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Welcome to the Department of Communication Studies
Our mission is to study and teach about the mass media and emerging media: their evolution, their effects, their uses by everyday people, and their regulation and industry practices. Because the mass media have become some of the most powerful institutions in American society and, indeed, the world, we are dedicated to cultivating a thorough-going media literacy among our students, and to producing cutting-edge scholarship about the media’s impact on individuals and society. Founded in 1921 as the Department of Rhetoric and Journalism, the department has evolved from the Department of Speech, Communication and Theatre in the 1950s to its present incarnation focused on understanding the role of the media in modern life. We are known for:
- A highly sought-after and rigorous undergraduate concentration combining course work and internship opportunities, that prepares students for a range of careers as well as for post-graduate education
- A world-renowned faculty whose scholarship has placed us as one of the top-ranked communication programs in the country
- A prestigious interdisciplinary Ph.D. program that offers top flight training in both social scientific and humanities based approaches to studying media content, processes and effects
The Department of Communication Studies is housed in the North Quadrangle Residential and Academic Complex. The University of Michigan is located in Ann Arbor, repeatedly ranked as one of the best places to live because of its vibrant cultural life, its architectural charm, and overall ease of living.
