Temple University
Communications
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Overview
Temple University is one of the nation's senior comprehensive research institutions, with specialized programs around the world and at its main, health sciences, and Center City campuses in Philadelphia; in Ambler, Pennsylvania, a suburb north of the city; and in the Pennsylvania state capital, Harrisburg. The University enrolls more than 30,000 students in seventeen schools and colleges. The School of Communications and Theater graduate student enrollment was 211 in 2006. Undergraduate enrollment in the School is 3,289 students. The School of Communications and Theater has operated an academic program in London (fall semester or six-week summer session), which is open to graduate students, for more than thirty years.
There are 211 graduate students, including 127 women, enrolled in the School. Twenty-one students are members of minority groups, and 40 students are international. Of the 420 students who applied to the School's programs, 48 percent were accepted. Fifty-six percent of the students attend full-time. In 2006, the School awarded eight Ph.D. degrees, twenty M.F.A. degrees, fifteen M.A. degrees, and twenty-seven M.J. degrees.
The Location and Community
Philadelphia is one of the five largest media markets in the U.S. and, as the birthplace of the nation, is steeped in history, tradition, and diversity in culture and the arts. Theater abounds, film and video houses offer a variety of services, and major advertising, public relations, and news operations exist in and around the city. All of the programs make good use of their urban location.
Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
The School of Communications and Theater offers six graduate degree programs, five at the master's level and one interdepartmental Doctor of Philosophy degree, through its departments.
The Department of Broadcasting, Telecommunications and Mass Media offers a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree, which is focused on media research and theory, institutions, and management, with supplementary course work in media and multimedia production. The degree prepares students for doctoral work or for careers in media, new media, or telecommunications policy, management, and production.
The Department of Film and Media Arts offers the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree, which educates talented students for professional careers in film, television, digital production, screenwriting, and media studies. The program is open to all forms of media expression and emphasizes independent film and video production, with special attention to the contemporary documentary, experimental media, and independent narrative.
The Department of Journalism's Master of Journalism (M.J.) degree program is designed for liberal arts or communications graduates who expect to work in a mass communications area. The program's academic and professional course work covers newspaper reporting, editing, magazine writing and editing, broadcast journalism, media management, and the Internet. Practicing professionals are able to refine their writing and editing skills and solidify the academic foundation of their careers.
The Department of Theater's graduate programs offer three years of intensive conservatory training, which leads to the M.F.A. in one of three areas. The Graduate Acting Program focuses on classical training, with an emphasis on camera work in the final year. The Graduate Design Program prepares students for careers as scenic, costume, and lighting designers in theater and related entertainment fields. Through interactive projects in acting, design, and literature and practical directing experience, the Graduate Directing Program develops artists who are thoroughly grounded in the theater. The program is accredited through the National Association of Schools of Theater (NAST).
The Department of Strategic and Organizational Communication's Master of Science (M.S.) in communication management offers students skills enabling them to apply strategic communication as part of the leadership team. The program focuses on strategic and management aspects of communication, including articulating a mission, developing leadership skills to manage a staff, formulating message strategies, understanding public opinion research, and designing information campaigns to achieve an organization's goals. The degree is relevant to public relations, organizational communication, and government and political communication. It serves those in both profit and not-for-profit sectors, as well as in local, national, and global contexts.
The Mass Media and Communication Program (MM&C) offers the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MM&C is a broad-based program of study grounded in sociological, cultural, and historical perspectives on mass media. After receiving a thorough foundation in communication theory and research methods, students design and pursue a course of study based on their own interests. The program's areas of specialization include global communication, new media, mass communication policy, and psychological processing of media. Each Ph.D. student is mentored by a member of the MM&C faculty in one or a combination of areas of study. Preliminary examinations are tailored individually to each student's research program.
Facilities & Resources
The University's library system includes a cooperative exchange program with the area's other major academic institutions to provide a vast selection of resources for scholarly activity. The School operates its own Resource Center and collection of current communication journals, with access to more than 12,000 volumes and scores of periodicals in the mass media area as well as Internet access.
Expenses and Aid
Graduate tuition for 2006-07 was $470 per credit hour for Pennsylvania residents and $626 per credit hour for nonresidents. A $100 computer fee, a $25 facilities fee, and a $50 health fee were also required each semester.
Financial Aid:
The University offers scholarships, grants, and loans based on academic or artistic promise or on need as calculated by Student Financial Services. A department nominates selected graduate applicants for Presidential, University, or Future Faculty Fellow fellowships, which provide twelve-month stipends and full tuition remission for two years. To be considered, department and University admission applications must be submitted by December 15. Teaching assistantships, which include a stipend ranging from $13,000 to $13,600 and tuition remission for up to 9 credits each semester, are offered by individual graduate programs in the School for teaching, research, or administrative work of 20 hours each week. The theater department supports up to 10 credit hours per semester.
Housing/Living Expenses:
There is on-campus housing available for graduate students. The University operates a graduate-student-only residence of 104 one- and two-bedroom apartments as well as twelve row houses. Rooms, apartments, and houses are also available for students in the city and the surrounding suburbs.
How to Apply
Interested students should contact the Admissions Coordinators in the School of Communications and Theater for information or applications or apply online at the Web site listed below.
Who to Contact
Graduate Admissions Coordinator
Annenberg Hall, Room 344
School of Communications and Theater
2020 North 13th Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122-6080
215-204-8409
Fax: 215-204-6641
Faculty
• Department of Broadcasting, Telecommunications and Mass Media
• Norman Felsenthal, Professor; Ph.D., Iowa. History of broadcasting, cable and telecommunication policy.
• Jan Fernback, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Colorado. Technology and society, sociology of new media, media culture.
• Renee Hobbs, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Harvard. Media literacy, media and technology education K-12, adolescents and media exposure.
• Elizabeth Leebron, Professor; Ph.D., Northwestern. Broadcast production, production management and broadcast journalism.
• John Lent, Professor; Ph.D., Iowa. International and comparative mass communication, with an emphasis on Asian studies; comic art; Third World media.
• Matthew Lombard, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Stanford. Psychological processing of traditional and new media.
• Nancy Morris, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Pennsylvania. Communication research, media globalization and Latin America.
• Howard Myrick, Professor; Ph.D., USC. Telecommunications and mass media practices, policy, production and management.
• Zizi Papacharissi, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Texas at Austin. New media uses and effects, cybercommunity and identity online, political uses of new media.
• Concetta Stewart, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Rutgers. New technology, telecommunications policy and organizational communication.
• Sari Thomas, Professor; Ph.D., Pennsylvania. Communication theory and sociology of pop culture.
• Department of Film and Media Arts
• Jeanne Allen, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Iowa. Media culture and theory and practice.
• Allan Barber, Assistant Professor; M.F.A., Temple. Screenwriting and history.
• Warren Bass, Professor; M.F.A., Columbia. Directing, cinematography, documentary-fiction.
• Peter d'Agostino, Professor; M.A., San Francisco State. New media theory and practice.
• Sarah Drury, Assistant Professor; M.P.S., M.A., NYU. Video art, sound, and interactive media.
• LeAnn Erickson, Associate Professor; M.A., M.F.A., Iowa. Film and digital work in experimental films, documentary, and animation.
• Michelle Parkerson, Assistant Professor; B.A., Temple. Documentary and narrative, producing and directing.
• David Parry, Professor; M.S., MIT. Documentary, editing and cinematography.
• Eran Preis, Associate Professor; M.F.A., Ohio State. Screenwriting and international film.
• Jeffrey Rush, Associate Professor; M.F.A., Iowa. Writing, scene analysis and narrative theory.
• Paul Swann, Professor; Ph.D., Leeds (England). Media culture, international media and documentary.
• Department of Journalism
• Patricia Bradley, Professor; Ph.D. Texas. Colonial and American journalism history, women in media history.
• Jean L. Brodey, Associate Professor; Ed.D., Temple. Public relations.
• Thomas Eveslage, Professor; Ph.D., Southern Illinois. Communication law, communication ethics, media and society.
• Carolyn Kitch, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Temple. Magazines, American media history, gender studies.
• F. T. Marquez, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Wisconsin. Advertising, mass media research and theory.
• James Marra, Professor; Ph.D., Texas Tech. Advertising, fiction writing.
• Michael Maynard, Associate Professor; Ph.D, Rutgers. Advertising; globalization; text analysis; cross-cultural studies, with an emphasis on Japan.
• Andrew Mendelson, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Missouri. Visual communications, new media, psychology and physiology of mass communications.
• Edward J. Trayes, Professor; Ph.D., Iowa. Media management, editing, new media.
• Karen M. Turner, Associate Professor; J.D., Northwestern. Broadcast journalism; media criticism, with emphases on members of minority groups and women; online teaching and new media; talk radio.
• Linn Washington, Associate Professor; M.A., Yale. News reporting and writing, with an emphasis on investigative reporting; media law and ethics.
• Fabienne Darling Wolf, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Iowa. New media, global communication, Japanese popular culture, feminist theory, ethnographic analysis.
• Department of Theater
• Daniel C. Boylen, Professor; M.F.A., Wisconsin. Scene design.
• Kevin Cotter, Associate Professor; M.A., Pittsburgh. Acting, directing.
• Stanton Davis, Assistant Professor; M.F.A., Delaware. Speech for the actor.
• Katherine Garrinella, Associate Professor; Ed.M., Temple. Movement, dance.
• Robert Hedley, Professor; M.F.A., Texas. History, dramatic literature, playwriting, directing.
• David Ingram, Assistant Professor; M.F.A., NYU. Acting.
• Daniel Kern, Associate Professor; M.F.A., American Conservatory Theatre. Acting, directing.
• Donna Snow, Associate Professor; M.F.A., American Conservatory Theater. Acting, voice.
• Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., M.F.A., Temple. Playwriting, theater arts, literature.
• Department of Strategic and Organizational Communication
• Aram A. Aghazarian, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Illinois. Speechwriting, argumentation, persuasion, rhetorical criticism.
• Priscilla Murphy, Professor; Ph.D., Brown. Crisis communication, risk and environmental communication, public relations.
• Kasey Walker, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Purdue. Organizational and small-group communication, power and leadership.
• Mass Media and Communications Ph.D. Program
• Jan Fernback, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Colorado. Technology and society, sociology of new media, media culture.
• Carolyn Kitch, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Temple. Magazines, American media history, gender studies.
• John Lent, Professor; Ph.D., Iowa. International and comparative mass communication, with an emphasis on Asian studies; comic art; Third World media.
• Matthew Lombard, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Stanford. Psychological processing of traditional and new media.
• Michael Maynard, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Rutgers. Advertising; globalization; text analysis; cross-cultural studies, with an emphasis on Japan.
• Andrew Mendelson, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Missouri. Visual communications, new media, psychology and physiology of mass communications.
• Nancy Morris, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Pennsylvania. Communication research and theory; international communication, with an emphasis on Latin America.
• Priscilla Murphy, Professor; Ph.D., Brown. Crisis communication, risk and environmental communication, public relations.
• Concetta Stewart, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Rutgers. Organizational communication, telecommunications.
• Fabienne Darling Wolf, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Iowa. New media, global communication, Japanese popular culture, feminist theory, ethnographic analysis.