One of six departments in the College of Communication and Fine Arts, the Department of Communication includes 20 full-time faculty members, approximately 50 graduate students (MA and PhD), and 300 undergraduate majors. At the BA level, we offer concentrations in communication studies (on campus and online) and film & video production (on campus only). We offer graduate degrees in film & video production (MA) and in communication (MA & PhD). Communication graduate students may choose an emphasis in rhetoric, health, or media, and we encourage students to bridge these areas as they design their own programs.

Latest News

Osborns Give Generous Gift to Department's Graduate Program

The Department of Communication is proud to announce a generous gift. Starting in 2014, the Department will honor the top incoming PhD student in its "Rhetoric, Politics, and Society" area with the Michael and Suzanne Osborn Fellowship for the Study of Rhetoric and Public Address. With decades of experience in pedagogy, research, and service to the field, the Osborns represent the finest that the study of rhetoric has to offer. In their honor, this fellowship supports budding scholars and teachers of rhetoric whose work draws from rhetoric's ancient and modern traditions, while opening up fresh lines of research that move the field forward.

The Osborns, who already support the graduate program through an endowment, are pillars not only in the history of rhetoric study at the University of Memphis (Michael Osborn served for nearly 30 years as a professor and from 1980 to 1986 as department chair) but in the broader field of Communication, where each has presided over national, regional, or statewide professional associations. The Osborns are authors of Public Speaking, now in its tenth edition, published by Pearson Education, Inc. The fellowship includes a tuition waiver, an enhanced graduate stipend, and funds for travel and research. Please email Graduate Studies Coordinator, Antonio de Velasco for further details.

U of M COMM Faculty Member Develops New Health Communication App

The Clinical Communication Collaborative has released an iOS app for healthcare clinicians and students. Built from the COMFORT communication curriculum, an acronym that stands for the seven basic principles of palliative care communication, Drs. Joy Goldsmith (University of Memphis), Elaine Wittenberg-Lyles (University of Kentucky), and Sandra Ragan (University of Oklahoma) have translated health communication theory and research into the first ever communication studies driven tool to assist clinicians with difficult conversations. Feel free to download the app as a discussion tool for coursework in health communication, end-of-life care, communication and technology and the like – or better yet, pass it on to a clinician who may be teaching clinical communication.

The Clinical Communication Collaborative (CCC) advances palliative care by fostering clinical communication practices for healthcare professionals, including nurses, physicians, social workers, chaplains, students, and other members of interprofessional healthcare teams.  

Presented by Indie Memphis and sponsored by The Department of Communication at The University of Memphis, the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers will present six independent feature and documentary films from September through April – each with the filmmaker in attendance for a post-screening conversation with the audience about the film and their work.

Communication Department and Nursing School Launch "Let's Talk Health" Radio Spots

Let's Talk Health is a production of the University of Memphis' Department of Communication and the Loewenberg School of Nursing (LSON) to empower you to communicate and make healthy choices. Produced at the WUMR studios on the campus of the University of Memphis, Let's Talk Health is hosted by Lisa Beasley, MSN, NP-C, RN, family nurse practitioner and clinical assistant professor in LSON, and Christine Platt, a health communication doctoral student in the department of communication. 

More News & Announcements