PhD

Our top rated Media and Information Studies Ph.D. Program prepares students to become active scholars, teachers and leaders in the fields of media and information.  This program can be tailored to meet your research interests.

Graduating M.I.S. Ph.D. student June Sung receives her diploma

Many of our faculty and graduate students conduct research in the area of games and meaningful play. (See the GEL Lab link on this site.) Expertise and courses abound  in related domains, such as social media, health communication, information and communication technology for development, and new media uses and effects.

Doctoral students are welcome to enroll in the graduate certificate in serious games.  The certificate includes two required MA level courses – Foundations of Serious Games and Theories of Games and Interaction for Design – which are particularly useful for future game scholars.  These courses teach future researchers about the components and inner workings of games as well as a plethora of theories related to how and why games may impact players. Students can choose to take the third course in the sequence (Understanding Users) or substitute any other research methods course to earn the certificate.

Be sure to visit the  M.I.S. Ph.D. program web page as well as the Games and Meaningful Play section.

The M.I.S. Ph.D. program is interdepartmental, offered jointly by the Department of Advertising, the School of Journalism, and the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media  in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at MSU.