UCSB Communication Grad Program - Data Dashboard

This dashboard combines data from Department and University records related to:

1. Stated program outcomes

2. Grad student body composition

3. Advising loads

4. Course enrollment patterns

We have also collected data on peer doctoral programs in order to establish norms and points of comparison for programs of study.

I. Topline Program Stats & Insights

Overall Program Composition

• Starting AY25 we had 50 active graduate students

  • 50.20% (n = 26) - Digital/Media

  • 32.00% (n = 16) - Interpersonal

  • 16% (n = 8) - Org/Group
    

• Student:Faculty Ratios (based on students within time to degree)

  • Digital/Media - 2.36
  • Interpersonal - 2.67
  • Org/Group - 1.6

• These ratios look good, though org/group has a notably lower ratio

<<< Jump to Full Grad Student Composition Data

Summary of Curriculum Insights/Challenges

Insights from Enrollment Data

• Rotation of survey courses has been effective, 2 offered yearly

• Uneven distribution of courses by area across years (e.g., some students can pass their entire coursework with 1 or 2 topical course in their area). Last strategic plan helped address this a little, but still some notable unevenness.

• Bulk of FTE allocation for grad courses goes to topical courses, often on relatively narrow topics of faculty expertise.

• Few methods courses offered. Qualitative methods offered < yearly.

<<< Jump to Grad Enrollment Data

Graduate Student Feedback

*gathered via student meetings and online survey

• Course requirements are not flexible enough, particularly for students in the Org area who routinely need to take in-department courses out of their area just to fulfill the requirements.

• More units of coursework are required for UCSB Comm compared to other majors on campus. Desire for less coursework in general

• Some students want more flexibility to place out of stats courses

• Challenges with 204C

  • Desire for better R integration

  • Desire for more emphasis on conceptual understanding

Faculty Feedback

Themes from Close-ended Feedback

*gathered via online survey (n = 15)

• Faculty rated program strengths as….

  • General knowledge of COMM and theory

  • Critically evaluate published research

  • Follow ethical guidelines

• Faculty rated program areas for improvement as….

  • Identify and describe the range of quant/qual methods

  • Design sound empirical studies

  • Structure coherent arguments

  • Manage time effectively

<<< Jump to Close-Ended Faculty Feedback

Themes from Open-ended Feedback

Strengths:

• We provide strong theory training, with good breadth

• Close Grad-Faculty collaboration

• Good opportunities for grads to publish

Weaknesses:

• Stats and methods training is lacking, including preparation for doing independent analysis, integration of R, and more advanced methods

• Weakness in basic skills of writing and thinking

• Shallowness in reading

<<< Jump to Open-ended Faculty Feedback

Comparison to Competitor Programs

• Our program is typical of other programs, requiring courses in theory and methods. Several programs have very little in the way of requirements, allowing students to choose their own course of study.

• Our program is on the higher end of course unit requirements, but not out of the norm (high variance in program structure). See comparison table.

• Our program has comparable methods requirements/foundation courses to other programs (2-3 courses). Some programs have higher requirements (Univ Mich, Rutgers). While some programs require specific methods courses, we only have 204A as a survey of methods. Besides 204A, students select their own methods courses.

• Our program has two required in-house stats courses (204b and 204c). The only other program that does something similar is UC Davis. Most other programs have either no specific stats requirements, out of dept. stats training or open-ended requirements.

• Our program requires theory courses in two or three specific topical areas. No other reviewed program requires this besides UC Davis. Other programs appear to require more general theory courses that cut across areas (e.g., “Introduction to Communication Theory”).

<<< Jump to Program Comparison

II. Program Learning Outcomes

The following is from our official program learning outcomes document. This reflects the stated goals of our graduate program.

Students graduating with a PhD in Communication should be able to:

I. Core Knowledge

• Demonstrate general knowledge of communication research and theory with specific command of at least two general areas including mass media, organizational, and interpersonal communication.

• Critically evaluate published theory & research in the field of communication and related fields.

II. Research Methods and Analysis

• Identify and describe the range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies typically used in communication research.

• Critically evaluate the methodologies used in published empirical research in the field of communication and related fields.

• Design sound empirical studies to investigate communication phenomena, using appropriate methods, measures, and analytic strategies.

• Follow ethical guidelines in the handling of research subjects and the collection and dissemination of research.

III. Pedagogy

• Communicate effectively to groups of undergraduate students.

• Demonstrate the basics of classroom management.

• Create appropriate assessment tools, including exams and assignments.

• Design a course in their area of communication specialty with clear goals, appropriate readings, assignments, and sequencing of topics.

IV. Scholarly Communication

• Synthesize and critique existing theoretical literature and empirical evidence.

• Make unique theoretical and empirical contributions to existing bodies of literature.

• Structure a coherent argument (orally and in writing) based on evidence.

• Present ideas orally in a convincing manner.

• Produce high quality writing able to meet the standards of the journals in the field of communication.

• Clearly communicate scholarly ideas to audiences beyond disciplinary boundaries.

V. Professionalism

• Present themselves with authority at conferences.

• Be responsive to constructive feedback.

• Manage time effectively.

• Conform to appropriate standards of conduct in interactions with students and co-workers.

• Contribute to the service endeavors of an academic department.

• Contribute to the service endeavors of the discipline at large.

• Pursue funding to support research.

VI. Independent Research

• Develop research projects independently that meet the standards of the discipline

III. Our Curriculum

MA Requirements (8 Core/Survey/Content Courses, typically over 4 quarters)

• Core Courses: Comm 200, 204A, 204B

• 1 Survey Course (Comm 207, 213, or 222)

• 3 Elective Content Courses in the Department

• 1 Elective Methods/Tools Course

• 2 quarters (8 units) of Comm 598 MA Thesis Prep

• 1 unit of Comm 505 (Department Colloquium) every quarter

Phd Requirements (11 Core/Survey/Content Courses, typically over 6 quarters)

• Core Courses: Comm 204C and a Second Survey Course (Comm 207, 213, or 222)

• 4 Elective Courses in the Department

• 2 Elective Courses Outside the Department

• 2 Elective Methods/Tools Courses

• 1 quarter (4 units) Directed Research (Comm 596)

• 12 units of Qualifying Exams Preparation (Comm 597)

• 12 units of Dissertation Research and Writing (Comm 599)

• 1 unit of Comm 505 (Department Colloquium) every quarter

Core Course Descriptions

204A

1. conduct literature reviews on a theory of interest to you as a foundation for your research inquiry;

2. develop an understanding about how to collect data that permit strong scientific inferences;

3. select a method to analyze data to reach appropriate conclusions;

4. interpret findings and identify implications;

5. understand the cyclical nature of research by planning your next study by building on your last to develop expertise on a topic and contribute to general knowledge.

204B

1. The Role of Statistics in Research (how statistics is related to research designs)
2. Measurement (levels, reliability, validity)
3. Describing Distributions (descriptive statistics, means, standard deviations, etc.)
4. Estimating Parameters (i.e., estimating the population mean from a sample; logic of statistical inference)
5. Testing Hypotheses with z-tests (one- and two-sample z-tests)
6. The t-test
7. single-factor ANOVA
8. multiple-factor ANOVA (factorial designs, logic and interpretation of interactions)
9. Nonparametric tests and chi square (mostly just chi square goodness-of-fit test and chi square test of association)
10. Correlation (bivariate, partial, multiple)
11. Bivariate Linear Regression
12. Multiple Regression

204C

1. Conceptually understand correlation, regression, ANOVA, mediation, and moderation;

2. Know when it is appropriate to use different statistical techniques;

3. Know how to extract and interpret statistical information using software (I focus on SPSS);

4. Know how to communicate statistical information to a scientific audience; and,

5. Know how to persuasively critique your own and others’ statistical decisions.

COMM 200 - Theory Construction

1. How to construct, modify, and evaluate social scientific theories
2. Read & Critique Scholarly Literature

IV. Grad Student Composition

Past 3 years: 22-26 students/year were active in coursework each quarter

V. Faculty Composition

• Starting AY25 we have a projected 22 active research faculty advisors (excludes Mastro, Potter, Linz)

  • 52.17% (n = 11) - Primarily Digital & Media

  • 30.43% (n = 6) - Primarily Interpersonal

  • 17.39% (n = 5)- Primarily Org & Group

• Note, many faculty identify with multiple areas… this classification is based on the area their advisees commonly identify with and is not intended to be definitive

Advising Load (looking ahead to 26-27)

Notes: 1) includes only advisees whose time to degree > Spring 2026, 2) includes co-advisors, 3) includes potential advisors for 2025 cohort (not yet official). These numbers are approximate and constantly shifting.

VI. Detailed Faculty Feedback & Suggestions

Close-Ended Ratings

Faculty were asked how well the program prepares students for various program learning outcomes on a 5-point scale from 1 (not at all well) to 5 (extremely well).

Themes from Open-ended Feedback

Strengths:

• We provide strong theory training, with good breadth

• Close Grad-Faculty collaboration

• Good opportunities for grads to publish

Weaknesses:

• “Many students aren’t reading widely and deeply to benefit from their time in our grad program. In fact, I sense many students don’t do the majority of the readings for classes. Rarely do students really benefit from the reading quarter.”

• Weakness in writing ability

• Many methods comments:

  • Range of stats preparedness makes it difficult to get everyone up to the same standard

  • Students are often unprepared to conduct their own analyses

  • 204C needs a major overhaul, including teaching it in R

  • “our students are woefully behind the training many other quantitative programs provide”

  • “I would like more remedial work available for students that come without a Masters.”

  • “I think the most pressing concern is addressing why students are not learning in their methods courses. We claim to be a rigorous grad program, yet our students who have taken our methods courses cannot identify simple design and analytics steps in research.”

Faculty Suggestions:

• Need to provide grads with a list of classes in advance for their planning

• We need to speak to critical research and broader approaches (e.g., community engagement)

• Offer Qual and Mixed-methods more often

• “I would like more methods courses like experimental methods, survey design, or dyadic analysis.”

• “could add a qual requirement or allow students to choose their own methods portfolio without requiring stats”

• Are there ways to help students learn more about applying for grants? That seems to be necessary for many faculty now.

• I think we need to ease our requirements on topic-related courses and ask students to take more methods/analysis courses. Alternatively, we can provide more specialized workshops that address these specific concerns if the current methods courses cannot be modified.

• “Another possible option is to create a peer-led ‘methods clinic’ where senior grad students or postdocs host drop-in sessions for junior students to bring design/analysis problems for feedback.”

• “We will need to be creative in addressing our grads’ needs with fewer resources. Will also need more support for non-academic career paths.”

• “find some way to get the grad students to avoid stereotypical projections on to faculty about power, openness, etc. Faculty were all grad students too.”

VII. Comparison to Peer Programs

UCSB Comparisons

• Communication Phd has 19 required courses (76 units), excludes 500/505/596 or prep units

• Psych & Brain Science Phd has 11-12 required courses (44-48 units)

• Political Science Phd has 17 required courses (68 units)

• Sociology Phd has 5 required courses (20 units)

Comparison w/ Peer Programs at Outside UCSB

Program	Required Courses	Theory	Methods	Stats	Electives	Intro Seminar?	Link
UCSB (MA only)	8	2 course	2 courses	1 course, in dept	3 Electives		Link
UCSB (Phd only)	11	1 course	3 courses	1 course, in dept	6 Electives
UCSB Total	19
UC Davis (MA & Phd)	14	2 courses	2 courses	3 courses, out of dept	5 Electives		Link
Michigan State (MA only)	10	1 course	2 courses	None Required	5 Electives		Link
Michigan State (Phd only)	9	2 courses	2 courses	None Required	6 Electives		Link
Michigan State Total	19
Univeristy of Michigan (MA & Phd)	15	2 courses	4 courses	None Required	7 Electives		Link
UT Austin (MA Only)	9	None Required	None Required	None Required	7 Electives	x	Link
UT Austin (Phd Only)	15	None Required	None Required	None Required	15 Electives	x
UT Austin Total	24
Illinois (MA & Phd)	10		Minimum of two courses of students choice	None Required	10 Electives		Link
Northwestern - Media Tech & Society (MA & Phd)	13				7 Electives	x	Link
Rutgers (MA & Phd)	12	1 course	3 courses	Competency Encouraged	5 Electives		Link
Univ. Wisconsin (MA & Phd)	19-21	None Required	None Required	None Required	All Electives		Link
Ohio State (MA & Phd)	23	3 Courses	2 Courses	2 Courses	16 Electives		Link
Penn State (MA)	9	None Required	1 course	None Required	8 Electives		Link
Penn State (Phd)	12	None Required	1 course	None Required	11 Electives
Penn State Total	21

Note: Data compiled from publicly available program information

VIII. Enrollment

AY2015-2025

• 12-13 courses were offered per year

• Core courses (all offered every year): COMM 204A, COMM 204B, COMM 204C, & COMM 200

• Survey courses (2 offered each year): COMM 213, COMM 222, COMM 207

10 Year Summary

Topical Course Offerings by Area Over Time

Enrollment by Course Category

Courses with an average enrollment < 7 in RED

Core Courses

Area	Course	Title	Average Enrollment
Common	COMM 204B	Introduction to Applied Statistics	6.3
Common	COMM 204A	Research Methods in Communication	7
Common	COMM 204C	Advanced Topics in Research Methods and Statistical Analysis	7.1
Common	COMM 200	Communication Theory Construction	8.1

Methods Courses

Area	Course	Title	Average Enrollment
Common	COMM 594CE	Community-Engaged Communication Research	7
Common	COMM 280	Qualitative Methods in Communication	8.3
Common	COMM 204M	Mixed Methods in Communication Research	9
Common	COMM 212	Content Analysis	9.7
Common	COMM 594CT	Computational Textual Analysis for Communication Research	11

Survey Courses

Area	Course	Title	Average Enrollment
Org/Group	COMM 222	Organizational Communication	6.8
Digital/Media	COMM 213	Mass Media, the Individual, and Society	10.6
Interpersonal/Intergroup	COMM 207	Interpersonal	11

Topic Courses

Area	Course	Title	Average Enrollment
Interpersonal/Intergroup	COMM 211	Nonverbal Comm	4
NA	COMM 594QM	Unknown	4
Org/Group	COMM 206	Group Comm	5
Org/Group	COMM 594TO	Collaborative Technology and Organizing	5
Org/Group	COMM 253	Corporate Social Responsibility: A Communication Perspective	5.3
Digital/Media	COMM 234	Cognition and Mass Communication	6
Digital/Media	COMM 594DD	Digital Divide	6
Org/Group	COMM 594GC	Global Comm	6
Digital/Media	COMM 594MS	Media & Stereotyping	7
Org/Group	COMM 236	Membership: Organization and Group Socialization and Identification	7
Interpersonal/Intergroup	COMM 224	Family Communication	7.2
Digital/Media	COMM 594EM	Emotion and Media Effects	7.5
Digital/Media	COMM 594MD	Media Representation of Diversity	8
Interpersonal/Intergroup	COMM 229	Intergenerational Communication and Aging	8
Interpersonal/Intergroup	COMM 594SC	Risk Comm	8
Digital/Media	COMM 214	Social Media	8.2
Digital/Media	COMM 217	Theories of Persuasion	8.2
Digital/Media	COMM 594CM	Computer Mediated Communication	8.8
Interpersonal/Intergroup	COMM 205	Evolution and Human Communication	9
Interpersonal/Intergroup	COMM 255	Survey of Health Communication	9
Interpersonal/Intergroup	COMM 594RC	Risk Comm	10
Interpersonal/Intergroup	COMM 251	Relational Communication	11

Courses Offered by Year

2014/15

Course	Title	Type
COMM 200	Communication Theory Construction	Core
COMM 204A	Research Methods in Communication	Core
COMM 204B	Introduction to Applied Statistics	Core
COMM 204C	Advanced Topics in Research Methods and Statistical Analysis	Core
COMM 280	Qualitative Methods in Communication	Methods
COMM 213	Mass Media, the Individual, and Society	Survey
COMM 211	Nonverbal Comm	Topic
COMM 214	Social Media	Topic

2015/16

Course	Title	Type
COMM 200	Communication Theory Construction	Core
COMM 204A	Research Methods in Communication	Core
COMM 204B	Introduction to Applied Statistics	Core
COMM 204C	Advanced Topics in Research Methods and Statistical Analysis	Core
COMM 204M	Mixed Methods in Communication Research	Methods
COMM 207	Interpersonal	Survey
COMM 217	Theories of Persuasion	Topic
COMM 234	Cognition and Mass Communication	Topic
COMM 594GC	Global Comm	Topic

2016/17

Course	Title	Type
COMM 200	Communication Theory Construction	Core
COMM 204A	Research Methods in Communication	Core
COMM 204B	Introduction to Applied Statistics	Core
COMM 204C	Advanced Topics in Research Methods and Statistical Analysis	Core
COMM 213	Mass Media, the Individual, and Society	Survey
COMM 222	Organizational Communication	Survey
COMM 214	Social Media	Topic
COMM 224	Family Communication	Topic
COMM 229	Intergenerational Communication and Aging	Topic
COMM 594MS	Media & Stereotyping	Topic
COMM 594QM	Unknown	Topic
COMM 594SC	Risk Comm	Topic

2017/18

Course	Title	Type
COMM 200	Communication Theory Construction	Core
COMM 204A	Research Methods in Communication	Core
COMM 204B	Introduction to Applied Statistics	Core
COMM 204C	Advanced Topics in Research Methods and Statistical Analysis	Core
COMM 204M	Mixed Methods in Communication Research	Methods
COMM 207	Interpersonal	Survey
COMM 205	Evolution and Human Communication	Topic
COMM 217	Theories of Persuasion	Topic
COMM 253	Corporate Social Responsibility: A Communication Perspective	Topic
COMM 594CM	Computer Mediated Communication	Topic

2018/19

Course	Title	Type
COMM 200	Communication Theory Construction	Core
COMM 204A	Research Methods in Communication	Core
COMM 204B	Introduction to Applied Statistics	Core
COMM 204C	Advanced Topics in Research Methods and Statistical Analysis	Core
COMM 212	Content Analysis	Methods
COMM 280	Qualitative Methods in Communication	Methods
COMM 594CE	Community-Engaged Communication Research	Methods
COMM 213	Mass Media, the Individual, and Society	Survey
COMM 222	Organizational Communication	Survey
COMM 224	Family Communication	Topic
COMM 594EM	Emotion and Media Effects	Topic

2019/20

Course	Title	Type
COMM 200	Communication Theory Construction	Core
COMM 204A	Research Methods in Communication	Core
COMM 204B	Introduction to Applied Statistics	Core
COMM 204C	Advanced Topics in Research Methods and Statistical Analysis	Core
COMM 204M	Mixed Methods in Communication Research	Methods
COMM 207	Interpersonal	Survey
COMM 211	Nonverbal Comm	Topic
COMM 214	Social Media	Topic
COMM 234	Cognition and Mass Communication	Topic
COMM 253	Corporate Social Responsibility: A Communication Perspective	Topic
COMM 594MS	Media & Stereotyping	Topic

2020/21

Course	Title	Type
COMM 200	Communication Theory Construction	Core
COMM 204A	Research Methods in Communication	Core
COMM 204B	Introduction to Applied Statistics	Core
COMM 204C	Advanced Topics in Research Methods and Statistical Analysis	Core
COMM 213	Mass Media, the Individual, and Society	Survey
COMM 222	Organizational Communication	Survey
COMM 251	Relational Communication	Topic
COMM 255	Survey of Health Communication	Topic
COMM 594CM	Computer Mediated Communication	Topic

2021/22

Course	Title	Type
COMM 200	Communication Theory Construction	Core
COMM 204A	Research Methods in Communication	Core
COMM 204B	Introduction to Applied Statistics	Core
COMM 204C	Advanced Topics in Research Methods and Statistical Analysis	Core
COMM 204M	Mixed Methods in Communication Research	Methods
COMM 212	Content Analysis	Methods
COMM 207	Interpersonal	Survey
COMM 213	Mass Media, the Individual, and Society	Survey
COMM 217	Theories of Persuasion	Topic
COMM 224	Family Communication	Topic
COMM 594CM	Computer Mediated Communication	Topic
COMM 594MD	Media Representation of Diversity	Topic

2022/23

Course	Title	Type
COMM 200	Communication Theory Construction	Core
COMM 204A	Research Methods in Communication	Core
COMM 204B	Introduction to Applied Statistics	Core
COMM 204C	Advanced Topics in Research Methods and Statistical Analysis	Core
COMM 280	Qualitative Methods in Communication	Methods
COMM 594CE	Community-Engaged Communication Research	Methods
COMM 213	Mass Media, the Individual, and Society	Survey
COMM 222	Organizational Communication	Survey
COMM 206	Group Comm	Topic
COMM 255	Survey of Health Communication	Topic
COMM 594DD	Digital Divide	Topic
COMM 594TO	Collaborative Technology and Organizing	Topic

2023/24

Course	Title	Type
COMM 200	Communication Theory Construction	Core
COMM 204A	Research Methods in Communication	Core
COMM 204B	Introduction to Applied Statistics	Core
COMM 204C	Advanced Topics in Research Methods and Statistical Analysis	Core
COMM 204M	Mixed Methods in Communication Research	Methods
COMM 207	Interpersonal	Survey
COMM 213	Mass Media, the Individual, and Society	Survey
COMM 214	Social Media	Topic
COMM 217	Theories of Persuasion	Topic
COMM 224	Family Communication	Topic
COMM 236	Membership: Organization and Group Socialization and Identification	Topic
COMM 253	Corporate Social Responsibility: A Communication Perspective	Topic
COMM 594RC	Risk Comm	Topic

2024/25

Course	Title	Type
COMM 200	Communication Theory Construction	Core
COMM 204A	Research Methods in Communication	Core
COMM 204B	Introduction to Applied Statistics	Core
COMM 204C	Advanced Topics in Research Methods and Statistical Analysis	Core
COMM 212	Content Analysis	Methods
COMM 594CT	Computational Textual Analysis for Communication Research	Methods
COMM 207	Interpersonal	Survey
COMM 222	Organizational Communication	Survey
COMM 211	Nonverbal Comm	Topic
COMM 255	Survey of Health Communication	Topic
COMM 594CM	Computer Mediated Communication	Topic
COMM 594EM	Emotion and Media Effects	Topic
COMM 594MD	Media Representation of Diversity	Topic