NCA's Doctoral Program Guide

The Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies integrates the mission of Duquesne University within its curriculum, recruitment, and program development, while simultaneously attending to disciplinary expectations for scholarly excellence. The department invites students into a learning environment attentive to narrative ground and the historical moment. The Ph.D. in Rhetoric program seeks to discern and offer answers to questions confronting the human condition from a humanities grounded rhetoric and philosophy of communication perspective. The department educates the next generation of communication professors whose primary mission is to educate undergraduate students.

Admission Requirements

• Online application form.
• Completion of a valid master's degree from an accredited institution, or its professional (J.D., M.D., etc.) equivalent.
• Demonstration of undergraduate and graduate study sufficient and appropriate to undertake doctoral study in the field of rhetoric and philosophy of communication.
• Submission of official transcripts, recording all baccalaureate and graduate work and substantiating receipt of degrees.
• Submission of Graduate Record Examination scores; Verbal and Writing scores are of greater concern than Quantitative scores.
• Submission of three letters of recommendation, at least two of which should be from academic sources.
• Completion of a statement describing why the Ph.D. Program in Rhetoric at Duquesne University is appropriate for your educational development as a teacher/scholar (not more than 500 words).
• Submission of a representative writing sample produced for an audience (a course paper or a published article).
• An official score report indicating satisfactory performance on TOEFL or IELTS, when appropriate.
• To be considered for financial assistance in the form of graduate assistantships, the deadline for completed applications is January 15th for fall admission. Application materials must be submitted to the Graduate Office via SLATE no later than August 1 for Fall admission and November 1 for Spring admission.

Graduate Faculty

• Professor Ronald C. Arnett, Ph.D., Ohio University
• Associate Professor Garnet C. Butchart, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts
• Assistant Professor Sarah M. Deluliis, Ph.D., Duquesne University
• Professor Janie Harden Fritz, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
• Associate Professor Erik Garrett, Ph.D., Purdue University
• Associate Professor Craig T. Maier, Ph.D., Duquesne University
• Professor Kathleen G. Roberts, Ph.D., Indiana University
• Associate Professor Richard H. Thames, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
• Assistant Professor Inci Ozum Ucok-Sayrak, Ph.D., University of Texas
• Assistant Professor Anthony M. Wachs, Ph.D., Duquesne University

NCA Awards Received by Faculty and Students, 2000-present

• Kibler Memorial Award, 2006
• Haiman Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Freedom of Expression, 2013