation traced the history of the visualization of Beirut, from the politics of aerial photography and mapping during the French Mandate, to the visual economy of postwar construction, to the materiality of Hizballah's live satellite television.

Liz Koslov (PhD 2017)

Liz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Planning and the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA. Previously, she was a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT. Her research examines the cultural, political, and sociological dimensions of climate change adaptation. Her first book project, Retreat: Moving to Higher Ground in a Climate-Changed City , is under advance contract with the University of Chicago Press.

Devon Powers (PhD 2008)

Devon is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Advertising, Media & Communication at Temple University. Powers' research interests include popular music, 20th century history, and cultural intermediation – the people and processes that operate "in between" the production and consumption of culture. Powers completed a fellowship at the University of Leeds in 2014, and was recently elected Vice Chair of the Popular Communication Division of the International Communication Association.

Matthew Powers (PhD 2013)

Matthew is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington-Seattle. His dissertation "Humanity's Publics: NGOs, Journalism and the International Public Sphere" examined reporting roles assumed by international NGOs as legacy media outlets cut their foreign news budgets, and received the Gene Burd Outstanding Dissertation in Journalism Studies award from the International Communication Association. 

Media, Culture, and Communication

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Journalism and Media

Doctoral program.

Our doctoral program is among the best programs in journalism and media in the U.S.  Led by faculty with distinguished research and publication records – many with professional journalism or media experience – our program is designed to equip students with a strong theoretical grounding and versatile research methods.  Graduates of our four-year program can go on to positions in the academy, and they also may join think tanks, advocacy and non-governmental organizations and professional associations working with information and media systems.   

We offer a far-reaching array of electives and research opportunities. The faculties’ fields of interest broadly include news and media engagement; online incivility; digital media; mis and disinformation; the digital divide and information equity; media law and policy, including the impact of Artificial Intelligence and algorithms on media; journalism and democracy; global media systems; media and representation; visual communication studies; critical data studies; social media and platform studies; media economics, among other topics.  Please look at  faculty bios  and description of research opportunities  to learn more about current projects.   

Our program incorporates many opportunities to undertake research independently or to work with groups associated with research centers, institutes or research groups. We have an excellent record of participation with the major professional associations including the Association for Education in Journalism and Media Communication ( AEJ MC ), the International Communication Association ( ICA ),  the International Association of Media and Communication Research ( IAMCR ), the Association of Internet Research ( AoIR ), as well as smaller highly focused forums such as The Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy. 

Interdisciplinary Work

Our students also participate with the many interdisciplinary  Portfolio Programs  on campus.  Moody College is home to three such programs, including the  Communication, Information and Cultural Policy  program focused on media systems, directed by some of our faculty.  Additionally, summer internships with professional or research programs are sometimes sponsored by associated research institutes.  Students have taken advantage of UT’s  Archer Program , and the multi-University COMPASS program associated with the Technology and Information Policy Institute.   

Program of Work 2023-2024

Doctoral Handbook 2023-2024

• Research Centers, Institutes and Programs
• Graduate Research
• Portfolio Programs
• Admissions Info
• Admissions FAQs
• Funding & Student Employment
• Texas One Stop

Email the JAM Grad Office

• Graduate Studies

Ph.D. in Media and Communication

Our doctoral program in Chapel Hill prepares students to lead in the academy and industry.

• Cost & Funding

We offer a close-knit community where students learn, develop as scholars and collaborate with faculty advisers and mentors.

You’ll learn cutting-edge research methods and acquire a deep understanding of communication theory to help you develop a research program that fits your interests. Our graduates are training the next generation of scholars, improving public health, strengthening democracy and helping leading organizations across the world innovate in a changing media environment.

Numbers of Distinction

AEJMC Nafziger-White-Salwen Dissertation Awards since 1984: No other program comes close.

New graduates in the last five years who have become assistant professors or postdoctoral fellows, with 61% of those assistant professors at Carnegie R1 institutions

Value, over three years, of a Park Fellowship

One-year expenditures for externally sponsored research

Online info session: Ph.D. in Media and Communication

November 6, 2023.

Sign up to attend an online info session about our doctoral program. Hear from program director Shannon McGregor and ask questions about the admissions process.

A network of support, at Carolina and beyond

As she completed her master's at the Hussman School, Kyla Garrett Wagner wasn't sure whether she'd stay in Chapel Hill for her doctorate. She applied to eight other programs but decided to stay where she felt her ideas were most supported. "While it is a competitive school and one of the best schools, we're not competitive with one another on the inside," she says. "We all can work together, and that's an incredible feeling."

Why Carolina?

• Get access to world-class resources on campus and a worldwide network of more than 16,000 UNC Hussman alumni.
• Chapel Hill and the Research Triangle region are home to college-town charm, abundant culture and high-tech industry.

Learn about the Hussman School

Our vibrant and collaborative interdisciplinary research culture creates new knowledge, advances scholarship and helps reinvent media.

Explore our research

The Roy H. Park Fellowships are among the most generous among media and journalism programs nationwide, providing top UNC Hussman doctoral applicants the financial support necessary for the students to focus on their academic and professional development.

Complete this form, and we’ll send you more information and program updates.

Or contact the Graduate Studies team at [email protected] or (919) 843-8307.

Student and Faculty Research

Doctorate in Communication

With one of the nation's premier doctoral programs in Communication, the Annenberg School is a tight-knit, supportive community of scholars committed to advancing knowledge of our media environment.

Founded through the generosity and vision of publisher, diplomat, and philanthropist Walter Annenberg, the Annenberg School for Communication is devoted to furthering our understanding of the role of communication in public life through research, education, and service. Our five-year doctoral program has a strong reputation as one of the best in Communication, based on Annenberg’s unparalleled combination of world-class faculty , students , and alumni , as well as access to the larger intellectual and cultural resources of the University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia .

In an inherently interdisciplinary field, Annenberg researchers are engaged with a spectrum of topics related to health, politics, media systems, networks and digital culture, journalism, race and gender, and more, using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

Our Ph.D. program allows students to tailor a curriculum to suit their specific interests, and provides them the financial resources to launch their academic career. 

In addition to a full tuition waiver, our students currently receive an annual stipend as well as a budget for research and travel and health insurance for all five years.

Annenberg is the smallest of the 12 schools at Penn, and it functions as close-knit community of scholars whose doors are always open to one another. Our students also appreciate our staff , who routinely go above and beyond to support them.

Please note that we do not have a standalone master’s degree program at this time. All students are admitted directly into the doctoral program.

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Our Students By the Numbers

Here are some fast facts about our students and the admissions process . Get to know Annenberg!

Students currently in the program

Different nationalities represented by our students, applicants each year, students accepted each year, average undergraduate gpa of applicants, average toefl of admitted candidates, of students came from a previous graduate degree program, of students worked in a career before joining annenberg, of students came straight to annenberg from an undergraduate degree.

Our Faculty

Our graduate faculty is at the heart of the school. Their innovative work, often in collaboration with students, pushes the field of Communication forward.

Students on Video

Hear from some of the Annenberg School's doctoral students as they talk about their work and what brought them to Annenberg.

What is it like to be a doctoral student at the International Communication Association annual conference? We followed four students to find out.

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, doctoral candidate Kelly Diaz used her phone to document the many signs displayed in yards and windows around her West Philadelphia home. She has now collected that body of work into a  photo essay .

Doctoral Candidate and artist Roopa Vasudevan studies the ways that the everyday technologies shape our daily lives.

What is it like to be a Ph.D. student? We followed five of our students through their daily activities.

Prateekshit Pandey works with the Communication Neuroscience Lab to study how the brain reacts to humor. 

Buenos Aires-native María Celeste Wagner looks at how gender influences credibility in news. 

Jennifer Henrichsen studies the way that journalists adopt information security technologies to protect themselves and their sources.

Our Students

Annenberg's doctoral students represent a broad spectrum of interests, methodologies, and backgrounds. Here are just a few of our incredible students.

Arlene C. Fernández

Azsaneé Truss

Antoine Haywood

Danielle Clark

Neil Fasching

Tom W. Etienne

Congratulations to Annenberg’s 2024 Ph.D. and M.A. Graduates

Thirteen students earned their doctoral degrees, and fifteen students received M.A. degrees.

Student Profile Video: Kate Okker-Edging

Proust, Smith, and Truss Win 2024 James D. Woods Award

Azsaneé Truss Receives Penn Prize for Excellence in Teaching

Three Annenberg Doctoral Candidates Awarded 2024 Sachs Program Grants

Explore the Program

Learn more about life in the Annenberg Ph.D. program.

Financial Support

Curriculum & Milestones

Student Life

Applications for 2025-2026 will open by October

More in doctorate in communication.

PhD in Emerging Media Studies

New media poses challenges for society and complexities for researchers. Are you ready to tackle both?

Academic Bulletin

• Degree Requirements
• PhD Students
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The Boston University PhD program in Emerging Media Studies is the nation’s first doctorate program in emerging media and its critical, daily role in modern life.

COM’s unique program prepares its doctoral students to become sophisticated researchers and critical thinkers who are ready to advance the fields of communication, sociological, and media leadership. Designed for students with a master’s degree, this program helps candidates gain a comprehensive understanding of the role of emerging media in society and organizations and hone their research skills through independent, innovative, and mentored research.

Recent and upcoming dissertation topics address a wide array of topics, such as social perceptions of robots, the effects of television binge-watching, and media framing of direct-to-consumer genetic testing.

Meet COM’s First Doctoral Recipient, Sarah Krongard

It seems there’s always something to celebrate at COM, and the 2019 fall semester marked one particularly noteworthy achievement — PhD…

Learning and Teaching

EMS graduate students are taught and mentored by some of the leading researchers and thinkers in the field.  The faculty make full use of the most advanced theories and methods to examine communication phenomena — from social media, streaming content, and AR/VR to Big Data and AI. Under their guidance, students learn how to conduct and analyze social science research concerning all types of emerging media. 

 As a doctoral student, you’ll serve as a teaching fellow while enrolled in the program. On average, you should expect to serve as a teaching fellow a minimum of two times during the program.

Resources for Research 

COM graduate students get ready for careers by rolling up their sleeves for hands-on research.

All Emerging Media Studies students contribute to COM’s annual #ScreentimeBU conference, an opportunity to present their research in the field of digital communication and society as well as exchange their views with peers and field leaders concerning important contemporary issues. By showcasing the fruits of your research, you’ll share their ideas with the general public and industry leaders. Additionally, the conference provides an opportunity for you to develop your public communication capabilities and receive input from industry experts in a professional setting.

CENTER FOR MOBILE Communication Studies

Laptops, smart phones, and tablets have been transformed from novelties to necessities. But we’re only beginning to understand how they have transformed us.

EMS students also take advantage of research opportunities at COM’s Communication Research Center , COM’s primary research hub, and the state of-the-art technology offered at the Zimmerman Family Social Activation Center, that puts in-depth social media analytics at your fingertips.

Funding Support

Because the doctoral program is immersive and requires full-time participation for a number of years, all PhD students in Emerging Media Studies are funded for the duration of their study, up to a maximum of five years. Funding includes a full tuition scholarship, health insurance credit, and stipend in return for teaching and research obligations. Students with their own funding for the program (through the Fulbright Commission, government funding or other source) will still be required to serve as a teaching fellow for at least one semester. Compensation will be provided.

Benefit from Boston

One of BU’s greatest resources is its location. Consistently ranked among the most livable cities in the world, Boston is “America’s college town,” a city rich in history while remaining on the forefront of culture and innovation. Boston is a Top 10 U.S. media market, and home to some of the world’s best creative agencies, media companies and leading employers — offering boundless opportunities for internships and careers.

More than 80%

of our graduate students receive scholarships.

Purpose Driven

COM stands out from our peers. Our faculty offers a mix of researchers and practitioners who endorse a cross-discipline, hands-on approach to learning. Our location lies at the heart of an electric, media-savvy city.

But it may be COM’s shared values that matter most. We believe that communication requires diversity, critical thinking, and creative expression. We believe that communication must be grounded in truth, authenticity, effectiveness, and purpose. We believe that communication builds understanding among people and across society.

Emerging Media Research

Agenda setting in the wizarding world: computationally examining attribute agenda and….

Abstract: This study investigates the complex dynamics of public discourse on Twitter/X concerning the transgender-related controversy surrounding the video game…

Physiological response to political advertisement: Examining the influence of partisan and…

This study investigates voters’ physiological response to real political advertisements that are issue focused and sponsored by three different political…

Does world system theory rein in social media? Identifying factors contributing…

This article examined how social media content has shaped the representation of countries for publics around the world. Based on…

The Robot Rights and Responsibilities Scale: Development and Validation of a…

The discussion and debates surrounding the robot rights topic demonstrate vast differences in the possible philosophical, ethical, and legal approaches…

Meet the Emerging Media Faculty

Chris Chao Su

Assistant professor, emerging media studies.

Chris Wells

Associate professor, emerging media studies.

Daniel Park

Visiting assistant professor, emerging media studies.

Feld Professor of Emerging Media

James Cummings

Kelsey Prena

Emerging media news, com’s new dalton professor knows disinformation from personal experience.

When Robots Deliver the News

Joan Donovan, Nationally Recognized Expert in Misinformation and Disinformation, Joins COM Faculty

Emerging Media Studies

Cinema & Media Studies Ph.D.

The Cinema and Media Studies Ph.D. program explores the intricate histories, aesthetics, and cultural impacts of visual media.

The Cinema & Media Studies (CMS) Program at UCLA has played a central role in the development of the field, notably through scholarship grounded in critical theory, cultural studies, close textual analysis, archive-based history, digital and interactive media studies, industry studies, and transnational media studies. The program supports a broad array of critical interests, from the media arts to commercial entertainment, from historical research to contemporary practices, and from formal analysis to the social mapping of media. In the last few years the research profile of the faculty has concentrated on three main areas of research: The Politics of Race, Ethnicity, and Indigeneity (particularly, Chicana/o, African American/African Diaspora, and Asian), Queer Cinema/Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Critical Theory (particularly, moving image art, aesthetic, affect, computational media, and decolonial).

The Ph.D. program focuses on refining research skills in an individualized study plan, with a mission to produce research of unparalleled quality. Graduates often transition into esteemed teaching and research roles in academic institutions. Backing their research endeavors is the UCLA Library Film & Television Archive, offering vast resources, 35mm classroom screenings, and state-of-the-art digital technology facilities.

World-Class Faculty

Shawn Vancour

Chon A. Noriega

Veronica Paredes

Requirements.

The Ph.D. program is intended primarily for students who wish to build a career around excellence in university teaching and research. The Ph.D. program requires successful completion of a minimum of seven core courses and at least seven elective courses (not counting those completed at the masters level) and successful completion of the Intellectual Statement, Third Quarter Review, Sixth Quarter Review, Comprehensive Exam, Prospectus Review, Foreign Language Requirement at level three or higher, and successful submission and defense of the Dissertation.

Year One/Academic Year: Four Core Courses

• FTV 495A Teaching Assistant Training (does not need to be repeated if taken during M.A.)
• FTV 210 Common Course
• FTV 211 Historiography
• FTV 215 Theory and Method
• Academic Progress Report
• Begin taking courses toward language requirement

Year Two: Two Core Courses, Written Exams and Completion of the Ph.D. Study Plan

• FTV 274 Research Design A (Bibliography and Exam Prep)
• FTV 274 Research Design B (Exam Prep with advisors)
• Ph.D. Comprehensive Exam
• FTV 274 Research Design C (Writing the Prospectus)
• Continued progress toward language requirement (must be completed by the end of the 3rd year)
• Prospectus Review

Year Three/Academic Year: Nomination of Doctoral Committee and Advancement to Candidacy

• Advancement to Candidacy/Nomination of Doctoral Committee (Fall Quarter, contingent upon language requirement completion)

Ph.D. PROGRAM REMINDERS

Required During Years One-Three: Six additional graduate seminars, at least five of which must be approved cinema and media studies seminars.

Required During Years One-Three: Language Requirement Courses & Petition . Completion of level 3 language training or higher (as determined by Dissertation Committee) must be provided prior to student Advancement to Candidacy.

Recommended During Years One-Three: Colloquium. Students are encouraged to enroll in or attend Colloquium during all quarters to participate in screenings, research presentations and discussions. May be repeated for credit.

• FTV 212 CMS Colloquium

Year 3 and Beyond: Dissertation Research

• Submit an Academic Progress Report (on a yearly basis)

World-Class Students

Brandon Robert Green

Jasmyn R. Castro

Iftin Abshir

• PhD in Clinical Psychology
• Clinical Concentrations

PhD in Psychology

• PhD in Psychology with an emphasis in Media & Technology
• PhD in Infant and Early Childhood Development
• Media Psychology
• Master’s in Media Psychology
• Media Psychology Certificate
• Postbaccalaureate Certificate in Clinical Psychology
• Postdoctoral Certificate in Respecialization in Clinical Psychology
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• PhD in Organizational Development and Change
• EdD Leadership for Change
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with an emphasis in Media & Technology

Where technology meets human experience.

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Sept. 4, 2024

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Brian Cutler, PhD

PhD in Psychology with an emphasis in Media & Technology

The Fielding PhD in Psychology with an emphasis in Media & Technology prepares students to work at the intersection of psychology theories and media technologies. The curriculum blends the study of social behaviors, cognition, perception, and emotion with the research skills you need to be a specialist in psychology applied to media and technology. How people interact with, use, and respond to media affects every aspect of life, from relationships, education, entertainment, and marketing to addressing the pressing social and ethical issues of a digital world. Media psychology is not an end goal, it is a powerful set of skills that make you better able to tackle your passion and change the world, to harness and leverage the power of media technologies to do what matters most to you.

You will join students come from a variety of professional experiences and academic backgrounds with a common goal. You will join a community of scholar-practitioners—changemakers—who recognize that media psychology gives you the ability to see through the noise and focus on the drivers of human behavior to get to the heart of the issue, whether it’s technology development, communications strategies or expanding the field of academic knowledge.

APPLY NOW for FALL 2024

Media Psychology News

The latest news, announcements, and special events from Fielding’s Media Psychology program.

How to Protect Your Child’s Digital Reputation

By Pam Rutledge | 2024-05-14T11:30:52-07:00 May 14th, 2024 |

How Granfluencers are Breaking Stereotypes on TikTok

By Pam Rutledge | 2024-03-28T10:28:09-07:00 March 28th, 2024 |

AI Doesn’t Change Why Kids Should Learn to Code

By Pam Rutledge | 2024-03-22T10:32:13-07:00 March 22nd, 2024 |

What is Media Psychology?

Application requirements.

Media psychology starts with psychology.  Where traditional communication, media studies, sociology, or psychology programs focus on process or isolate media from human experience, media psychology looks for answer to the ‘why.’  Why do people react to media the way they do?  Why do people use some technologies more than others?  Why does technology use impact wellbeing?  Why does social representation matter? Why does social media influence how people feel about themselves? Why do people connect with stories?

In the media psychology program, you will gain an expertise of psychology to apply to media and technology. You can explore the ways in which cognition, emotion, and instinct can influence human responses to different media stimuli and alter technological impact. You can use these skills to anticipate consumption and use patterns, look for leverageable solutions to global problems, promote technology design that promotes economic, social, and environmental progress.  We give you the theoretical foundation and the skills to put your passion and commitment to work.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree
• Minimum GPA of 3.0
• Online Application Form
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Statement of Purpose
• Critical Thinking Writing Sample
• Official Transcript
• No GRE Required

Start your application NOW!  

What we do..

Media psychologists are finding new roles across multiple domains. Fortune 100 companies, for example, increasingly recognize the need for applying media psychology to organizational communications, structure, products and strategy. Our graduates have innovated new roles working with companies like Mozilla, Fox Films, AT&T, Deutsche Telekom and Disney among others, as well as crafting new business and consulting opportunities and developing successful advocacy campaigns. Special projects within the program give students the opportunity to have real-life experience during the course of their education. Recent projects include partnering with the Department of Defense deconstructing the narrative, cognitive and neuroscience triggers of terrorism in the social space and developing brand-aligned corporate social responsibility programs for companies like Grub Hub.

WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT FIELDING?

• Customize Your Learning Experience

Tailor your degree to follow your passions and achieve your goals.

Partner with faculty to create a customized plan of study and research.

Study current trends and topics that have social impact , such as immersive media and augmented reality, media literacy, neuromarketing, psychology-based user experience research skills, and brand storytelling.

Use what you already know to inform your research.

Take charge  of your educational journey.

Your goals come first.  Every faculty member is committed to helping you build a program that will achieve your goals, from individual coursework to your dissertation.

Create media content

Develop communication strategies, educate the public, advise technology developers, speak at conferences globally, consult for media companies, publish academic research.

Why Choose Fielding’s Media Psychology program?

Follow Your Passion

From documentary filmmakers and educators to brand marketers and social advocates, students find their intellectual home in media psychology and leave equipped to achieve their goals and make a difference.

Qualifying Exam Presentation: Digital Emotion Regulation of Positive Emotions

The Fielding Qualifying Exam (QE) is the final step in the doctoral program preceding the dissertation. In media psychology, is an opportunity for students to demonstrate their breadth and depth of knowledge of the theory and research in their chosen area of specialization and it establishes the direction they wish to pursue in their dissertation.

As a media psychology doctoral student, Jay Grant’s QE and subsequent research, focus on the use of digital technologies for emotional regulation with an interest in positive media psychology.  Jay explores how the range of technologies from immersive technology and gaming to social media enable people to manage their emotional experiences.  This is increasingly important as people have on-demand access to social environments nearly anytime and anywhere. In considering the current landscape, Jay’s review encompasses emotion theories and self-determination theory to explain the phenomenon of digital emotion regulation with an emphasis on positive emotions, the components of emotional intelligence and social contexts.

Join Over 7,500 Fielding Alumni Located Around The World!

Change the world. Start with yours.™

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Contact Info

Fielding Graduate University 2020 De la Vina Street Santa Barbara, California 93105

Phone: 1-800-340-1099 Admissions: 805-898-4026

Email: [email protected]

Web: Fielding.edu/apply-now

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Cinema and Media Studies, PhD

The Department offers a full-time Ph.D. program. Comprehensive in the range of specializations, the program is intellectually dynamic and rigorous. Our Ph.D. program prepares students for full participation in the profession as scholars and teachers of Cinema and Media Studies, broadly conceived.  The Ph.D. provides students with training in a variety of global and comparative approaches to studying diverse national cinemas and a variety of media institutions and art practices. We are committed to an advanced humanities education to address our shared need to be able to think historically and critically about the structures, operations, ethics, aesthetics, and interactions of cinema and media.    Our departmental ethos reflects our commitment to fostering an inclusive environment that is at once rigorous and nurturing. We expect our graduate students to be full members of the Department and encourage them to take an active role in the intellectual and social community of the University by attending colloquia, screenings, roundtables, discussions, and events in the Department as well as across campus.

Required Courses

The total number of course units required is 16. 

Teaching Requirement

Four semesters of teaching are required.

Language Requirement

In addition to a command of English, students must demonstrate reading knowledge in a minimum of one research language relevant to the particular subfield being studied. More languages may be required by the proposed field of study, and the program strongly encourages multiple language acquisition. The specific languages required for each student will be determined by the student and the student’s faculty advisor in consultation with the Graduate Chair. As Digital Humanities is becoming such a large part of our new department, we will also consider programming languages as needed.

Qualifications Evaluation

At the end of the second year, students will select one paper from those they have written in their first year of study, substantially developing it over the course of two further semesters in dialogue with their advisor and two additional members of the Graduate Group. This group of three faculty members constitutes the Qualifications Examination Committee. Students will work on the paper throughout the first semester of their second year. In the spring semester of their second year, the student will present their paper to the committee, followed by a discussion. The Qualifications Exam assesses a student’s ability to write a coherent research paper of publishable quality. The student’s grade (High Pass/Pass/Fail) will be recorded, and both the student and the SAS Graduate Division will be notified of the outcome of the evaluation.

The field exam is a two-hour oral exam, which will take place at the end of the fall semester of the student’s third year. It consists of questions about the student’s lists, fields, and write-ups. The student will be given these questions in the form of two separate closed-book three-hour exams that will be taken a week apart from each other. The Fields Committee will then meet with the candidate to discuss the written answers and offer feedback.

Candidacy Examination

A Ph.D. Candidacy Examination will be held after the candidate has completed all required coursework, including language requirements and attendance at the CIMS colloquium. The candidacy exam, which will be both oral and written, entails the successful defense of a Dissertation Proposal with the Dissertation Committee. The Dissertation Committee will meet with the student to discuss the proposal for a two-hour session sometime in mid- spring semester of the third year. Feedback will be provided to the student and the student may be asked to make revisions to the proposal. The final version of the dissertation proposal must be submitted by the last day of classes of the Spring semester.

Dissertation Defense

Upon completion of the dissertation, students will present an overview of their research project to faculty and peers. This presentation will be followed by a closed conversation among the student, the dissertation committee (who will have received the complete dissertation several weeks earlier), and the graduate chair. This will allow faculty members formally to evaluate the project formally and to give feedback on how to develop the project in the future.

The degree and major requirements displayed are intended as a guide for students entering in the Fall of 2024 and later. Students should consult with their academic program regarding final certifications and requirements for graduation.

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Doctor of Philosophy in Education

Additional Information

• Download the Doctoral Viewbook
• Admissions & Aid

The Harvard Ph.D. in Education trains cutting-edge researchers who work across disciplines to generate knowledge and translate discoveries into transformative policy and practice.

Offered jointly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Ph.D. in Education provides you with full access to the extraordinary resources of Harvard University and prepares you to assume meaningful roles as university faculty, researchers, senior-level education leaders, and policymakers.

As a Ph.D. candidate, you will collaborate with scholars across all Harvard graduate schools on original interdisciplinary research. In the process, you will help forge new fields of inquiry that will impact the way we teach and learn. The program’s required coursework will develop your knowledge of education and your expertise in a range of quantitative and qualitative methods needed to conduct high-quality research. Guided by the goal of making a transformative impact on education research, policy, and practice, you will focus on independent research in various domains, including human development, learning and teaching, policy analysis and evaluation, institutions and society, and instructional practice.   

Curriculum Information

The Ph.D. in Education requires five years of full-time study to complete. You will choose your individual coursework and design your original research in close consultation with your HGSE faculty adviser and dissertation committee. The requirements listed below include the three Ph.D. concentrations: Culture, Institutions, and Society; Education Policy and Program Evaluation; and Human Development, Learning and Teaching . 

We invite you to review an example course list, which is provided in two formats — one as the full list by course number and one by broad course category . These lists are subject to modification. 

Ph.D. Concentrations and Examples

Summary of Ph.D. Program

Doctoral Colloquia  In year one and two you are required to attend. The colloquia convenes weekly and features presentations of work-in-progress and completed work by Harvard faculty, faculty and researchers from outside Harvard, and Harvard doctoral students. Ph.D. students present once in the colloquia over the course of their career.

Research Apprenticeship The Research Apprenticeship is designed to provide ongoing training and mentoring to develop your research skills throughout the entire program.

Teaching Fellowships The Teaching Fellowship is an opportunity to enhance students' teaching skills, promote learning consolidation, and provide opportunities to collaborate with faculty on pedagogical development.

Comprehensive Exams  The Written Exam (year 2, spring) tests you on both general and concentration-specific knowledge. The Oral Exam (year 3, fall/winter) tests your command of your chosen field of study and your ability to design, develop, and implement an original research project.

Dissertation  Based on your original research, the dissertation process consists of three parts: the Dissertation Proposal, the writing, and an oral defense before the members of your dissertation committee.

Culture, Institutions, and Society (CIS) Concentration

In CIS, you will examine the broader cultural, institutional, organizational, and social contexts relevant to education across the lifespan. What is the value and purpose of education? How do cultural, institutional, and social factors shape educational processes and outcomes? How effective are social movements and community action in education reform? How do we measure stratification and institutional inequality? In CIS, your work will be informed by theories and methods from sociology, history, political science, organizational behavior and management, philosophy, and anthropology. You can examine contexts as diverse as classrooms, families, neighborhoods, schools, colleges and universities, religious institutions, nonprofits, government agencies, and more.

Education Policy and Program Evaluation (EPPE) Concentration

In EPPE, you will research the design, implementation, and evaluation of education policy affecting early childhood, K–12, and postsecondary education in the U.S. and internationally. You will evaluate and assess individual programs and policies related to critical issues like access to education, teacher effectiveness, school finance, testing and accountability systems, school choice, financial aid, college enrollment and persistence, and more. Your work will be informed by theories and methods from economics, political science, public policy, and sociology, history, philosophy, and statistics. This concentration shares some themes with CIS, but your work with EPPE will focus on public policy and large-scale reforms.

Human Development, Learning and Teaching (HDLT) Concentration

In HDLT, you will work to advance the role of scientific research in education policy, reform, and practice. New discoveries in the science of learning and development — the integration of biological, cognitive, and social processes; the relationships between technology and learning; or the factors that influence individual variations in learning — are transforming the practice of teaching and learning in both formal and informal settings. Whether studying behavioral, cognitive, or social-emotional development in children or the design of learning technologies to maximize understanding, you will gain a strong background in human development, the science of learning, and sociocultural factors that explain variation in learning and developmental pathways. Your research will be informed by theories and methods from psychology, cognitive science, sociology and linguistics, philosophy, the biological sciences and mathematics, and organizational behavior.

Program Faculty

The most remarkable thing about the Ph.D. in Education is open access to faculty from all Harvard graduate and professional schools, including the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Harvard Kennedy School, the Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard School of Public Health. Learn about the full Ph.D. Faculty.

Jarvis R. Givens

Jarvis Givens studies the history of American education, African American history, and the relationship between race and power in schools.

Paul L. Harris

Paul Harris is interested in the early development of cognition, emotion, and imagination in children.

Meira Levinson

Meira Levinson is a normative political philosopher who works at the intersection of civic education, youth empowerment, racial justice, and educational ethics. 

Luke W. Miratrix

Luke Miratrix is a statistician who explores how to best use modern statistical methods in applied social science contexts.

Eric Taylor

Eric Taylor studies the economics of education, with a particular interest in employer-employee interactions between schools and teachers — hiring and firing decisions, job design, training, and performance evaluation.

Paola Uccelli

Paola Ucelli studies socio-cultural and individual differences in the language development of multilingual and monolingual students.

View Ph.D. Faculty

Dissertations.

The following is a complete listing of successful Ph.D. in Education dissertations to-date. Dissertations from November 2014 onward are publicly available in the Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) , the online repository for Harvard scholarship.

• 2022 Graduate Dissertations (265 KB pdf)
• 2021 Graduate Dissertations (177 KB pdf)
• 2020 Graduate Dissertations (121 KB pdf)
• 2019 Graduate Dissertations (68.3 KB pdf)

Student Directory

An opt-in listing of current Ph.D. students with information about their interests, research, personal web pages, and contact information:

Doctor of Philosophy in Education Student Directory

Introduce Yourself

Tell us about yourself so that we can tailor our communication to best fit your interests and provide you with relevant information about our programs, events, and other opportunities to connect with us.

Program Highlights

Explore examples of the Doctor of Philosophy in Education experience and the impact its community is making on the field:

The Human Element of Data and AI

Gahyun Callie Sung's journey to HGSE and the LIT Lab is reflected in her research into data and using AI to improve student outcomes

Improving the Teacher Workforce

With her research work, doctoral marshal Mary Laski, Ph.D.'24, is trying to make teaching in K–12 schools more sustainable and attractive

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Study at One of the World’s Best Universities

UBC is recognized the world over as one of the world’s top universities. Our engineering program is consistently ranked as one of the best in Canada and within the top 50 in the world. We’re a university that makes an impact far beyond the campus: in 2024, we ranked fourth in the world for our impact on social and environmental sustainability.

UBC ranked #4 for climate action

UBC ranked #41 in the world

Learn from Leaders in Their Fields

Whether you’re pursuing a master’s or PhD, you’ll be studying with innovators and changemakers – researchers who are advancing new knowledge, tackling challenging problems and developing and implementing the practical solutions our world needs. Our faculty are invested in your success and will help you develop your technical and professional skills so you can build the career you’ve dreamed of. 

Faculty Member List

Make Full Use of State-of-the-Art Labs and Equipment

As a graduate student at UBC Engineering, you’ll benefit from access to state-of-the art labs and specialized research equipment. Major infrastructure is often shared across departments, allowing for the cross-pollination of ideas and techniques and the benefit of multidisciplinary perspectives.

Choose the Degree That’s Right for You

Discover the course-based master’s degree or research-based master’s or doctoral degree that will enable you to gain expertise and advance in your career.

The Master of Engineering (MEng) and Master of Engineering Leadership (MEL) are professional programs for engineers who want to deepen their technical skills to accelerate their careers in industry. The Master of Applied Science (MASc) , Master of Science (MSc) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) are research-based research programs for students who want to advance new knowledge.

Degree Comparison

Course-based programs, master of engineering leadership (mel).

Vancouver campus

This course-based degree is open to engineers and technical leaders with three or more years of industry experience. The interdisciplinary degree includes courses taught through both the Faculty of Applied Science and the Robert H. Lee Graduate School at UBC’s Sauder School of Business. The MEL supports students to develop technical and business knowledge in sector-specific programs that include:

• Clean Energy Engineering
• High Performance Buildings
• Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering
• Urban Systems

Master of Engineering (MEng)

Vancouver and Okanagan campus

This course-based degree is for students with an undergraduate degree in engineering who want to advance their technical knowledge. The program accepts students with or without professional experience, including those applying directly after completing an undergraduate engineering degree. The program is taught wholly within UBC’s Faculty of Applied Science.

Vancouver Campus 

• Biomedical Engineering, Master of Engineering
• Chemical and Biological Engineering, Master of Engineering
• Civil Engineering, Master of Engineering
• Electrical and Computer Engineering, Master of Engineering
• Geological Engineering, Master of Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering, Master of Engineering
• Mechatronics Design, Master of Engineering
• Mining Engineering, Master of Engineering
• Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering, Master of Engineering

Okanagan Campus 

• Electrical Engineering, Master of Engineering

Research-based Programs

Master of applied science (masc).

This thesis-based degree is for students with an undergraduate degree in engineering. 

• Biomedical Engineering, Master of Applied Science
• Chemical and Biological Engineering, Master of Applied Science
• Civil Engineering, Master of Applied Science
• Electrical and Computer Engineering, Master of Applied Science
• Materials Engineering, Master of Applied Science
• Mechanical Engineering, Master of Applied Science
• Mining Engineering, Master of Applied Science
• Electrical Engineering, Master of Applied Science

Master of Science (MSc)

This thesis-based degree for students with an undergraduate degree in science.

Vancouver Campus

• Chemical and Biological Engineering, Master of Science
• Materials Engineering, Master of Science

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

A doctoral-based research program for students with an undergraduate and graduate degree.

• Biomedical Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy
• Chemical and Biological Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy
• Civil Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy
• Electrical and Computer Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy
• Materials Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy
• Mechanical Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy
• Mining Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy

Okanagan Campus

• Electrical Engineering, Doctor of Philosophy

Research Supervisors for MASc, MSc and PhD Students

If you are pursuing a thesis-based research degree like an MASc, MSc or PhD, you will need a supervisor who will help you achieve your academic potential. Review the supervisor requirements for your planned degree – for some programs you will need to secure the commitment of a thesis supervisor before you apply. Discover which faculty members are currently accepting students and the important role they play in your research journey.

Research Supervisors

Make an Impact

Researchers and students at UBC Engineering are working to create a prosperous, healthy, inclusive and equitable world by designing and engineering solutions for individuals, communities, cities and our planet. We are innovators who are pushing what’s possible, making an impact from the level of smallest nanoparticle to the world itself.

Be Inspired

UBC Engineering students are using their skills and knowledge to make a difference. Read about the students who are having an impact as students and alumni.

Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and Social Science

Jessica Wolf

MASc 2024 Mechanical Engineering

• Rising Stars
• Women in Engineering

Improving Cybersecurity- A Crucial Line Of Defence

Hanieh Tabatabaei

• Engineering

Making The World A Better Place Through Research And Sharing Knowledge

Madisyn Szypula

Media Studies

• Undergraduate Program

Introduction to the Major

Media Studies is an interdisciplinary group major that weds a variety of traditions including communication, anthropology, sociology, political science, and journalism with contemporary critical and cultural studies to examine media technologies, forms, institutions, economics, policies, culture, and audiences. Students learn media history , practice, and theory in the United States and abroad. Media Studies students specialize in one of three areas of concentration: Digital Studies, Global Cultural Studies, or Media Law and Policy .

Admission to the Major 

For information regarding applying to the Media Studies major, visit the Media Studies Applying pages:  mediastudies.ugis.berkeley.edu/applying-overview and  mediastudies.ugis.berkeley.edu/prerequisites/ . Media Studies has four prerequisite courses. One is Media Studies 10 or W10: Introduction to Media Studies. It is open to sophomores after two semesters at Berkeley and first-semester transfer students. Beginning fall 2020, students are required to take this course at Berkeley.

Amplify Your Major

Join a student organization ; some are media-related, e.g. CalTV , The Daily Californian , SUPERB , or Business Careers in Entertainment .

Earn academic credit for an internship .

Study abroad and expand your world .

Add a minor , e.g. Digital Humanities or Journalism , or summer certificate, e.g. Film & Media or New Media .

Add a second major if inspired .

• Participate in the Media Studies Honors Program if eligible.

It’s interdisciplinary, touches on many interconnected subjects, and explains media’s large impact on society. Media Studies Graduate, 2019

• Four-Year Student Timeline

Explore Your Major

Explore majors and minors on the L&S Advising website .

Familiarize yourself with major and college requirements .

Meet with intended major advisors and college advisor to discuss academic plans .

Begin completing major prerequisites .

Connect and Build Community

Participate in On the Same Page .

Get 1:1 mentoring with Berkeley Connect or L&S Mentors Program .

Find tutors and academic support at the Student Learning Center .

Look into student organizations ; search media , television , business , and more .

Discover Your Passions

Discover new interests in a Freshman Seminar or student-run DeCal course .

Explore Berkeley Arts + Design Creative Discovery Courses .

Visit the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarships .

Engage Locally and Globally

Attend the Calapalooza student activities fair and get involved with a student organization .

Find service opportunities through the Public Service Center .

Explore study, internship, and research abroad options with Berkeley Study Abroad .

Reflect and Plan Your Future

Visit Berkeley Career Engagement and the Career Counseling Library .

Develop a plan for getting career ready .

Set up a Handshake account and sign up for CareerMail .

• Explore career fields in the Career Connections Networking Series .

Second Year

Enroll in Media Studies 10 or W10: Introduction to Media Studies, a prerequisite course .

Select area of concentration and apply to the major when eligible .

Continue to plan for the major and an alternate major until your application decision is available .

• Review major guidelines for study abroad .

Get to know professors and graduate student instructors during office hours .

Join a student organization , e.g. CalTV , The Daily Californian , Superb , or Business Careers in Entertainment .

Participate in SLC study groups for major-relevant courses .

Continue exploring with a Sophomore Seminar , Big Ideas Course or Discovery Course .

Assist faculty in their research through URAP .

Curious about entrepreneurship? Enroll in HUM120: Entrepreneurship for All .

Get involved in your local community by attending events at BAMPFA or joining programs like Alternative Breaks .

Consider a Berkeley Global Internship in the United States or abroad .

Discuss career options and goals with a Career Educator .

Shadow alumni during a winter externship .

Learn about graduate and professional school .

• Think about doing an internship in the summer and attend an internship fair .

Review your degree progress with your Media Studies advisors . Focus on remaining requirements and use course lists to plan .

Get to know your Media Studies Faculty Advisors .

Explore the honors program if eligible .

• Add a minor , e.g. Digital Humanities or Journalism .

Consider becoming a Golden Bear Orientation Leader and welcome new students to UC Berkeley .

Connect with alumni groups and build your network .

Find research and funding opportunities in the OURS database .

Planning a senior thesis or project? Apply to the Haas Scholars Program or SURF .

Earn academic credit related to an internship; options available for fall/spring or summer .

Prepare for your study abroad program by taking an elective with a global focus .

Apply for a leadership position in your student organization .

Study and intern in Washington D.C. with UCDC or Cal in the Capital .

Learn more about possible career fields and conducting informational interviews .

Update or create your resume and LinkedIn profile .

Attend career and graduate school fairs .

• Attend networking events hosted by student clubs on campus like Business Careers in Entertainment Club .

Fourth Year

Do a degree check with college and major advisors to ensure you are on track to graduate .

Enroll in Media Studies H194/H195 and graduate with honors if eligible .

Complement your major with a certificate , course thread or final study abroad summer .

Get support for your thesis project in the Townsend Honors Thesis Workshop .

Reconnect with faculty and advisors about future career goals, graduate school and postgraduate opportunities .

Teach your own DeCal course .

Continue pursuing your interests through a fellowship or gap year .

Explore your unique career and graduate school options with a counselor at the Career Counseling Library .

Hone your leadership skills with the Peter E. Haas Public Service Leaders program .

Explore service opportunities after graduation, such as Peace Corps , Teach for America , or U.S. Department of State .

Utilize job board tools in your job search .

Ask professors and graduate student instructors for recommendation letters .

Attend Employer Info Sessions and On-Campus Recruiting .

• Apply to jobs, graduate school, and other opportunities .

What Can I Do With My Major?

As Media Studies draws from many traditions, graduates have gone into a variety of fields such as media, marketing, law, journalism, business operations, and education .

Jobs and Employers

Asst. Account Exec., Ogilvy

Brand Design Strategist, Gensler

Copy Editor/Web Producer, Politico

Executive Asst., Google

Digital Marketing Strategist, LQ Digital

Marketing, Facebook

Media Director, Digitas UK

Media Supervisor, MediaCom

News NOW Reporter, USA TODAY

Product Marketing, Dell

Production Coordinator, DreamWorks

Social Media Manager, Crunchyroll

Talent Acquisition, Microsoft 

User Analyst, Zynga

Graduate Programs

Advertising, MA

Communications Data Science, MS

Journalism, MA

Media, Technology, & Society, PhD

Public Relations, MA

Screen Cultures, PhD 

Sport Management, MA

Strategic Marketing, MA

Examples gathered from the First Destination Survey of recent Berkeley graduates and Media Studies Program .

Connect With Us

Come to Berkeley’s annual Open House in April for information sessions, campus tours, special talks, and more .

Golden Bear Orientation

Join your peers in the campus-wide UC Berkeley orientation program for all new students .

Attend department events with students, staff, and faculty. Visit mediastudies.ugis.berkeley.edu for news and updates .

Students can reach out to the Media Studies Student Academic Advisors below:

Laura Demir (advises students last name A - K)

Chelsea Prieto (advises students last name L - Z)

Advising Drop-In Hours

Visit mediastudies.ugis.berkeley.edu/people/ for advising drop-in days and times .

How to Use this Map

Use this map to help plan and guide your experience at UC Berkeley, including academic, co-curricular, and discovery opportunities. Everyone’s Berkeley experience is different and activities in this map are suggestions. Always consult with your advisors whenever possible for new opportunities and updates.

• What Can I Do with My Major?

Download the PDF Print Version

• Graduate College
• Doctoral Programs

Contact the NAU Office of Graduate & Professional Studies

Doctoral degree programs at NAU

In our doctoral programs, you will deepen your expertise and earn the credentials you need to become a recognized scholar, researcher, or practitioner in industries ranging from education to forestry . Climb to new heights in your chosen field with a Northern Arizona University doctoral degree.

Why choose an NAU doctoral program?

At NAU, we work to develop interdisciplinary doctoral programs that allow you to not just research intensively in one field, but to broaden your understanding of your work through the lens of other subject areas. You’ll also build lifelong relationships with our experienced, game-changing faculty. Find your degree below, and start your future today.

List of doctoral programs by interest area

For more information on specific program requirements, please see the academic catalog ., education and behavioral health.

Clinical Psychology (PsyD) Combined Counseling/School Psychology (PhD) Curriculum and Instruction (PhD) Educational Leadership- K-12 Administration (EdD) Educational Leadership – Community College / Higher Education Administration (EdD)

Engineering

Applied Physics and Material Sciences (PhD) Bioengineering (PhD) Civil and Environmental Engineering (PhD) Mechanical Engineering (PhD)

Health and Nursing

Interdisciplinary Health (PhD) Nursing Practice (DNP) Occupational Therapy (OTD) Physical Therapy- Entry Level (DPT)

Doctor of Medical Science Program (DMSc)

Applied Linguistics (PhD)

IT and computing

Informatics and Computing (PhD)

Natural sciences

Astronomy and Planetary Science (PhD) Biology (PhD) Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability (PhD) Forest Science (PhD)

Social sciences

Political Science (PhD)

Office of Graduate & Professional Studies

Mailing address, social media.

Will an MBA Help You Become an Investment Banker?

A Master of Business Administration degree from a top business school is almost a necessity, experts say.

The Degree for Investment Bankers

Getty Images

Experts advise students from lower-ranked MBA programs to divide their efforts between networking for positions at top banks and applying to regional or middle-market banks.

Key Takeaways

• An MBA is a huge advantage but not a guarantee.
• An MBA is one of two surest routes to investment banking.
• Tailor your B-school coursework to banking-related topics.

Investment banking can be a lucrative and rewarding career for those able to secure a job at a multinational like Goldman Sachs or J.P. Morgan. But to even get a foot in the door, an MBA from a top business school is a virtual necessity, experts say.

“Banks expect a certain level of academic training, technical proficiency and, for lack of a better word, ‘polish’ provided by top MBA programs,” Drew Pascarella, senior lecturer of finance at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management in New York, wrote in an email.

While attending a top ranked MBA program won’t guarantee a job offer after graduation, it is the first step in making a dream a reality for most aspiring investment bankers.

The Path to Investment Banking 

Investment banker can be a broad term, but in general it refers to professionals who work for investment banks advising corporate clients on mergers, acquisitions and raising capital.

Although experts say there are always a few exceptions to the rule, most future investment bankers have only two paths into the field. The first is by joining a bank right out of undergrad as an analyst. The other is joining as an associate after graduating from an MBA program.

“There’s not really another path unless you’re promoted as an undergrad,” says Sunshine Singer, a career adviser for investment banking at The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania. “Besides that, there’s not really a path besides the MBA .”

While the degree gives students the skills to become investment bankers, top business schools also provide networking and recruitment opportunities that are hard for non-MBA candidates to find on their own. That's because most prominent investment banks have well-established recruitment relationships with business schools and rarely hire associates through other avenues, experts say.

Investment banks also rarely hire professionals from other fields. They tend to follow a rigid hiring schedule based on graduation cycles, so there are few opportunities for on-demand hiring. It’s also rare for early- or mid-career applicants to transition into investment banking.

“A non-investment banker lateraling into the industry from the outside will generally have a particularly difficult time performing at a level expected of a banker, given their lack of ‘time-in-seat’ experience,” Pascarella says.

Pascarella notes one exception: candidates who hold a law degree and have worked on the same type of corporate deals in their legal career, and therefore have a solid background in business fundamentals.

The MBA and Investment Banking 

An MBA offers students a wealth of resources as they prepare for a career as an investment banker.

Aside from the courses that will train them in the skills needed to perform their job, perhaps the most important path into the investment banking world will be a student’s summer internship between the first and second year of the MBA program, experts say.

“That summer internship is the biggest feeder to a full-time job,” Singer says. “Most banks look to fill their incoming class with interns.”

After completing an internship, students also have the option of joining their school’s investment banking club. These clubs offer students extensive networking opportunities, events with professional bankers and interview prep for when they enter the job market.

Despite all these advantages, even candidates with an MBA will find it difficult to land an investment banking job if they haven’t attended a top business school.

“Associate-level hiring is extremely network-driven,” Singer says. “MBA programs have dinners, they have ‘lunch-and-learns,’ they do a lot more networking, so I think it’s more difficult if you’re not at a top-30 program.”

Columbia in New York NYU Stern , Chicago Booth in Illinois, Wharton and Cornell frequently led business schools for graduates obtaining investment banking jobs, according to 2020 data from MBA admissions consulting firm Menlo Coaching. Those schools rank in the top tier of all business schools, U.S. News data shows.

For students who attend lower-ranked MBA programs, experts recommend splitting their time between networking to find a position with a top bank and applying to regional or middle-market banks.

The Best MBA Courses for Investment Bankers 

To prepare for the technical aspects of investment banking, MBA students should focus on courses centered on the “big skills” needed for the job, including accounting, corporate finance and corporate valuation, experts recommend.

While these are essential entry-level skills, David White, founding partner at Menlo Coaching, advises aspiring investment bankers to add MBA courses targeting the leadership, management and communications skills they'll need later in their careers.

“As bankers become more senior,” Pascarella says, “they need to be able to market themselves and their firm effectively in a highly competitive market with a sophisticated client base; to build valuable relationships with clients; to turn massive amounts of data and analysis into actionable and credible advice; and to lead large teams of people through the most complex deals a company will ever do.”

For MBA students aiming to work at a firm focused on a single sector, White recommends tailoring coursework to those particular areas of banking.

“For example, a restructuring banker may find it useful to take cross-listed courses from their university's law school about legal procedure to better understand what is likely to happen during a bankruptcy process, or an energy banker may want to take courses about the economics of renewable energy,” White wrote in an email.

Job Outlook and Earnings for an Investment Banker 

While it's difficult to break into investment banking, successful job seekers will enter a fast-growing sector with high earning potential.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 7% growth from 2022 to 2032 for securities, commodities and financial services sales agents – a sector that includes investment bankers.

According to Payscale, the average investment banker salary is a little over $116,000, but that number doesn’t include year-end bonuses – as high as $90,000 to $130,000 for top performers. High earnings typically come high pressure and demanding working conditions, and according to a report from Goldman Sachs, first-year analysts work on average close to 100 hours a week.

Fluctuations in the global economy are affecting investment banks. However, while student interest in fields like consulting and tech was down, competition for investment banking jobs was highly competitive this past year, Singer says.

“It’s one of the best training grounds for finance you can get,” Singer says. “Whether they want to stay in banking or move on, students know they are going to gain strong finance skills in that role. It’s also great training and lots of exposure to different types of deals and companies.”

10 Most Affordable Online MBA Programs

Tags: MBAs , business school , education , students , banking , investing , colleges

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Biology Graduate Program Ranked in U.S. News & World Report

More than 30 University of Iowa colleges and programs were recognized among the best in their field in the U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings including Biology's graduate program! Click on the link above to see the full list. 

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Best Online MBA Programs – 2024

May 23, 2024

Are you thinking of ways to accelerate your career in business? Perhaps you feel ready to switch your area of focus, become a manager in your company, or start your own. Maybe you’ve thought about an MBA, but you’re hesitant to quit your job and put your life on pause for grad school. An online or hybrid Masters in Business Administration (MBA) program could be the perfect solution. Below, you can read about factors to consider when choosing the best online MBA for you, followed by a list of 20 top online and online/hybrid MBA programs. Click here is you are looking for a list of the Top MBA Programs .

What to consider when choosing an online MBA

Before we dive into the list, here are some important factors to consider as you begin your application process.

Online vs. hybrid format : Some of these programs are fully online, while others take place in an online/hybrid format. This means that a percentage of your time will be spent on campus, participating in seminars, workshops, or networking events. This hybrid format can be great for students who want to continue working their jobs but still want to connect with their cohorts and professors. However, if you are extremely busy or getting to campus is highly inconvenient, a fully-online program could be a better option.

Location : Location also comes into play here, since programs with hybrid elements will require that you travel to campus every so often. So, if you live and work in Seattle, you may want to consider University of Washington’s program before USC’s. Location can also affect tuition, if the program offers in-state tuition at lower rates than out-of-state.

Best Online MBA Programs – 2024 (Continued)

Acceptance information : Make sure to pay attention to the program’s acceptance rate, average GMAT scores, and undergrad GPAs. Some schools value high GPAs and test scores more than others, and doing the research ahead of time will allow you to streamline your application process.

Tuition : Below, you will find information on each program’s tuition-per-credit. Throughout the course of these programs, you will likely end up paying a tuition somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000, more or less (depending on the length of the program and whether it’s at a public or private university). However, certain programs are as low as $29,000, and even offer additional merit- and need-based- scholarships. So, while online MBAs can be costly, they tend to be significantly less expensive than many residential programs.

20 Best Online MBA Programs

Continue reading for 20 of the nation’s top online MBA programs.

1) Indiana University—Bloomington (Kelley)

With 50% of coursework made up of electives, this program is perfect for students who want to customize their own pathways. In addition to being the top program on the U.S. News list, Kelley’s online MBA is ranked as the #1 online MBA program in Finance and Marketing, and the #2 online MBA program in Business Analytics and General Management. The program boasts its excellent full-time faculty and career coaching that extends through professional life after graduation.

• Location: Bloomington, Indiana
• School type: Public
• Acceptance rate: 27%
• Average GMAT score: 670
• Average undergrad GPA: 3.4
• Graduate enrollment: 1,652
• Tuition per credit: $1,635

2) Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)

Tepper’s online hybrid MBA is taught by the same faculty who teach their full-time MBA, and online students also have access to the school’s many resources. With an analytics-focused curriculum, the program is designed to help students harness emerging technologies and work with data to make smart business decisions.

• Location: Pittsburgh, PA
• School type: Private
• Acceptance rate: 61%
• Average GMAT score: 668
• Graduate enrollment: 228
• Tuition per credit: $2,274

3) University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler)

This online MBA offers full-time and part-time options, which makes it possible for working professionals to complete the program without disrupting their career goals. Students choose from 36 electives, immersive summits, and 6 concentrations: Data Analytics and Decision Making, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Marketing, Strategy and Consulting, and Management and Leadership.

• Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Acceptance rate: 62%
• Average GMAT score: 674
• Average undergrad GPA: 3.3
• Graduate enrollment: 797
• Tuition per credit: $2,025

4) University of Southern California (Marshall)

Designed for fully employed professionals, this comprehensive and full-time MBA prepares students to accelerate their careers or successfully change industries. Despite its online format, students experience camaraderie with other students and support from expert faculty. After an on-campus orientation, classes take place two evenings a week.

• Location: Los Angeles, California
• Acceptance rate: 46%
• Average GMAT score: 619
• Average undergrad GPA: 3.2
• Graduate enrollment: 283
• Tuition per credit: $2,307

5) University of Washington (Foster)

Foster’s online/hybrid MBA program offers a 4-to-5-day session on campus each quarter to ensure networking and professional development opportunities for students. The core curriculum is grounded in business principles, theories, and frameworks, while also offering hands-on case analysis for real-world decision-making experience.

• Location: Seattle, Washington
• Acceptance rate: 73%
• Average GMAT score: 620
• Average undergrad GPA: 3.5
• Graduate enrollment: 160
• Tuition per credit: $1,500

6) University of Florida (Warrington)

The Warrington College of Business offers an accelerated 16-month online MBA program, as well as an online 2-year program. As one of the first schools to offer a fully-accredited online degree, UF offers experiential learning opportunities and global immersion experiences, as well as top career coaches.

• Location: Gainesville, Florida
• Acceptance rate: 56%
• Average GMAT score: 617
• Graduate enrollment: 867
• Tuition per credit: $1,208

7) Arizona State University (Carey)

Carey’s online MBA emphasizes connected leadership, fostering leaders with a “holistic understanding of people, ideas, and context.” In this program, students enroll in one 5-week class at a time, which makes the course load manageable for those who need flexible learning schedules.

• Location: Tempe, Arizona
• Acceptance rate: 80%
• Average GMAT score: 548
• Graduate enrollment: 515
• Tuition per credit: $1,330

8) University of Arizona (Eller)

Eller College of Management offers a rigorous core curriculum, a range of electives, and an optional Global Business Experience trip that provides the opportunity to gain hands-on business experience in settings from Brazil to Singapore. Depending on circumstance, students can complete this degree in as little time as 14 months and in as much time as 48 months.

• Location: Tucson, Arizona
• Acceptance rate: 74%
• Average GMAT score: 572
• Graduate enrollment: 552
• Tuition per credit: $1,250

9) Rochester Institute of Technology (Saunders)

This online executive MBA, which takes place over 16 months and 4 semesters, is designed for experienced, creative, and innovative leaders in business who seek further career advancement. Though all coursework is online, students must attend a 3-day on-campus orientation, as well as a 7-to-10-day international seminar closer to the time of graduation (airfare and lodging provided).

• Location: Rochester, New York
• Acceptance rate: 50%
• Average GMAT score: 551
• Graduate enrollment: 39
• Tuition per credit: $1,660

10) University of Kansas

This highly-affordable MBA provides a top-tier business education for under $40,000. Better yet, there’s no Kansas residency requirement, which makes the program incredibly flexible. According to reports, Kansas MBA alumni have an average post-graduation salary increase of 27%, and 87% received a pay raise after degree completion.

• Location: Lawrence, Kansas
• Acceptance rate: 66%
• Average GMAT score: 530
• Graduate enrollment: 489
• Tuition per credit: $865

11) University of Maryland—College Park (Smith)

UMD’s Smith School of Business boasts a flexible and engaging curriculum that provides the same rigor as its on-campus MBAs. Specializations include Finance, Information Systems, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, and a General Track that takes a more expansive look at core business concepts. No matter the concentration, Smith provides real-world value through a focus on data-driven strategies.

• Location: College Park, Maryland
• Acceptance rate: 86%
• Average GMAT score: 564
• Average undergrad GPA: 3.8
• Graduate enrollment: 429
• Tuition per credit: $1,733

12) Ball State University (Miller)

• Another highly-affordable option, Ball State’s online MBA offers seven concentrations, ranging from Artificial Intelligence, to Finance, to Healthcare Administration. The degree program has no on-campus requirements and requires fewer credits for students who already have previous business degrees.
• Location: Muncie, Indiana
• School type:
• Acceptance rate: 93%
• Average GMAT score: 586
• Graduate enrollment: 345
• Tuition per credit: $701

13) The University of Texas at Dallas

With 9 concentrations and 5 double degree options, online MBA students at UT Dallas take courses on their own schedules while receiving customized career support. Though the program offers courses online (in synchronous and asynchronous formats), students must be able to attend testing centers in-person.

• Location: Richardson, Texas
• Average GMAT score: 635
• Tuition per credit: $1,871

14) University of Massachusetts—Amherst (Isenberg)

This MBA includes six focus areas: Business Analytics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Healthcare Administration, Marketing, and Sport Management. Though Isenberg MBA students have the option of completing the degree entirely online, students who live in the area (or near the Boston or Worcester locations) have the option of complementing online learning with some in-person classes in order to engage more closely with faculty members.

• Location: Amherst, Massachusetts
• Acceptance rate: 92%
• Average GMAT score: 623
• Graduate enrollment: 1,605
• Tuition per credit: $925

15) University of Utah (Eccles)

The Eccles online MBA emphasizes analytical and quantitative problem-solving skills, effective management skills, awareness of ethical issues, communication, and strategic thinking. With its flexible and strategically-built curriculum, reports show that 50% of students received a promotion while completing this 2-year program.

• Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
• Acceptance rate: 90%
• Average GMAT score: 645
• Tuition per credit: $1,350

16) University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium

In addition to its program in General Management, the University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium offers a 36-credit MBA in Healthcare Management. Both of these options are 100% online, highly personalized, taught by Ph.D.-qualified faculty, and can be completed in 2.5-to-3 years.

• Location: Eau Claire, Wisconsin
• Acceptance rate:
• Average GMAT score:
• Average undergrad GPA:
• Graduate enrollment: 418
• Tuition per credit: $825

17) Oklahoma State University (Spears)

As the most affordable program on this list and one of the most affordable accredited MBAs in the nation, Spears attracts full-time and motivated professionals who wish to complete a rigorous and practical academic curriculum in 16 months. Its online courses are designed to promote student collaboration, and better yet, they are available 24/7, so they can be completed regardless of student schedule or location.

• Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
• Graduate enrollment: 303
• Tuition per credit: $364

18) University of Michigan—Ann Arbor (Ross)

Through a mix of online coursework and in-person residencies, University of Michigan offers an interactive and collaborative experience through its online MBA. The curriculum includes both synchronous class sessions and asynchronous modules, and local students are also eligible to attend in-person elective courses on the Ann Arbor campus. Career services for online MBA students include on-campus recruiting, personal coaching, LinkedIn profile review, resume reviews, virtual mock interviews, and more.

• Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Acceptance rate: 71%
• Graduate enrollment: 378
• Tuition per credit: $2,212

19)  Florida State University

Designed for highly motivated individuals seeking a competitive edge in the business field, FSU offers an online, part-time MBA with specialization in real estate (which includes rigorous electives on real estate finance and analysis), in addition to its general online MBA program. Applicants should be able to demonstrate extensive professional experience and/or excellence and leadership in their previous academic work.

• Location: Tallahassee, Florida
• Acceptance rate: 63%
• Average GMAT score: 560
• Graduate enrollment: 599
• Tuition per credit: $810

20) James Madison University

JMU offers three MBA concentrations: executive leadership (for tenured professionals seeking to enhance their skill sets), information security (for managers aiming to lead information security teams), and innovation (for professionals seeking to lead innovation in an organization). All three are delivered in a hybrid format with online coursework and in-person residencies. including an optional global residency.

• Location: Harrisonburg, Virginia
• Average GMAT score: 605
• Average undergrad GPA: 3.1
• Graduate enrollment: 171
• Tuition per credit: $1,000

Best Online MBA Programs – Further Reading

Hopefully, this list has been helpful as you continue your search for the right online MBA. All in all, an online MBA program can be perfect for professionals with busy schedules and tight budgets who are looking to advance their careers. For more on how to get into top business schools, consider reading about the top feeders into MBA programs or the best Doctor of Business Administration Programs . Click here for the Average GMAT Score by School . Looking for more information on preparing for grad school applications more generally? Check out our articles on the top 130 GRE vocabulary words and how to study, or  GMAT vs GRE .

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Sarah Mininsohn

With a BA from Wesleyan University and an MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Sarah is a writer, educator, and artist. She served as a graduate instructor at the University of Illinois, a tutor at St Peter’s School in Philadelphia, and an academic writing tutor and thesis mentor at Wesleyan’s Writing Workshop.

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Alexandra Ledesma is a new graduate from the Construction Management program. An immigrant from Venezuela, she describes in her own words why she chose UH, and the professor that helped her achieve her best.

As an immigrant student originally from Venezuela, I would love to share my opinion after graduating from the University of Houston's M.S. Construction Management program, graduating with a 4.0 GPA while working two jobs and volunteering. 

I was born and raised in the vibrant city of Maracaibo, Venezuela. My love for architecture blossomed when I went on a three month tour of Europe at 15. 

My academic journey started at the University of Rafael Urdaneta, where I attained a Bachelor of Architecture at 19. My ambition led me to explore opportunities beyond my homeland, and I planned to pursue an Aeronautics graduate program in France. 

However, fate took a different turn for me when I came to Houston. I was initially intending to visit my brother for a brief period, but I decided to stay after experiencing the city's vibrant atmosphere and abundant opportunities. 

Immersing myself in the field of construction management through internships and academic pursuits, I discovered my calling – to contribute to community development through large-scale construction projects.

I began a graduate program in Construction Management at UH in February 2022. I embraced the opportunity to work alongside like-minded individuals, contributing my unique blend of architectural expertise and construction management skills to various teams working public construction projects. 

What truly made my time at UH remarkable was the unwavering support and guidance I received from professors like Lu Gao , associate professor in the Construction Management Department. He brought a wealth of knowledge and passion to the classroom. 

His commitment to student success and his ability to impart practical wisdom left an indelible mark on my educational journey. Through his mentorship and the collective efforts of all UH professors, I was equipped with the tools and inspiration to excel in my field and in school, graduating with 4.0 GPA. 

My time at the university has not only shaped my professional path but has also instilled a deep sense of pride and belonging to the Cougar community. With gratitude for the opportunities I have been afforded and a renewed sense of purpose, I look forward to continuing my journey of contributing to the construction industry and making a positive difference in the world.

Thank you to my family always for the support! And to my fellow students, opportunity is always there. Just have faith in yourself, and pursue them.

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