Our unique three-year Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) full-time low-residency program requires an average work commitment of 30 hours per week. Intensive dates and lengths will vary between 2 and 14 days. You will study wherever you live and work conducting independent research with the support of individual advisory teams and peer critique

The shifting technological and media landscape of our globalized world constantly offers up new objects and fresh questions for examination. At Michigan Technological University, we’re training a new breed of scholars who can work across disciplines to grapple with complex cultural realities. Heed the call.

Designed for both full- or part-time students, the program offers a mix of options that enables students to fully participate in the cohort model. The program is offered in a weekend-based format with class meetings six times a semester. This includes a hybrid delivery model that merges online and face-to-face sessions. The program offers both full- and part-time options. This mix provides the supportive environment of a cohort model for all students while allowing a wider range of interactions with other students in the program.

The freedom to research your passions. Whether you want to dive more deeply into a current interest or branch out into fresh fields of inquiry, we’ll prepare you for a successful career in academia. Our Ph.D. in media arts and sciences program is one of the top research programs in media and communication, with one of the most productive graduate student research records in the world.

Our doctoral program in mass communication, jointly administered with the Department of Life Sciences Communication, is internationally recognized for our faculty and areas of research. Applicants to the Joint Ph.D. in Mass Communications may apply to one or both departments, depending on your areas of research interest.

The Ph.D. program in Film and Digital Media challenges the traditionally conceived borders between creative and critical practice. The program enables potential dialogue between creative practice and theoretical knowledge as related forms of intellectual work.

The Ph.D. program in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication (A.T.E.C.) is designed for those who wish to engage in deep scholarship or to develop artistic, cultural, or commercial applications of digital technology and emerging media. With a diverse group of faculty and a curriculum that integrates scholarly study with creative practice, A.T.E.C. cultivates creative scholars, scholarly practitioners, and interdisciplinary researchers.