Doctor of Communication

The Doctor of Communication (DComm) Program is designed to strengthen the capability of practitioners

by bringing the academic rigors of research, intellectual growth, and professional skills into the profession

of communication as it is practiced in industry and academe in particular, and in society in general.

Academic Program Requirements

The course requirements of the DComm Program consist of formal theory courses, an online colloquium in

communication research, and a doctoral dissertation.

Students shall be required to enroll in the following ten generic communication core courses, each one

(except the Doctoral Dissertation) with a credit of 3 units, and a three‐unit colloquium.

COURSES (33 units) 

Comm 310 Communication Theory and Practice  (3units)

Communication theories and practices; communication models; approaches to theorizing in

communication

Comm 320 Management of Communication Media Resources & Systems  (3 units)

Structure of communication systems; application of management theories and principles inthe

effective operations of communication systems and media resources

Comm 330 Communication Policy and Planning  (3 units)

Current approaches to communication policy formulation and planning at the organizational,

national, and global levels

Comm 340 Organizational Communication  (3 units)

Concepts, techniques, and contemporary thinking in organizing and managing organizational

communication systems

Comm 350 Information and Knowledge Management  (3 units)

Theoritical foundations, principles, and development applications of Information and

Knowledge Management design, organization, and management of information and knowledge

systems

Comm 360 Information & Communication Media Technologies (3 units)

Current and emerging information and communication technologies and their application to

the generation, processing, storage, and utilization of information and other social messages

Comm 370 Corporate Social Responsibility

Communication (3 units)

Philosophical, social, and moral foundations of the corporate social responsibility of human

organizations in a developing society

Comm 380 Advocacy and Social Mobilization  (3 units)

Contemporary principles in and approaches to advocacy and social mobilization in a changing

social environment

Comm 390 Communication Research Paradigms  (3 units)

Theoretical and conceptual foundations in communication research 

Comm 391 Communication Research Methodologies  (3 units)

 

  Qualitative and quantitative approaches in communication research

Comm 399 Online Colloquium in Communication  (3 units)

Student‐managed online colloquium focused on selected topics related to or tools useful in the

systematic study of communication phenomena and best practices in the profession.

Prerequisites: Comm 390 and Comm 391

Research  (3 units)

Comm 400 Doctoral Dissertation (12 units)

  Comprehensive and exhaustive, directed independents study consisting of in‐depth analysis of

communication phenomena, synthesis of the communication scientific literature, or in‐depth

analysis of practices in the field of communication. Prerequisites: Comm 390 and Comm 391

The colloquium (Comm 399), worth 3 units, requires that the student enrolled shall serve as

moderator and resource person in a two‐week, 24/7 online discussion where he/she shall present,

discuss, and defend his/her research in a selected area or topic. Sample topics include, but not

limited, to:

•  Packaging research and communication evaluation study proposals;

•  Research instrumentation;

•  Data collection and construction approaches;

•  Data analysis techniques;

•  Software (statistical packages) applications;

•  Data interpretation techniques;

•  Ethical issues in communication practice;

•  Analysis of communication programs in various agencies and institutions;

•  Curricular issues and concerns in the field of communication;

•  Impact of communication technologies on social institutions;

•  Challenges in communication special social problems, etc.

While Enrolled in the DComm Program, a student shall, at the same time, undertake research from which

he/she shall develop a technical article for publication in a refereed journal or a paper to be presented in a

communication conference.

The student shall also undertake a doctoral dissertation. This doctoral dissertation (Comm 400), worth 12

units, is a comprehensive, exhaustive, and scholarly report based on research that the student shall

conduct while enrolled in the DComm Program. The student’s dissertation is subject to oral defense by the

student before his/her Advisory Committee, meeting en banc, and which may also be attended (by

invitation) by other DComm students. The student who has defended his/her dissertation shall also either

present at a professional conference or publish in a refereed journal a technical paper based on said

dissertation.

The moment a student enrolls in Comm 400, he/she is required to complete the dissertation within six

semesters. If after six semesters the student has not completed the dissertation, he/she shall choose one

of two options: (a) gather new set of data on the same topic, or (b) change topic altogether

(For inquiries about your plan of study and academic advising please contact

fics@upou.edu.ph)