PhD Rhetoric Scientific and Technical Communication

Working in collaboration with faculty mentors, other students, and material resources, such as the library and the internet, graduate students will become expert in a specialized field of knowledge, developing the scholarly and research skills needed to make a new and original contribution to research in rhetoric, composition, writing studies, literacy, or technical/scientific communication. Graduate students build their expertise and skills in the core areas of rhetoric, theory and history, writing studies and pedagogy, and technical communication and technology and culture. They also develop and refine knowledge and skills through departmental seminars and a supporting program of courses outside the department. The dissertation--an original, systematic, and significant program of research--will allow graduate students to join scholarly conversations and contribute to knowledge and theory within the field.