Vytautas Magnus University - PhD Programmes
PhD studies in Communication and Information
Kaunas, Lithuania
PhD
DURATION
6 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
The Doctoral Program in Communication and Information Studies organized at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) in Kaunas (Lithuania) aims to address the pressing issues in the contemporary and dynamically evolving field of media and communications, which is shaped by politico-economic, socio-cultural, and technologic factors, and explores media-infused societal transformations and communicative impact on individual, groups, and social dimensions.
Research themes within the Program are characterized by key defining concepts, such as relevance, openness, data-rich and knowledge-informed analysis. Ethics, collaboration, multidisciplinary approaches, and societal impact are defining features of the knowledge creation process.
The Doctoral Program comprises 30 ECTS credits and includes at least 4 courses during the first 2 years of studies. It is designed to include program courses and individual study and research activities, among which are participation in research projects and academic tasks, consultations, and seminar-type work, joining professional associations and taking part in internships.
Based on artes liberales model, Vytautas Magnus University provides favorable educational environment for doctoral students to cultivate their theoretical and methodological expertise in media and communication, to conduct independent research, to participate in national and international research networks, as well as to engage into teaching and training activities.
Entry requirements and call for applications are announced in April-May each year, whereas admissions committee convenes in late June.
General Compulsory Courses (2 courses)
- Fundamentals of research methodology (for doctoral students in social sciences) (9 ECTS)
- Academic communication (6 ECTS)
Special compulsory courses (at least 1 to select)
- Advanced communication research methodology and latest analytical trends (9 ECTS)
- Communication philosophy and theory (9 ECTS)
- Transformations of the contemporary communication ecosystem (9 ECTS)
- Interpretive methods in modern media analysis (9 ECTS)
Special elective courses (at least 1 to select)
- Interdisciplinary innovations in digital communication and co-creation (6 ECTS)
- Convergence in media and communication technologies (6 ECTS)
- Trends in mediatization of new information and communication technologies and their analysis (6 ECTS)
- Latest communication trends in creative economy (6 ECTS)
- Politics, regulation and governance of contemporary communication (6 ECTS)
- Political processes and communication in the post-truth era (6 ECTS)
- Platformization/algorithmization and data studies (6 ECTS)
- Professional journalism issues and perspectives in contemporary democracy (6 ECTS)
Upon the completion of the Doctoral Program, graduates will possess the following abilities and academic capacities:
- Advance academic leadership by promoting innovations in research and analysis of media and communications on national and international levels.
- Design, methodologically develop, and test innovative conceptual approaches focused on solving of a wide spectrum of societal questions, risks, and harms.
- Expand multidisciplinary and collaborative forms of stakeholder partnerships building, research, analysis, and knowledge-informed media policy formation.
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