Graduate Students in Communication and Culture

Doctoral Program

The Ph.D. degree in Communication and Culture is a research degree. All doctoral candidates are expected to develop sound general knowledge of relevant historical, critical, and theoretical materials as it relates to one or another (or some combination of) the department's three areas of research: rhetoric and public culture, film and media studies, and performance and ethnographic studies.

Further, all Ph.D. candidates are expected to develop a specialization through the completion of a series of advanced courses and seminars offered in the Department of Communication and Culture, as well as those offered in cognate departments and programs. This specialization will be tested in the qualifying examination, and will be expanded and deepened through the completion of a dissertation.

Explore the following links to learn more about the structure, requirements, and chronology of the doctoral program.

• Degree Requirements
• Constructing a Plan of Study and the Plan Interview
• Advisory Committee
• Ph.D. Minor in Communication and Culture
• Prospectus Reviews and Dissertation Defenses
• Qualifying Examinations
• Old Exam (for students admitted to the program prior to Fall 2005)

Degree Requirements

The options available to each student within his or her Plan of Study are constrained by no more than the regulations of the University Graduate School as identified in the University Graduate School Bulletin and specific departmental provisions identified below:

1. Candidates for the Ph.D. degree must complete a minimum of 90 credit hours of approved graduate coursework beyond the B.A. or B.S.
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2. A maximum of 30 credit hours of approved graduate work with a grade of B or better may be transferred from another graduate institution with the approval of the advisory committee and the Dean of the University Graduate School.
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3. A minimum of 24 hours (eight courses) of approved graduate coursework, not including C700 (research or independent studies), must be taken in the Department of Communication and Culture on the IU-Bloomington campus.
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4. Candidates for the Ph.D. must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours at the 500 level or above.
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5. The department recommends C501 - Introduction to Rhetorical and Public Culture, C502 - Introduction to Performance and Ethnography in Communication and Culture, or C503 Introduction to Media Aesthetics for all first year Ph.D. students who have not taken comparable courses that provide a survey to the various problems and possibilities of communication and culture, as well as associated writing and research skills.
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6. Candidates for the Ph.D. must complete a minor course of study to supplement and complement their work in the Department of Communication and Culture. The minor area is approved by the student's advisory committee. The specific course of study (typically 12-15 credit hours) must be approved by the student's adviser from the minor department.
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7. Ph.D. candidates must demonstrate proficiency in an appropriate foreign language. Students are required to submit, as part of their plan of study, a proposal that indicates a) what the language or research skill is, (b) how this particular proficiency will contribute to the student's development as a scholar, and (c) how the student will go about documenting the proficiency (usually through language examinations or coursework). Authority to accept or reject a particular research tool rests with the student's advisory committee.
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8. No more than six credit hours of C700 - Research or independent study may be counted toward the ninety credit hour minimum requirement.
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9. All coursework taken for the Ph.D. degree must be completed within seven years prior to the passing of the qualifying examination. Coursework that does not meet this criterion may be revalidated. For the rules governing revalidation see the University Graduate School Bulletin.
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10. Ph.D. candidates must pass a qualifying exam, to be taken after all coursework has been completed. The examination is prepared by the student's advisory committee. It consists of an open-book, taken home written exam which comprises 4 10-12 page essays and a two-hour oral exam, which is normally scheduled approximately one week after the written exams are completed. Students admitted to the program prior to Fall 2005 have the option of taking the old, in-camera exam. For more information about both exams, please see the section titled "Qualifying Examination." The two hour oral examination should be taken within one month following the written examination. Upon completion of the examination the advisory committee will determine whether the student has passed the examination and been admitted to Ph.D. candidacy or if they have failed the examination, either in part or in whole. Students who fail any part of the examination will be allowed to retake it during the next regularly scheduled period for qualifying examinations. Any student who fails the examination a second time will not be allowed to continue in the Ph.D. program.
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11. Candidates for the Ph.D. must complete and successfully defend a dissertation that reports original research at a final oral examination no later than seven years after having been admitted to candidacy (i.e., having taken and successfully completed the Ph.D. qualifying examination). This University Graduate School regulation is strictly enforced. No more than fifteen credit hours for the dissertation can count towards the minimum of ninety credit hours required for the Ph.D.
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12. Candidates for the Ph.D. must demonstrate one year of satisfactory teaching experience (or the equivalent) in communication and culture.

Plan of Study

The doctoral candidate will devise a Plan of Study in consultation with a faculty advisor and an advisory committee. The designing of the Plan of Study is a function of the interaction between the student and the advisory committee with an eye to accommodating the unique and special interests of each individual student, as well as to helping that student develop the skills of an independent scholar.

Doctoral students select an advisor and nominate an advisory committee by the end of their second week of the second semester (usually by April 15). Subsequently, the student and advisor complete a written plan of study; the candidate further completes a plan of study interview with the advisory committee.

The interview should take place no later than the first month of the third semester of the student's study beyone the M.A. degree (the written plan of study must be filed with the Graduate Secretary by October 15th, for students who have entered with M.A. from other institutions, April 15 for students who completed their M.A. in CMCL and went directly into the Ph.D. program).

The purpose of the plan of study interview is two-fold:

• to make certain that our graduates will have a sound general knowledge of the study of communication and culture in the general field they chose;
• and second, to make certain that they will be equipped to conduct scholarly research in a specialized aspect of that field.

To that end, the advisory committee will request such information from Ph.D. students as they believe will be useful in determining the student's needs in working toward their academic and career goals.

Preparation for the interview: Students are encouraged to prepare for the interview by working in consultation with their adviser to propose a written plan of study that includes a careful description and rationale of the students' academic and career goals (the narrative typically runs from 500-1000 words); a completed Transfer of Credit form accompanied by an explanation of the relevance of the transferred courses to the student's Ph.D. program; a list of major and minor courses and research competencies to be successfully completed before the student can be admitted to take the qualifying examination; and copies of the students' undergraduate and graduate transcripts. Advisory committees should generally see a completed copy of the written plan of study at least one week in advance of the interview.

At the plan of study interview the student and the members of the advisory committee will discuss the student's proposal and make final decisions regarding major and minor areas, specific coursework to be taken, and the transfer of credits. (Note: With respect to the transfer of credits, if any of the courses to be transferred were completed more than seven years prior to the request for transfer, they will need to be revalidated. To be valid, coursework must be completed within seven years of the time at which the student takes the qualifying examination. Thus, some coursework which might be valid at the time of transfer may no longer be valid at the time of the qualifying examination and will have to be revalidated before the student can take the examination. Students and advisory committees must thus carefully consider the dates for transferred credits at the time of the interview so as to make timely and appropriate plans for revalidation. Proposals for revalidation are subject to the approval of the advisory committee and the Dean of the Graduate School. For specific information on the criteria governing revalidation see the University Graduate School Bulletin.) At the end of the plan of study interview the advisory committee and the student should both sign the written plan of study, making careful note of any changes or revisions that have been made as a result of the interview. This signed, written plan of study will then serve as a contract between the student and the committee, and must be filed with the Director of Graduate Studies. The Director of Graduate Studies will transmit the Transfer of Credit form (plus any plans for revalidation) to the Dean of the University Graduate School.

Ph.D. students who fail to file an approved Plan of Study with the Director of Graduate Studies by March 15th will not be considered in good standing for the purpose of A.I. reappointment for the following year. The plan of study may be amended for good cause upon the agreement of the student and the advisory committee. To be valid an amended plan of study must be signed by the student and all of the members of the committee and filed with the Director of Graduate Studies.

Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee consists of two or three members of the faculty of the Department of Communication and Culture and one member from outside the department representing the student's minor area of study. At least two of the committee members must be either associate or full members of the graduate faculty. Once students have secured the approval of an adviser and the willingness of the various members of the committee to serve, they must file an Appointment of Advisory Committee Form with the Academic Records Secretary. The nomination for the advisory Committee is subject to the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee or the Director of Graduate Studies acting as its representative.

Ph.D. Minor Requirements

A minimum of 12 credit hours of course work in communication and culture are required for the Ph.D. minor, including one course from C501, C502, and C503. Course work must be completed with a grade average no lower than B (3.0). Students may transfer a maximum of 3 hours from another university toward this degree with the approval of the director of graduate studies in the Department of Communication and Culture.

To arrange for the minor in communication and culture, students should consult with the director of graduate studies, who will recommend a member of the faculty to serve as an advisor. In consultation with the advisor, a program of study will be outlined and a copy of the plan filed with the director of graduate studies.

Prospectus Reviews and Dissertation Defenses

The following is a summary of the basic procedures and regulations concerning Ph.D. prospectus reviews and dissertation defenses. Much of this information is repeated and/or elaborated in other places on this website. Be sure also to consult the University Graduate School Bulletin concerning such matters.

1. Prospectus reviews and defenses must be scheduled between September 1 and June 13th, when the faculty is officially on-duty. Exceptions can be made only when all of the members of the appropriate research committee agree to it.
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2. Prospectus reviews and defenses should be scheduled only after the thesis or dissertation director has inspected and approved the prospectus or final draft.
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3. The scheduling of the prospectus review or defense, including coordinating the time and place, notifying committee members and the like is the student's responsibility. It is also the student's responsibility to file a completed Prospectus Review and Defense Scheduling Proposal with the Academic Records Secretary at least one week in advance for prospectus reviews and theses defenses and at least one month in advance for dissertation defenses. Once these forms have been filed the Director of Graduate Studies will officially schedule the prospectus review or defense and announce its time and place to the faculty-at-large.
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4. It is the student's responsibility to make sure that the completed prospectus, thesis or dissertation is distributed to all of the members of the research committee in a timely fashion: M.A. and Ph.D. prospectuses must be distributed at least one week in advance of the prospectus review; M.A. Theses must be distributed at least one week in advance of the M.A. defense; and Ph.D. dissertations must be distributed at least two weeks in advance of their Ph.D. defense. Students who fail to meet these deadlines risk having their prospectus review and/or defense postponed.
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5. Candidates for the Ph.D. must be sure to complete and submit the Ph.D. Announcement to the University Graduate School at least one month prior to the dissertation defense.
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6. The Ph.D. oral defense cannot take place less than six months following the nomination to candidacy, i.e., six months after having successfully completed the qualifying examination.

Qualifying Examinations

The Ph.D exam consists of an open-book, take-home written exam and an oral exam, which is normally scheduled no later than one week following the completion of the writtens. The Ph.D exam is taken after all course work is completed. Students must make up any incompletes they have on record before they are allowed to take the exam.

The take-home exam consists of 4 questions: Each exam essay consists of 10-12 pages. The questions are written by members of the student’s advisory committee.

Two weeks prior to the exam’s due date, student will pick up all 4 questions from the Graduate Secretary. At the end of one week, students will turn in two essays to the Grad Secretary (representing the answers to two questions). At the end of the second week students will turn in their answers to the remaining two questions. Each exam essay should consist of 2500-3000 words (10-12 pages). Matters of citation, attribution and reading list are to be negotiated with the student’s exam committee (the advisory committee). The participation of the student’s Ph.D minor advisor will be determined on an ad hoc basis; in consultation with the student’s advisory committee (Ph.D minor advisors have the right to waive participation in the exam).

As we understand it, the critical function of the exam is that of the general pushing to the specific. Students need to demonstrate both a mastery of certain basic literatures and also demonstrate that they are ready to write a dissertation. The faculty also feels that these areas (general and specific) need to be understood in relation to one another.

With that in mind, the exam will be divided into four examination areas that will address the two levels of competency. Considering that different students need to be challenged in different areas (some students have very clear and precise research projects and perhaps need to be encouraged to articulate their specific projects with the broader literature and history; others have a good grasp of the general but have a hard time narrowing to a specific project). For the purposes of designing the exam, students will work out the exact relationship of general to specific coverage in consultation with their advisory committees, based on their plans of study and their level of preparation in the two areas. This pre-exam consultation should take the form of an interactive meeting with the members of the advisory committee and the candidate all present. This meeting should be scheduled the semester prior to the exam, well in advance of the exam date.

Together, the examination areas should:

1. Take into consideration broad theoretical and methodological issues, including their historical development (alternately this should be conceived of as a genealogy of broad theoretical and methodological issues). The questions themselves would be broad disciplinary questions that draw on key works, as they relate to the student’s plan of study.

2. Directly address the student’s dissertation project, including relevant literatures.

If you have questions concerning the exam, please see the Director of Graduate Studies. Also, sample Ph.D. exam questions are on file in Graduate Secretary's office.

Old Exam (for students admitted to the program prior to Fall 2005)

Upon completion of the examination the advisory committee will determine whether the student has passed the examination and been admitted to Ph.D. candidacy or if they have failed the examination, either in part or in whole. Students who fail any part of the examination will be allowed to retake it during the next regularly scheduled period for qualifying examinations. Any student who fails the examination a second time will not be allowed to continue in the Ph.D. program.

Ph.D. qualifying examinations are regularly scheduled for January 2-16, 2008, May 5-19, 2008 and August 11-25, 2008. Exams are not typically administered at other times of the year.

Ph.D. students should begin to make plans for their Ph.D. qualifying examination at least one semester prior to taking the examination. They need to be sure to consult with their adviser and the members of their advisory committee to ascertain the specific nature and scope of the examination. Once everyone is agreed on what the examination will consist of, and no later than one month prior to when the examination will be taken, the students needs to file the Application for M.A./Ph.D Examination Form with the Academic Records Secretary.

Ph.D. qualifying examinations may be prepared in either long hand or at a computer.

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