University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information faculty and students promote inquiry into the field of health communication. Our faculty members engage in a wide range of health communication research, including patient-provider and healthcare team communication, classroom- and community-based interventions, and health promotion/disease prevention campaigns. We host the biennial Kentucky Conference on Health Communication. Our Health Communication Research Collaborative provides faculty and graduate students research opportunities and formal support networks across the university for health communication scholarship, education, and service. During the last 15 years, the graduate faculty have obtained more than $30 million in federal grants in health communication, the doctoral program has been ranked 6th in the country in health communication (applied communication) by the National Communication Association, and the National Research Council’s 2010 report ranks our program as high as 7th among 83 communication doctoral programs in the nation.

Suggested Coursework

The information studies focus investigates how information is created, stored, used, and shared in a variety of contexts. From a combination of mentoring, coursework, and involvement in research projects with faculty, the student will develop a strong foundation, becoming versed in the scope, origins, methods, issues, and theoretical frameworks that define the uniquely interdisciplinary approach of information studies. Focus areas include data mining and analytics, health information, human information behavior, social and community informatics, and cybersecurity.

Instructional Communication centers on interactions in instructional contexts—whether it’s communication-related training for employees in an organization, communicating to the public during a crisis, instructing patients to engage in proper healthcare procedures, or teaching students in a traditional classroom environment.

Instructional communication scholars use a social scientific approach to understand how instructors can best communicate with their students; how students communicate with each other, with content, and with their instructors; and how instructional messages can be crafted to be most effective. Graduates with an instructional communication focus obtain careers in both academia and industry, where they help shape the communication of generations of learners and teachers.

Suggested Coursework

Students interested in Instructional Communication may also consider the Graduate Certificate in Instructional Communication.  For more information, please visit ci.uky.edu\sis\icr\graduate or contact the Program Director, Dr. Brandi Frisby at Brandi.Frisby@uky.edu or GradComm@uky.edu or (859) 218-3613.

Media and Mass Communication focuses on the study of mediated forms of communication including news media, advertising, enertainment media, and ineractive/socia media.  Scholars in this area explore how media functions in our culture and its impact on individuals and society as a whole using a variety of methodological approaches and theoretical frameworks drawn from both the social sciences and the humanities. 

Graduate students in this discipline may choose from a variety of focuses including media effects and the psychology of media, strategic communication and persuasion through the media, and the critical/cultural analysis of media texts, audiences and industries.  Graduates in this area are prepared for careers in academia, the media industry, marketing, audience research, and writing/media criticism.

The University of Kentucky Risk Sciences faculty engage in theoretically informed research to identify practical applications for risk communicators across all phases of crises and disasters. Utilizing state-of-the art technology, our research extends across multiple channels and modes of communication, providing insights on effective messaging for preparedness, response, and recovery. Our research extends into the classroom through the Graduate Certificate in Risk Sciences and into the community through consulting and outreach.

The University of Kentucky’s Risk and Disaster Communication Center, in the College of Communication and Information, brings together researchers across disciplines to provide broader, more systemic, and interdisciplinary approaches for understanding how to communicate about risk, disasters, and crises. Initiatives include advanced education in risk areas and contexts, organizational training and consulting, and community engagement and outreach.

Suggested Coursework

Students interested in Risk and Crisis Communication may also consider the Graduate Certificate in Risk Sciences. For more information, please visit comm.uky.edu/hcrc or contact the Program Director, Dr. Bobi Ivanov at bobi.ivanov@uky.edu or (859) 257-9467 or GradComm@uky.edu or (859) 218-3613.

Our Ph.D. and M.A. coursework prepares students for teaching, research, and practice in communication management, consulting, public relations, advertising, sales, human resources, operations management, conflict resolution, and crisis communication.

For graduate students in the College of Communication and Information, a national alumni and community advisory board is willing to help students procure internships and industry connections. Faculty members mentor students in research and instructional opportunities in students’ disciplinary areas of interest.

Students enrolled in the Ph.D. and M.A. Programs in Communication can take coursework to meet the following learning outcomes for the specialization:

• Students will be able to plan and implement multichannel strategic communication to internal and external stakeholders
• Students will demonstrate the ability to collect and analyze data from multiple sources to develop organizational and strategic plans.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to use appropriate technologies to communication with internal and external audiences.

Suggested Coursework

 For more information, please visit comm.uky.edu or contact the Program Director, Dr. Bobi Ivanov at bobi.ivanov@uky.edu or (859) 257-9467 or GradComm@uky.edu or (859) 218-3613.