For those of us who are masochistic enough to pursue a PhD knowing that it will actually decrease our earning potential, here’s the National Communication Association’s 2004 PhD program rankings.

Yep, I’ve decided to pursue a doctorate. I want three letters after my name instead of two. Plus my GRE scores are only good for two or three more years.

Actually, I’m just mesmerized by studying how we communicate and how the Internet continues to change the way that we communicate. As technology evolves, the need for research continues to grow. Professionals and academics need to work closer together to get information out. In other words, we need someone besides Pew researching this stuff.

Apparently, in PhD programs they pay you to research. They don’t pay you much, but you get to write jargon-filled tomes of important research that generally states the blaring obvious. You then get fellowships to travel all over the world and present your blood, sweat and tears to academics at various conferences, who may or may not reject your work for publication!

Who wouldn’t want that life? Plus, you get to teach! A classroom of malleable young minds for me to sway to conservatism!

Then there’s the concept of tenure. As much as I enjoy broadcasting my opinions to the known blogosphere, tenure is my best hope for a lifetime of employment.

After some preliminary research, here are my top choices:

1. Annenburg School for Communication at University of  Pennsylvania–the best political communication program in the country. Downside–only about 30 people are accepted each year, and it’s a five year program. Plus, I’d have to move to Philadelphia.

2. University of Maryland-College Park. Pros–ranked pretty high and located in the DC metro area. Downside–Grunig’s legacy. Can I handle 3 years of the Excellence Theory?

3. Manship School at LSU: Pros–it’s a respected program on culture and communication. Also have added benefit of entire family having attended LSU, and my life literally started there while McGuyver Dad was in vet school. Baton Rouge is a pleasant city, and I wouldn’t mind living there. Cons: Baton Rouge is actually farther away from Tennessee than the District. Baton Rouge also has issues since Katrina.

4. University of Tennessee: Pros-I know the program and the faculty. Knoxville is cheap, and I have roots there. Three more years of Volunteer Football! Cons: Been there. Done That. Got the sorority t-shirt.

5. UGA or Bama: Both good programs. Solid research institutions. Cons: It’s UGA or Bama. Ughh. Neither Athens nor Tuscaloosa seem very appealing.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 at 2:35 am and is filed under PR/Marketing, grad school. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.