<p>How do you find out the reputation of schools for Comm PhDs - are they ranked anywhere? Is more attention paid to the quality of the dept or the name of the school? Thanks!</p>
<p>I just finished the Communication PhD admission process. It is one of the tougher disciplines for which to get a feel about general program quality and reputation, and the best way to do so is really by speaking with your undergraduate and MA program mentors and by contacting faculty at a wide range of schools.</p>
<p>The top handful of programs are widely known--Northwestern, Penn, Stanford, Syracuse, USC, NYU. Other top programs include Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Michigan State (the Big Ten happens to be particularly strong in Communication for some reason). It really depends on the particular area of communication in which your interests lie. For example, somebody who wants to study rhetoric would look at a different set of schools than somebody who is interested in media or journalism. </p>
<p>Take a look at the National Communication Association (<a href="http://www.natcom.org)%5B/url%5D">www.natcom.org)</a>. There are rankings, but they're not particularly comprehensive, and there are several departments that tend to fly under the radar a bit but are nonetheless of extremely high quality in terms of faculty resources and NEH funding.</p>
<p>Let me know if you have any questions, and best of luck.</p>
<p>the most important thing in phd programs is FIT of the program and the faculty.
if you are concerned with numbers, pick up a copy of the USNews rankings.</p>
<p>I don't believe that US News has Communication rankings. I might be wrong.</p>