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Graduate

Graduate

The graduate program in Communication Arts and Sciences at Penn State trains students in communication science and rhetorical studies, with particular attention to political deliberation, health communication, interpersonal communication, public address, rhetorical theory, and the rhetoric of public culture. Our graduate students conduct research investigating how communication influences attitudes and behavior, relationship development and family dynamics, public life and public memory, democratic decision making, and struggles for social justice. In the 2021 URAP rankings, Penn State was listed in the top three for the language, culture, and communication field category.

Part of the mission of our department is “to create knowledge about the role of communication in diverse interpersonal, communal, national, international, and cultural settings.” To accomplish this goal, the department welcomes graduate students and affiliated scholars who represent the widest array of identities and perspectives. We value every individual’s race, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, level of ability/disability and political perspective. We respect and seek to ensure each person’s right to define their own identity and to craft the language that best represents who they are.

What sets our program apart?

Provide full funding to all graduate students – 2 years for the M.A. and 4 years for the Ph.D
Students participate in research and teaching assistantships
Full travel funding for two academic conferences each year
Offer research funding up to $1,500 for M.A. students and $5,000 for Ph.D.
Teaching assistants are allowed a ½ course load versus the standard 2/2

Beyond our financial support, the department is a vibrant intellectual community devoted to developing students’ particular interests. We embrace the value of an interdisciplinary education. Graduate students in CAS have the opportunity to become involved in a variety of centers and institutions across campus, including: the Humanities Institute, the Social Science Research Institute, the Center for Humanities and Information, the Huck Institute of the Life Sciences, the Rock Ethics Institute, the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence …and more!