bezzza08

@Hao Hongtao Thank you! Regarding the University of South Florida, Patrice Buzzanell is now the department head, and Steve Wilson will be starting there in the fall. They are both incredibly well known in their respective subfields (Patrice in Org Comm and Steve in Interpersonal) adding more quantitative methodology to the program to make the focus of the program mixed methods. Also, Art Bochner and Carolyn Ellis are retiring in the fall, I'm told. They are a large portion of the reason that USF gained notoriety for its qualitative prowess. I think that the program there is up and coming. Rumor has it that they'll be starting an online program within the next few years or so, so graduate stipends will be increasing dramatically after that gets going. With the new additions of Steve and Patrice, along with the new hires they'll be adding, I think that the program's reputation will improve in the coming years. And yes, Marleah's work is fascinating. Not to mention Tampa is incredibly inexpensive (less expensive than the small midwestern town I live in right now) and beautiful, and there are actually things to do there. You're 45 minutes from the best beaches in the country, 30 minutes from a downtown area with approx. 3 million people. The people at USF seem genuinely nice and open, unlike some Big 10 universities I've had experiences with. Which programs have you applied to? What is your primary area of interest? Thanks for the nice chat. It's always great to get some more perspective.

@mintless Wow, that's a LOT of programs. Any particular reason you chose to apply to so many? Do you have a hierarchy of preference for the seventeen schools you've selected? Good luck, and do report your results back if you are willing.

@Hao Hongtao Thanks for your reply! I have no idea how to reply to people or insert quotes. You asked "Why didn't you apply for Penn State (Dept. of Communication Arts & Sciences) for your PhD? Some professors are working in the area of interpersonal and health communication, for example, Prof. James P. Dillard, Erina MacGeorge, Lilian Shen, and Rachel A. Smith. Also, you might check out the Iowa, Kentucky and Maryland College-Park, I think." Great question. Penn State is undoubtedly a fantastic interpersonal health comm program. Erina MacGeorge and Denise Solomon, for example, are two powerhouses in the field and the individuals I would have applied to work with. I did seriously consider applying and have researched the department extensively. However, after speaking with others who have insider knowledge about how those individuals work, I realized that they would not likely be a good fit for me. Thus, I did not apply. I looked at the University of Kentucky's program, but the funding situation isn't particularly great and there weren't any faculty that I was keen on working with. Same with The Ohio State University, the University of Southern California, and the University of Georgia. The University of Maryland College Park doesn't have anything specifically interpersonal or health comm, which is why I didn't apply there. Last, the University of Iowa. I honestly didn't even look at this program, but I do see that there are individuals who study things close to what I study. The meta-theoretical perspective seems to be primarily post-positivist, but I do see that some more interpretive courses are offered. I used the NCA's Doctoral Program guide to find programs that had both Interpersonal Comm and Health Comm emphases, so that is likely why Iowa wasn't on my initial list. Regardless, the interests of the faculty (while some are well-known) don't make me exceptionally excited about working with them, and the location is not something I'm interested in either. Thus, I did not apply. Hope this helps! All of the programs you asked about are great, but I want to make sure that the programs I apply to are the best possible fit for me. If anyone is interested, I can list all of the programs I was considering and explain why I chose to apply or not apply to them. Cheers!

Hello All! I study communication at the intersection of interpersonal and health, and am currently completing my MA at a highly-ranked research university. I've applied to the following communication PhD programs (and have yet to hear back from any of them): University of South Florida University of California-Santa Barbara Michigan State University Purdue University University of Nebraska-Lincoln For my MA, I applied to the following six universities. I was rejected from four and accepted to two. Since entering my MA, I have a much better grasp on what it means to be a graduate student and how to tell if a school or researcher would be a good fit for me. Thus, my chances of getting into PhD programs is much higher than the chances I had as an aspiring masters student. The institutions I applied to for my MA were: Ohio State University Purdue University University of Michigan Penn State University of Texas at Austin University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee I have been lurking on this website, so I figured that I'd make an account and make use of my time rather than checking my email inbox another 40,000 times. Thanks for your candid insight and commentary. Good luck to all of you, and happy holidays!