phd at concordia university

• Study resources
• Calendar - Graduate
• Calendar - Undergraduate
• Class schedules
• Class cancellations
• Course registration
• Important academic dates
• More academic resources
• Campus services
• IT services
• Job opportunities
• Safety & prevention
• Mental health support
• Student Service Centre (Birks)
• All campus services
• Calendar of events
• Latest news
• Media Relations
• Faculties, Schools & Colleges
• Arts and Science
• Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science
• John Molson School of Business
• School of Graduate Studies
• All Schools, Colleges & Departments.
• Directories
• Future students
• Current students
• Alumni & friends
• Faculty & staff

Department of Communication Studies

Our faculty.

• Undergraduate programs
• Masters (MA)
• Doctorate (PhD)
• Graduate diploma (GrDip)
• Faculty research highlights
• Media Gallery
• Graduate student profiles
• Equipment Depot
• Learning Centre
• Undergraduate advising
• Awards, prizes, and activities

COMMUNICATION (PHD)

Defining the field with innovative research and creative practice.

We are one of the best communication studies doctoral programs in the country, with an international reputation for excellence in research, research-creation and teaching. Our research expertise is profoundly interdisciplinary, traversing the humanities, social sciences, fine arts and the sciences. We encourage students to explore innovative subjects and modes of inquiry. 

Our faculty include award-winning scholars, artists and media makers who manage cutting edge research and research-creation labs which bring together faculty, students and community members around timely issues.

Our research areas

Our faculty have extensive and committed track records in graduate supervision. Students in the program gain rigorous training in advanced experimental and interdisciplinary methods of media, communication and cultural analysis. Our research methods focus on qualitative approaches such as historical and discourse analysis, research-creation (including expertise in documentary film, sound, platform interventions, activist media, installation, augmentation and VR), science and technology studies (STS), participant observation, visual ethnography, digital research methods, curatorial research, co-design and community-based research. 

Discover our research areas

Ai / algorithmic media and digital justice.

We carry out and support research that investigates the social, cultural and political impacts of algorithms powering platforms, social media, surveillance technology, supply chains and other key infrastructure. We are interested in feminist, alternative and decolonial AI and we do research creation projects that engage critically with AI and big data. Our research questions address algorithmic bias, data infrastructure and its environmental impact, policy regulation and the ethics of AI, as well as data justice and tech-led gentrification. 

Faculty : Stefanie Duguay, Fenwick McKelvey, Alessandra Renzi

Creative Sound & Expanded Media Forms

We examine the place of sound in everyday life and explore how documentary, VR, or AR shifts our perceptions, policies, or sense of place. We explore listening and sound through remixing workshops, field recording, audio art, sound maps, live performance, podcasts, augmentation, spatialized sound, sampling, electronic composition, dj and vj culture and more. We engage with documentary and expanded media practices such as projection mapping, virtual reality and installation-based cinema.

Faculty : Owen Chapman, Antonia Hernandez, Alessandra Renzi  

Environmental Media

We undertake media studies and research-creation that engage the material world, nature cultures, ecological systems and histories. We are especially focused on the disproportional impact of environmental violence on BIPOC and other marginalized communities. Our research looks at anthropogenic climate change, science and technologies of the environment, food studies, waste studies, environmental toxicity and ecological media. 

Faculty: Arseli Dokumaci, Antonia Hernández, Krista Lynes, Peter Van Wyck

Feminist Media Studies

We support projects on questions of representation and ideological structures of mediation from an intersectional feminist perspective. Our expertise lies especially in feminist/queer political movements, experimental media and artistic practice and the social and technological forces that require a gender-based analysis. Critical work intersects with anti-racism, decolonization, disability justice, aging, STS and queer/trans* studies. 

Faculty: Krista Lynes, Kim Sawchuk

Games Studies

We examine how games shape and reflect contemporary culture and how the industry has developed into a global influential business. We experiment with the medium of games by making games, by exploring how the form can be advanced and by studying how they are used for social impact, dialogue and more. 

Faculty: Mia Consalvo

LGBTQIA2S+ Studies

We explore how media shapes the identities of sexual and gender diverse people over time and space and research how LGBTQIA2S+ people represent themselves through new digital technologies and alternative media forms. We also consider broad questions of gender and sexuality in and through feminist theory, queer theory, trans* studies and other intersectional lenses.

Faculty: Stefanie Duguay, Krista Lynes 

Media Activism, Participatory Media, Co-creation

We explore how media-activism, co-creation, participatory or community-based media are informed and inspired by social movements, emergent technologies and ethics. We engage with diverse forms of participatory and horizontal mediamaking that include data activism, design justice and pluriversal design. Our research and teaching covers historical as well as contemporary forms of alternative media and media activism. 

Faculty: Arseli Dokumaci, Monika Kin Gagnon, Krista Lynes, Alessandra Renzi

Media History

We engage with the histories of media industries, technologies and forms (film, television, newspapers, print media, photography, computing) and research the multiple intersections of media studies, media archaeology, cultural history, art history, history of science and technology, history of religion, esotericism and magic, colonial and postcolonial studies, critical race studies and memory studies. The program also supports research and research-creation projects involving archival work and/or the construction of archives.

Faculty: Charles Acland, Sandra Gabriele, Fenwick McKelvey, Jeremy Stolow, Peter Van Wyck

Are you ready to submit your application?

Make sure to include the following.

• Application form and Fee 
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Three Letters of Reference and assessment form
• Transcripts for all post-secondary institutions attended 
• Proof of Canadian citizenship (if applicable) 
• Applicants whose primary language is not English, are required to submit official language test scores, unless exempted 
• Optional support material may include writing samples or links to completed research/creation projects

You also need to submit a  statement of purpose  (approx. 500 words) with the following:

• your academic and/or professional background, including publications, awards and relevant employment)
• your career goals
• the reasons why you believe Concordia’s PhD in Communication program will offer you the right home for your studies. 
• If relevant, please also indicate any scholarships, fellowships or bursaries you have already secured for your PhD studies or for which you intend to apply. 

Your application will also need to contain a  research statement  (approx. 1500-2000 words) with the following:

• a detailed description of the proposed area(s) and program of research
• an appended bibliography (max. 1 page), representing key works in your proposed area of study

Learn more on the  letters of reference, assesment form, transcripts and proof of Canadian citizenship  required for submitting your application.

Fund your studies

Our students

Our students have a diverse range of research and creative interests, from gender expressions on Tik Tok to thinking critically about “greening” infrastructures to disinformation in games and on streaming platforms. Explore our collection of theses and creative projects  from previous years to see what a PhD in Communication can offer you.

Featured Alumni

Sarah Christina Ganzon

"Concordia’s Communications PhD program was such a well-rounded lifechanging experience, offering excellent mentorship in teaching and research as well as lifelong connections that were invaluable to me as both an international student and a communications scholar. The faculty models the kind of mentorship and care that I aim to provide my own students in my current institution."

- Sarah Christina Ganzon, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Simon Fraser University (Game Studies and Fandom)

"What I remember most is the attention professors brought to thinking through modes of knowledge production and what makes something count as knowledge. I'm currently working on podcasting as a research tool and way to build community -- all influenced by my time at Concordia!"

- Mél Hogan, Associate Professor, Queen's University, Film in Media (data infrastructure, AI, extractivism and the environment)

Learn about the research process

Support our phd students.

Support practice-led research and interdisciplinary training in the Department of Communication Studies. Our goal is to ensure our students have an exceptional experience in our dynamic PhD Communication program in Canada.

Your support will ensure that our PhD students have opportunities to attend conferences, meet with professionals and identify future employers.

Mircea Mandache , Graduate Program Assistant

Krista Lynes , PhD Director

© Concordia University

Communication Studies on social media