Department of Communication Fact Sheet
Liberal arts (non-professional) department, known for research on new technology, political communication, and diversity, culture, and visual studies.
- Development Goals
- 1 endowed chair, 1 named professorship, 4 endowed graduate fellowships
Donate to the department! - Facilities
- Offices: faculty (11), staff (3), TA (2), adjunct (1), resident scholar (1) (1.1 FTE/office)
Laboratories: Speech (audio-visual), Media (10 computers)
Classrooms: Seminar (seats 24), Teleconferencing (15), Conference (10)
Equipped through a Technology Grant from the Athena Fund ofChicago Community Trusts
Classroom (seats 32) renovated in 2007, with LAS and VCAA collaboration
Classroom (seats 54) slated for renovation in 2008, with Sociology, LAS, and VCAA collaboration - Faculty Awards
- Books by COMM professors have won national recognition in media history, rhetoric, and political communication. A named, funded lecture series at the National Communication Association honors Steve Jones. Two professors won the UIC Silver Circle Award for teaching, and one received a National Teaching Award.
- Funding
- Fellowships. Fellowships are the main source of external research funding in the discipline. In recent years, COMM
scholars have won fellowships at Harvard, Cornell. and LSU, as well as Fulbright awards. One COMM professor is
a University Scholar and three have been scholars at the UIC Great Cities Institute.
Grants. Except in particular subfields such as health, outside grants do not usually fund communication research. Even so, external support for COMM projects has come from NSF, NIH, and HUD, as well as private foundations. - Outreach
- Interdisciplinary. Communication is a central discipline that builds bridges among the
social sciences, arts, humanities, and sciences and between practice and theory. COMM faculty
collaborate with many UIC departments, such as EVL, and have developed programs with other U.S. universities.
International. COMM researchers have ongoing projects in Europe, Latin American, Asia, and the Middle East. Visiting scholars have come from the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Brazil, and Israel. COMM is the originating department for accords between UIC and universities in Denmark and Spain. - Research and Productivity (among peers)
- Peer departments: Washington, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Utah, SUNY-Buffalo, UMass-Amherst
Ranks 2d in publications in top-ranked journals per professor per year
Ranks 3d in mean citations of faculty research per professor (USI Database)
Recent grants from NSF, NIH, HUD, and fellowships from Fulbright, GWU, Harvard KSG - Service
- For a small department COMM provides extensive service to UIC. COMM faculty members serve on LAS and campus committees and in the UIC Senate. All three staff members have received UIC awards for service.
- Student Service
- In 2002, the three basic 100-level courses in the major were designated for general education credit. Two non- major courses teach basic public speaking and media writing. COMM has 4 Honors College Fellows and faculty regularly teach freshman seminars and honors seminars. They also mentor minority SROP and McNair fellowship students.
- Students
- Graduate. The Ph.D. program is new, and like the M.A. program, has an admissions yield
of more than 50 percent. The highly competitive COMM M.A. attracts top students, including those on Fulbright and
other awards, from such countries as Denmark, Spain, Austria, and El Salvador. Graduates go on to Ph.D. programs
at leading departments, including UIUC, Northwestern, Maryland, Purdue, and Massachusetts-Amherst. Graduates serve on
faculty at institutions such as RPI New York and California Polytechnic. Others have founded their own
communication companies or joined major media outlets.
M.A. Program
Two emphases: Media Studies, Intercultural Studies
Medium size (24 enrolled, 6 graduate yearly)
High quality (ranks second nationally in entering GREs)
Ph.D. Program
Focused on new technology
New (enrolled the first 6 students in 2007, 1 UBS-funded fellowship)
Guided by an Advisory Board including new-media industry leaders
Undergraduate. About 37 undergraduates complete internships each year, and many result in job offers. COMM students regularly win the $10,000 Bernard Shaw Prize.
B.A. Program
Comprehensive (Speech & Media Studies)
150 majors, 60 graduates yearly
Selective (2.5 GPA, sophomore standing required for admission) - Teaching
- Communication is committed to teaching and serves a large number of undergraduates (750 seats/year). General Education courses fill Individual & Society (Social science) requirements. All COMM professors teach undergraduate courses. The major has the strictest entrance requirements of any LAS program and has a good student to teacher ratio. Majors continue to represent a cross-section of all ethnic and racial groups at UIC.
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
University of Illinois at Chicago
1007 W Harrison Street, Behavioral Sciences Building 1140, MC132
Chicago IL 60607 | Phone: 312-996-3187 | Fax: 312-413-2125
Contact the Department for general information.
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