dept of LL&C: programs - graduate: ph.d. in communication and rhetoric

Kathy Colman,
LL&C Recruitment

Faculty and Staff

Graduate Programs
Ph.D. in Communication and Rhetoric

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Learn About the Program | Get Degree Requirements

For over 30 years, our Ph.D. graduates have been the leaders in the study of the relationship between communication and technology. As new forms of technologically mediated communication emerge, research and scholarship are needed to describe their nature and account for their unique effects.

The mission of the Ph.D. in Communication and Rhetoric at Rensselaer is to enable students to make a contribution with rigor, depth, and creativity on issues related to communication in technologically mediated contexts. Our approach draws on the insights of rhetoric, technical communication, composition, communication studies, human-computer interaction, game studies, and graphic design.

We are uniquely positioned to provide an environment for graduate study in communication and technology. We combine the resources of a premier technological university with a faculty strongly grounded in theory and research as well as technology and media.

Learn About the Program

Download an informational flyer about the Ph.D. in Communication and Rhetoric.

Download a guide about the Ph.D. program:

Doctoral Program Guide (.pdf, revised 10.08.2007)

To learn more about the Ph.D. in Communication and Rhetoric at Rensselaer, use our automated Inquiry Wizard. You can request further information be delivered to you as email attachments or by postal mail. You can also use the inquiry system to send an email directly to Kathy Colman, LL&C Recruitment Coordinator.

Degree Requirements

[ return to graduate ]

Program Design | The Core | Advising Process

Dissertation Process | Financial Aid | Looking Ahead

Degree Progress Timetable | Course Rotation | Testimonials

This website explains the requirements for the Ph.D. in Communication and Rhetoric at Rensselaer. Additional Institute policies applicable to graduate students are explained on the Office of Graduate Education's website.

The Degree Progress Timetable at the end of this document will help you plan your progress through the Ph.D. program. It lists the milestones by which your progress will be measured through an ideal full-time study of eight semesters.

Program Design	[ return to top ]

The Ph.D. in Communication and Rhetoric requires satisfactory completion of ninety credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree. Ordinarily, the Department admits students to the Ph.D. program in Communication and Rhetoric only when they have completed (or are about to complete) an appropriate master's degree, which will be counted as thirty of the required ninety credit hours. After completion of an appropriate master's degree, you are required to take thirty-six credit hours of course work at Rensselaer. Some plans of study may require additional course work beyond this thirty-six credit-hour minimum, typically not to exceed forty-two credits.

If you have taken additional graduate-level course work in an appropriate area prior to matriculating in the Ph.D. program, you may apply to the departmental Graduate Program Coordinator for additional transfer credit, up to the maximum of forty-five of the required ninety credit hours. All transfer credits beyond the thirty credit hours automatically granted for an M.S. or M.A. will be counted as electives in place of dissertation credits unless approved by the Graduate Program Coordinator as equivalent to one or more of the core courses or a specific elective course or courses as listed below. However the transfer credits are counted, you are still required to take a minimum of thirty-six credit hours of course work at Rensselaer. Credits taken as audits will not count toward fulfillment of the course requirement.

The Department will consider admitting qualified students with an appropriate bachelor's degree to the M.S./Ph.D. combination. In this case, ninety credits are required, with the first thirty credits counting as the M.S. degree. Beyond the initial thirty credits, the requirements are the same for students admitted directly to the Ph.D., as outlined above.

While specific plans of study will vary to meet individual needs and interests, all students must meet the program requirements outlined below. Note that a course applied to fulfill one requirement cannot be used to satisfy a second requirement.

The Core	[ return to top ]

To provide a foundation for contributions on issues related to Communication in Technologically Mediated Contexts, students are required to take two core courses, each combining a horizontal disciplinary base in communication and rhetoric with depth on issues of communication in technological contexts:

Teaching Core

In addition, students pursuing academic careers are strongly encouraged to take an optional teaching core:

Teaching Communication in Technologically Mediated Contexts

Methods

To enable the pursuit of dissertation work with rigor, students are required to take at least one of four foundational methods courses plus at least one additional course that (1) has a primary focus upon explicit methods and (2) requires a project or paper that uses those methods.

FOUNDATIONAL METHODS COURSES
Foundational Methods courses include:

ADDITIONAL METHODS COURSE
Additional methods course may be:

a second foundational course,
a methods course approved by the Department following the guidelines above, or
an independent study with a focus on an explicitly-named methodology

Approved methods courses currently include:

In general, the choice among methods options should be determined in consultation with your advisor.

Formal Presentation/Publication

Ph.D. students are required to produce four public presentations or publications prior to completion of the Ph.D. degree. This requirement can be fulfilled making formal public presentations, publishing articles in academic or professional journals, or submitting proposals for internal or external grants or fellowships, with the further stipulation that at least two of the public presentations must be oral presentations and at least one must be external to Rensselaer (the other may be an internal departmental colloquium presentation).

For more information, please consult:

Request for Approval Form (.doc, revised 05.03.2005)

Presentation/Publication Guidelines (.doc, revised 04.21.2005)

Seminars

To enable the pursuit of dissertation work in depth, students are required to take a coherent sequence of at least three 6000-level seminars that provide opportunity for in-depth work on a continuing topic that may lead to a thesis. Each seminar should culminate in the production of written work aimed at publication. Students are encouraged to choose seminars with the idea of identifying potential dissertation committee members.

Theory

To ensure that students are well grounded in the issues of a specific discipline, at least one course must be a theory course in a disciplinary area related to the dissertation.

Directed Research

To enable students to prepare for the independent work of the thesis, each student is required to take, under the direction of the thesis advisor, at least three credits of directed research of the sort that might enable a student to satisfy the requirement for Formal Presentation/Publication. These credits may be taken as a three-credit block in a single semester or as one- to two-credit blocks over several semesters.

If a student completes project work under one advisor and subsequently changes advisors, the project work must be repeated under the new advisor.

Outside Courses

To support the breadth of perspective required to study Communication in Technologically Mediated Contexts, students are required to take at least one course at Rensselaer outside of the Department of Language, Literature, and Communication. Students may use this course to identify an outside member of their dissertation committee.

Students may elect to take courses outside the Department as well, as long as at least twenty-seven of the thirty-six credit hours of course work beyond the master's degree required for the degree are taken within the Department.

Application Courses

To enable the creative study, practice, and teaching of Communication in Technologically Mediated Contexts, students are encouraged to take up to three courses aimed at applying theory and research to design and practice in areas such as graphics, human-computer interaction, hypermedia, web design and development, or writing.

The Advising Process	[ return to top ]

The Ph.D. advising process is intended to assist students in their preparations for the qualifying examination and dissertation, both to ease them through the process and to ensure that they are well prepared.

Each Ph.D. student is assigned an initial advisor upon admission into the Ph.D. program, with the advisor's consent. A student is permitted a change of advisor upon request by the student and consent of the new advisor. Each student is required to complete a Nomination of Advisor form in March of the first year of study and may nominate an advisor of his or her choice, including either the initial advisor or a new advisor.
Each student is required to develop a Plan of Study in consultation with his or her advisor, prior to the third full-time semester of coursework (see below).
Each student is required to obtain approval of the proposed plan of courses from the entire dissertation committee before registering for the final six credit hours of courses (typically during the third semester of full-time study). The committee may stipulate additional courses, readings, or activities necessary to prepare the student to undertake original scholarship, research, and/or creative work for the Ph.D. Each student is encouraged to obtain committee approval of the proposed plan of courses as early as possible during his or her coursework but no later than the time of registration for the final six credit hours of courses.
The Department each year conducts a thorough review of each Ph.D. student's progress toward completion of the degree, based upon students' self-reports of their progress and reports from instructors in graduate courses for each student in each course. The purpose of the review is to document good standing for the continuance of financial aid or failure to maintain good standing, to provide support and assistance as needed to ensure timely completion of the degree, and to help students to explore alternatives to degree completion if and when warranted by their individual situations. Issues that contribute to the determination of good standing include successful completion of coursework with at least a B average, significant progress toward the development of a dissertation topic and the formation of a dissertation committee, professional conduct, and any persistent issues that require monitoring and attention. The Department Chair and Graduate Program Coordinator meet with each student who requires individual attention, along with his or her advisor, to address the student's needs and to identify appropriate courses of action.

Nomination of Advisor Form (.doc, revised 08.21.2006)

Office of Graduate Education Plan of Study

Prior to beginning your third semester of full-time Ph.D. study, you must meet with your advisor to fill out the Office of Graduate Education Plan of Study. The purpose of this Plan of Study is to help you to design a series of courses that will prepare you to complete a dissertation in your chosen area of study. Graduate students who completed the master’s degree at another institution should list the degree and institution for a total of thirty credit hours (and no more than thirty credit hours) plus all of the courses competed at Rensselaer, not to exceed the total of ninety credit hours required for the degree. Additional dissertation credits beyond the ninety hours should not be shown on the Plan of Study. Graduate students who completed the master’s degree at Rensselaer should list all of the courses that count toward the master’s and the Ph.D., plus any additional certificates, not to exceed the total of ninety credit hours required for the degree. It should also indicate any approved transfer credit.

The Plan of Study may be modified if your scholarly interests change. But these modifications may require that you take additional courses to ensure that you have completed the kinds of course work that are important for a dissertation in a given area. The Plan of Study must be signed by you, your advisor, and the departmental Graduate Program Coordinator. Any modifications are subject to the full approval process. The final Plan of Study must include your M.S./M.A. credits and must list all course titles and numbers, including dissertation credits and semester completed. The course titles and numbers must match your transcript precisely.

Plan of Study

Research with Human Subjects/Institute Review Board

All research involving human subjects must be reviewed and approved by Rensselaer's Institutional Review Board. Both faculty advisors and graduate student are obligated to review IRB policies and procedures and monitor research judiciously to ensure that these policies and procedures are followed in all instances and, specifically, in doctoral dissertations and other published work.

Failure to obtain IRB approval for the use of human subjects can result in administrative penalties, including formal reprimand, loss of funding for research and/or rejection of theses and dissertations for student work.

Rensselaer's IRB policies and procedures are currently posted at:
irb.rpi.edu

For a detailed explanation of IRB proposal and renewal procedures, proposal guidelines, templates and timelines, please download and review the .pdf files accessible via the Forms link at the address above.

The Dissertation Process	[ return to top ]

The doctoral dissertation, including the qualifying examination and the dissertation prospectus, must be the work of each individual student and must meet the highest standards of academic integrity. Direct contributions by others, either in person or through electronic media, must be approved by the Doctoral Policy Committee prior to their use or implementation.

The Dissertation Committee

Sometime toward the end of your second semester of study or early in your second year, you should enter into an agreement with the faculty member who will most likely chair your dissertation committee. The basis of the agreement will be mutual intellectual interests and the faculty member's willingness to guide you through the general sort of dissertation research that you have in mind. You should establish this informal relationship early because the dissertation advisor will want to review and possibly modify your Plan of Study.

You and your prospective dissertation committee chair will select the other members of your committee. You must then propose your committee to the Department Chair for approval and formal appointment by the Chair and the Dean of the Office of Graduate Education. The dissertation committee must consist of at least four tenured or tenure-track Rensselaer faculty members, one of whom must be from outside the Department and at least three of whom must be members of the Department. The committee chair must be from the Department. If you wish to include a committee member from outside the Institute, then your committee must have five members, including the four from Rensselaer (see the Rensselaer Academic Catalog for a precise description of the committee makeup).

The dissertation committee will review your proposed plan of courses, conduct your candidacy examination, and later review and approve your dissertation prospectus and the completed dissertation. You may, however, elect to change some members of your committee between the candidacy examination and the dissertation. Such a change is subject to review and approval by the Graduate Program Coordinator, the Department Chair, and the Office of Graduate Education. It is generally expected that you and your committee will meet, when it is appointed, to discuss your curriculum and to develop ideas on your remaining tasks.

The Candidacy Examination

In consultation with your dissertation committee chair and the other members of your committee, you will declare a major area and two minor areas in which you will be examined. Your candidacy examination will consist of written and oral portions. Although only three of your committee members will pose questions for the written portion, all of your committee members read your written examination and participate in the subsequent oral part of the examination. You should keep your entire committee informed throughout your preparation for the examination. The purpose of the candidacy examination is not to test your memory of specific, isolated facts but to permit you demonstrate that you can develop and defend an informed position on topics or questions that are important in your major and minor areas of study. You must successfully complete your candidacy examination before you submit a dissertation prospectus to your committee.

Candidacy Exam Procedures (.pdf, revised 07.07.2006)

WRITTEN PORTION
Your entire committee will explain to you the nature and purpose of the candidacy exam and will discuss with you and recommend appropriate options for the conduct of the exam. The exam will assess your ability to review, synthesize, and take ownership of three substantial bodies of literature related to your dissertation work. The exam will include a written and an oral portion, as specified below. In the standard format, you may choose to take all of the written examinations on a single day, on two days separated by a short interval, or on two or three consecutive days. The written portion of your examination:

Includes a four-to-eight hour major area exam and two two-to-four minor area exams, the duration of the examination in each area to be determined prior to the exam by agreement between the candidate and the entire committee
Does not permit you to use books or notes (though you may, with your committee's knowledge and consent, use an unmarked copy of your reading lists)
Is monitored by the Department's staff
May be written on a computer (if you want to use your own computer, you will have to make arrangements with the Department's Program Administrative Secretary/Assistant to the Chair)
May, if you and your committee agree, be preceded by work on practice questions which differ significantly from the questions that actually appear on the exam (if you work on practice questions, you must indicate on your examination that you have done so)

Alternatively, by agreement between you and your entire committee, one or two (but no more than two) of the written portions of the examination may be completed by:

Submission and approval by the entire committee of an extended essay on the topic of a major or minor exam area, written within a time constraint of twenty-four to forty-eight hours; and/or
Request for and approval by the entire committee of a waiver of one of the major or minor exam areas on the basis of a manuscript demonstrating a depth and breadth of knowledge on the topic of the major or minor exam area either published or accepted for publication in a major journal

These options yield the following possibilities:

One four-to-eight hour major area exam and two two-to-four hour minor area exams or
Two major or minor area exams and submission and approval by the entire committee of an extended essay on the topic of a major or minor exam area, written within a time constraint of twenty-four to forty-eight hours or
Two major or minor area exams and submission and approval by the entire committee of an extended essay on the topic of a major or minor exam area, written within a time constraint of twenty-four to forty-eight hours or
One major or minor area exam and (a) submission and approval by the entire committee of an extended essay on the topic of a major or minor exam area, written within a time constraint of twenty-four to forty-eight hours and (b) request for and approval by the entire committee of a waiver of one of the major or minor exam areas on the basis of a manuscript demonstrating a depth and breadth of knowledge on the topic of the major or minor exam area either published or accepted for publication in a major journal

Any exceptions to these options must be approved by the Graduate Policy Committee.

ORAL PORTION
The oral portion of the exam lasts for two hours and is conducted approximately one to two weeks after you have completed the written portion. For the oral exam, you may be asked to clarify, defend, or elaborate upon your responses in the written examination, including the options of the extended essay or the published or accepted manuscript, to discuss other topics in the examination areas, and/or to discuss your plans for dissertation research.

The Dissertation Prospectus

Before you begin work on your dissertation, your committee must formally approve your dissertation prospectus. The length and format of the prospectus may vary considerably in individual cases and should be determined in consultation with your committee. In this prospectus, you should answer the following questions:

What thesis, hypothesis, or research question do you intend to explore in you research?
What is currently known about this thesis, hypothesis, or research question?
How do you plan to develop your thesis, test your hypothesis, or answer your research question?
Of what consequence is your proposed research?

As part of the answer to the second question (What is currently known...?), your prospectus should include a literature review or a working bibliography, that the committee considers sufficiently comprehensive. The full dissertation committee must meet with you to assess the prospectus and indicate any changes that are necessary. In the process of developing the prospectus, you are encouraged to discuss your ideas with your committee members, either individually or collectively. After they meet with you and after you have made any necessary changes to the prospectus, your dissertation committee must formally approve the prospectus. The committee must also approve any subsequent changes that committee members judge to be significant. The prospectus, accompanied by an approval sheet signed by all committee members, will be kept on file in the LL&C office.

The Dissertation

The dissertation is a demonstration of your scholarly and research competence and thus must meet high standards of intellectual accomplishment and integrity. The dissertation committee chair has the primary responsibility for guiding you through the research and writing of the dissertation, but you should consult regularly with all of the members of your committee throughout the research and writing process. Ordinarily you should expect to submit individual chapters of the dissertation to all members of your committee for their review and approval before you submit the completed dissertation. If and when your committee considers your dissertation to be defensible, you must defend the dissertation publicly. At that time, your committee may ask for additional revisions of the dissertation. Every member of your committee must approve and sign your dissertation before you may submit it to the Office of Graduate Education for their approval.

Financial Aid	[ return to top ]

Each year the Department is able to make a small number of awards for financial aid in the form of teaching or research assistantships. The awards are made on the basis of scholarly achievement and promise. The Department generally receives numerous applications for resources that are quite limited. Thus, a financial aid award represents a considerable investment in the career of a student. We expect in return that students who receive awards will pursue their studies with vigor and commitment. Students who are awarded assistantships generally receive a stipend of $14,500 per academic year and a full tuition scholarship for two years. A financial aid award in the form of an assistantship generally requires that the student provide teaching or research assistance equivalent to twenty hours per week.

It is our goal to financially support all Ph.D. students throughout their graduate work with fellowships or research assistantships. After two years, you will be eligible for further funding if you remain in good academic standing according to the rules established by the Department in this guide:

Satisfactory performance in completion of duties associated with the assistantship,
Satisfactory academic performance in the program of study, and
Satisfactory progress toward the completion of the degree. In general, funded doctoral students are expected to take six to eight courses (eighteen to twenty-four credit hours) per academic year toward the completion of their doctoral coursework. Further, funded doctoral students are generally expected to pass their candidacy examinations within the semester following the completion of doctoral course work.

A range of funding options for advanced students are available. Students can be supported as research assistants to faculty who have external grants or by fellowships from external sources such as the U.S. National Science Foundation. Advanced students can also be supported by fellowship programs at Rensselaer including the prestigious Humanities, Arts, Architecture, and Social Sciences (HAASS) Fellowship Program.

Financial aid renewals and new decisions are made annually. Generally, all funded graduate students will be asked annually if they wish to apply for or renew their financial aid. Decisions are ordinarily announced on or before April 1 for incoming students and shortly thereafter for continuing students. Current students who are not presently receiving but wish to apply for financial aid should consider submitting updated materials in support of their request. These materials might consist of a revised and updated goals statement and/or new letters of recommendation.

Students who are currently receiving financial aid may be granted a deferral for one or two years provided that they request the deferral in a timely manner (that is, far enough in advance to allow the Department to make an alternative award). Students who wish to defer their financial aid should fulfill all other conditions for taking an approved leave of absence and should check with both the Office of Graduate Education and the Department to ensure that they have met these conditions.

Please visit LL&C Financial Aid for more information on funding options.

Looking Ahead	[ return to top ]

As you read this guide for the first time, you are just beginning the process it describes. Your goal in this process is to make a significant and original contribution to knowledge in communication and rhetoric, thereby achieving full collegial membership in an international community of scholars. This goal, which is itself only a beginning, may seem far off. The process of achieving it will be difficult and at times frustrating. But your work as a doctoral student should also prove satisfying in a way that makes it worth doing in itself, apart from the value of the outcome. We wish you the joy of good work in the Rensselaer community.

Degree Progress Timetable	[ return to top ]

This timetable lists the milestones by which your progress will be measured through an ideal full-time study of eight semesters. Making good progress is a requirement for continuing good standing in our program.

First Semester

Office of Graduate Education Plan of Study
Work with your assigned advisor to complete a preliminary Plan of Study that will allow you to complete your degree requirements in a timely fashion.

Formal Presentation/Publication
Make plans for a public presentation or publication of your work by the end of your first academic year. See the section on Formal Presentation/Publication.

Second Semester

Degree Progress
Complete both the Office of Graduate Education's and LL&C's annual review forms in time for the annual review of doctoral students prior to financial aid decisions for the following year, at approximately the end of the Spring semester. See the section on Financial Aid for more details.

Dissertation Advisor
By the middle of the second semester, you should finalize your choice of dissertation advisor, the faculty member who has agreed to supervise your progress for the remainder of your program including your dissertation. You should begin having discussions with potential advisors early in this semester in order to have an agreement in place on time. Complete LL&C’s Nomination of Advisor Form no later than March 15. See the section on The Dissertation Committee for more details.

Office of Graduate Education Plan of Study
Complete the Plan of Study as specified in the section on Office of Graduate Education Plan of Study. This form should be completed at the initial advising session for Ph.D. students, regularly updated, and approved by the dissertation committee prior to registration for the final semester of coursework.

Third Semester

Doctoral Committee Nomination
By the beginning of your third semester, complete
the Doctoral Committee Nomination Form to nominate the Doctoral Committee that will supervise your candidacy exams and subsequent dissertation work. See the section on The Dissertation Committee for more details.

Directed Research
Make plans to complete directed research under the direction of your dissertation advisor during your second year. See the section on Directed Research for more details.

Formal Presentation/Publication
Make plans for a public presentation or publication of your work by the end of your second academic year. See the section on Formal Presentation/Publication.

Fourth Semester

Degree Progress
Update both the Office of Graduate Education's and LL&C's annual review forms in time for the annual review of doctoral students prior to financial aid decisions for the following year, at approximately the end of the Spring semester. See the section on Financial Aid for more details.

Office of Graduate Education Plan of Study
Revise your Plan of Study if necessary.

Fifth Semester

Doctoral Candidacy Exam
Take and pass your Candidacy Exams by the beginning of your fifth semester and complete Record of Candidacy Examination form. See the section on The Candidacy Examination for more details.

Formal Presentation/Publication
Make plans for a public presentation or publication of your work by the end of your third academic year. See the section on Formal Presentation/Publication.

Sixth Semester

Dissertation Prospectus Approval
Working with your committee, draft the prospectus for your planned dissertation work by the beginning of your sixth semester. The prospectus along with an approval sheet signed by all committee members must be filed in the Department office. See the section on The Dissertation Prospectus for more details.

Thesis Research
Carry out thesis research.

Seventh Semester

Thesis Research
Complete your thesis research.

Formal Presentation/Publication
Make plans for a public presentation or publication of your work by the end of your fourth academic year. See the section on Formal Presentation/Publication.

Eight Semester

Thesis Defense
Draft and defend your dissertation thesis and complete the Thesis/Project Examination Form as a record of your accomplishment. See section on The Dissertation for more details.

A Thesis checklist is available from the Office of Graduate Education.

Course Rotation	[ return to top ]

This rotation indicates the availability of courses for upcoming semesters. Note that some courses are only offered alternate years.

You may wish to refer to this course rotation grid while developing your personal plan of study.

The grid is also available as a portable document:

Course Rotation (.pdf, revised 03.07.2008)

Fall 2008

CORE

Communication Theory

TEACHING CORE

METHODS

SEMINARS

APPLICATION

DIRECTED RESEARCH

Directed Research

Spring 2009

CORE

Rhetoric, Culture, and Technology

TEACHING CORE

Peer Tutoring
Teaching with Communication Technologies (COMM-6xxx)

METHODS

Communication Research II

SEMINARS

APPLICATION

DIRECTED RESEARCH

Directed Research

Fall 2009

CORE

Communication Theory

TEACHING CORE

Teaching with Communication Technologies (COMM-6xxx)

METHODS

SEMINARS

Cultural Theory (COMM-6xxx)
Digital Rhetoric
Theory and Research in Tech. Comm. and HCI

APPLICATION

DIRECTED RESEARCH

Directed Research

Spring 2010

CORE

Rhetoric, Culture, and Technology

TEACHING CORE

Peer Tutoring

METHODS

Research Methods in HCI

SEMINARS

APPLICATION

DIRECTED RESEARCH

Directed Research

Testimonials

"My years in LL&C shaped me into the researcher and teacher that I am today. I consider myself an interdisciplinary thinker -- surely a result of the nature of LL&C... Just as important to me are the personal and professional relationships that I formed at RPI and that I continue to form with RPI graduates from other years. I cannot imagine my career without these relationships, which keep me connected to the profession."

Beth Britt '97
Associate Professor of English
Northeastern University

"Much of my professional identity and success and many of my most cherished personal relationships reside in the growing community of people I joined when I began my studies in LL&C."

Greg Clark '85
Associate Dean in the College of Humanities
Brigham Young University

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