The Department of Communication is also noted for the major role it has played in the generation and dissemination of basic and applied research. Its faculty and graduate students are among the most published in the discipline of Communication.

Research-Driven Doctoral Program

Since being established, the Communication Doctoral program has performed at the top level. Our students actively publish in a range of Communication and interdisciplinary journals as well as consistently present at regional, national, and international conferences. A brief review of publications and presentations in the News area reveals the large number of publications and presentations that graduate students have either co-authored with faculty, other graduate students, or individually. The department is committed to the development of our graduate students’ research excellence.

Top-Rated MA Program

As a consequence of its history of research productivity and because of its strong commitment to instructional excellence, the Department’s Masters of Arts program has been consistently rated among the top five MA communication programs in the entire United States.¹ We continue this tradition by providing Master’s students with opportunities to gain the basic research skills that allow them to develop into independent scholars at the doctoral level or skilled practitioners in fields outside of academia.

Established Record of Extramural Funding

The faculty’s commitment is also evidenced by extramural funding of its research. Recent funding sources have included the American Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, Fulbright Foundation, National Institute of Mental Health, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, NAFSA Association of International Education Cooperative Grants Program, Arizona Historical Foundation, and the Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation.

Research Awards and Recognition

In addition to being regular recipients awards for top paper submissions at regional, national, and international conferences, our faculty and graduate students have received numerous awards and accolades for their research work, including the UWM Research Foundation Senior Faculty Research Award, UWM Graduate School Research Committee Award, University of Wisconsin Libraries Research Fellow, Stanley L. Saxton Applied Research Award, Daniel Rohrer Research Award, and many more.

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¹ Source: Trott, Barker, & Barker (1998). Evaluation of Masters programs in the speech communication discipline: 1988. Communication Education, 37, 257-262. The department’s MA ranking has become unavailable since 2008 when it launched the doctoral program.