Mass Communication (Graduate Program)

For information regarding the UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM, click here.  

Program Overview

The Manship School of Mass Communication has over 100 years of providing communication education. The school boasts a world-class faculty equipped to carry out advanced training and research and a talented staff prepared to enhance the student experience. The school counts among its graduates many journalists, corporate executives, agency heads, political consultants, and other leaders in mass communication. Alumni are active in mobilizing public support for the school, providing internships, and assisting students with career advice.

The school’s faculty has been recognized for its high level of scholarly productivity. In addition, the school is home to the nation’s only doctoral program in media and public affairs.

Professional mass communication programs offered by the school at the master’s level feature an appropriate theoretical and applied research foundation relevant to the next generation of communication leaders. Students are prepared to enter ever-changing media industries and to shape their futures. The emphasis on applied research also means graduate students will have the opportunity to be involved in public service and research through the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs and seminars in journalism, strategic communication, political communication, and digital media technologies.

Our smaller doctoral cohorts allow for personal attention and mentorship from faculty. Students get hands-on research experience working independently and collaboratively with peers and faculty mentors. Graduates of doctoral programs work in a diverse range of higher education institutions, including those that emphasize research, teaching, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and international institutions. Graduates also work in media-related industries.

Administration

Admission

Applications and supporting materials for all graduate study must be submitted through the online application site for the LSU Graduate School. Official transcripts, official test scores, and other materials that come from third-party sources must be mailed to: LSU Office of Graduate Admissions, 114 West David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. These paper documents are stored electronically and departments have access to all materials submitted by and/or on behalf of a student applying to graduate study.

Applications for the PhD program are accepted for the fall semester only; applications for the master’s programs are accepted for the fall and spring semesters, although most students begin the program in the fall semester. Applicants must adhere to the application deadlines established by the Graduate School as well as the academic unit. Applicants for all programs are evaluated only after supporting documents and credentials are received.

Students seeking admission must submit satisfactory credentials from previous study, acceptable GRE scores, three letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, a resumé or CV, and writing samples. International students whose native language is not English must also submit an acceptable TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE score.

Graduate students in mass communication are required to have their own wireless Internet access laptop computer upon entering either the master’s or the doctoral program. Information regarding the type, specifications, and software may be obtained on the Manship website (www.manship.lsu.edu) or from 211 Journalism Building.

Further information concerning admission or program requirements may be obtained from the Manship School’s associate dean for graduate studies and research or online at www.manship.lsu.edu.

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance is available to some students. The Manship School offers financial aid in the form of graduate assistantships. For doctoral students, the stipend is $25,000 for nine months. In addition, graduate assistants receive a full tuition exemption. Assistants who are on contract for the academic year may also receive a tuition exemption for the following summer semester. Students are responsible for paying applicable fees. To ensure consideration for financial aid, all application materials should be submitted by January 25 for the fall semester for the PhD, and in accordance with deadlines established by the LSU Graduate School. 

Facilities

Graduate students in the Manship School have access to the technological and digital tools needed for success in various media and academic fields. Graduate students also have opportunities to work with the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs as well as one of three research labs:  the Public Policy Research Lab (PPRL),  the Media Effects Lab (MEL), and the Social Media Analysis and Creation (SMAC) Lab.

Student Organizations

The Mass Communication Association of Graduate Students (MAGS) is a social and support group especially for graduate students. All full-time or part-time students in the school are eligible to join. The association’s primary purposes are to act as an effective channel of communication between graduate students and faculty; serve as an educational resource; undertake an annual service project; assist with fundraising and promotional events; and engage in networking, career planning, and social activities.

Other school-sponsored organizations open to graduate students include the American Advertising Federation, National Association of Black Journalists, Public Relations Student Society of America, ImPRint Communications, Society of Professional Journalists, and Society of Politics, Communication and Law.

Graduate Faculty

(check current faculty listings by department here)

Nichole Bauer (7M) • Political communication, news media, gender and politics
Kim Bissell (M) • Sports communication, health communication, journalism
Jinx Broussard (M) • Public relations, journalism history, diversity
Josh Grimm (M) • Health communication, journalism, race, sexuality, representation, horror film
John Maxwell Hamilton (M) • Journalism, media history, foreign reporting
Tina Harris (M) • Interracial communication, mass media representations of race, pedagogy, racial social justice
Michael Henderson (7M) • Political communication, public affairs, election
Jun Heo (7M) • Advertising, media audiences, media effects
Yongick Jeong (7M) • Advertising on digital media, visual attention, Super Bowl, technology-caused privacy, health communication
Soojin Kim (7M) • Advertising, visual communication, strategic communication, consumer psychology
Jeonghyun Janice Lee (6A) • Public relations, leadership communication, organizational corporate communication, digital technology
Robert Mann (M) • Political communication, political history, American history
Will Mari (6A) • Media history, media law, media organization, sociology of work/professional theory, communication and culture, religion and communication
Ruth Moon (6A) • Journalism, global communication, media ethics, visual communication, politics and the media
Hyojung Park (M) • Public relations, quantitative methodology, health communication
Raymond Pingree (M) • Visual communication, political communication, mass communication theory and research
Fanny Ramirez (6A) • Media law, information communication technologies in the criminal justice system (e.g., discrimination, privacy, and surveillance), video games, communication technology
Meghan Sanders (M) • Media effects, cognitive processing of media, mass communication theory and research methods
Kathleen Searles (M) • Political communication, campaign advertising, political psychology, partisan news
Nihar Sreepada (6A) • Public relations, artificial intelligence (AI), digital media, identity, culture
Judith Sylvester (7M) • Healthcare policies and laws; tobacco/vaping policies, laws and government regulations; environmental issues and deregulation; the new, non-nuclear arms race; how journalists cover crisis; media ethics
Asha Winfield (6A) • Black/African American studies, media studies, critical culture studies, popular culture, race and ethnicity
Chun Yang (7M) • Strategic communication, media effects, emotional and cognitive effects of media and media strategies

Programs

• Strategic Communication Graduate Certificate

• Mass Communication, MMC

• Mass Communication & Public Affairs, Ph.D.

• Dual Degree: JD/MMC