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Welcome to the Graduate Program in Communication at Purdue University.

Communication studies at Purdue University celebrate a long and distinguished history, having offered masters degrees since 1947 and granted doctoral degrees since 1948. As our field has developed over time, Purdue faculty and graduate students have been at the forefront leading those advancements in discovery, learning, and engagement.

Our award-winning faculty are some of the top scholars in our field and have made major theoretical, methodological and applied contributions to the study of Communication. Our faculty consists of some of the most prolific scholars in the field. Indeed, the Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Top Research University Faculty Scholar Productivity Index” for 2007 placed Purdue at No. 2 in the nation.

Our graduate students are award-winning as well and have received national and international recognition for their research and teaching. Many of our graduate students have solo-authored or collaborative publications and are actively involved in individual research projects or research teams. Our graduate students have also received university and national recognition for excellence in teaching. They work with faculty as teaching assistants and teach courses on their own. Many of our graduate students also work on grant-funded research with faculty.

In addition, our Communication Graduate Student Association (CGSA) organizes professional development opportunities and social activities for our school. 

Our graduate program is organized along five instructional units:

  1. Health and Risk Communication
  2. Interpersonal Communication
  3. Media, Technology & Society
  4. Organizational Communication
  5. Public Relations

We also offer an online Master’s of Science in Communication.

Additionally, our graduate students have opportunities for interdisciplinary study including:

Purdue graduate students can earn either a thesis or non-thesis Masters degree or a Doctoral degree with the opportunity to develop their own major and minor area(s) of study. Each degree program consists of certain requirements, yet at the same time, our graduate students have tremendous flexibility in designing a plan of study that meets their interests.

Another strength of our graduate program is its diversity. Our graduate student community consists of individuals from China, Germany, India, Lebanon, South Korea, Turkey, and the United States, to name a few. Our community members’ diversity contributes to the diversity of thought that you will find in our program. In addition, our faculty and graduate students embrace diverse approaches to research.

This is an exciting time to be a member of the Lamb School of Communication at Purdue. I invite you to continue to explore our website and learn more about our graduate program. I also encourage you to get in touch with me at gradcom@purdue.edu, to learn more about opportunities for graduate studies in Communication at Purdue. We look forward to hearing from you.

With very best wishes,

Bart Collins, Ph.D.
Director of Graduate Studies
765-494-0241 | Email

Are you a current or prospective graduate student who needs quick assistance?

If you have questions about the on-campus or online program, contact gradcom@purdue.edu.