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PhD in Media and Communication at PAU
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Aims

SMC Doctorate in Media and Communication aims

  1. To support the National Universities Commission and its stated agenda of producing an adequate number of doctorate degree holders to staff the faculties of the growing number of licensed universities, many of which take off with mass communication and communication-related studies in the Social Sciences, Humanities, Arts, Management or Administration;
  2. To strengthen our institutional base as a School and University committed to providing a holistic, purpose-driven education that will cater to the developmental needs and aspirations of Nigeria and the African continent;
  3. To institute and nurture a robust culture of research consonant with the highest professional competence, ethical conduct and academic excellence in the disciplines of communication and media;
  4. To contribute more fully to the cultural and creative industries through the dialectical process of interfacing conceptual/theoretical knowledge with practical experience where academic and industry-focused approaches to learning converge.

Quality Assurance and International Partnerships for the Programme

To ensure the highest international quality standards, we are in partnership or partnership discussion with several institutions.

Internal Resources

Our decision to start the PhD in Media and Communication is founded on the availability of the requisite number and quality of scholars, professionals and modern facilities for the running of the programme. This includes professors, PhDs (with over 10 years post-doctoral experience and international exposure), an adequately stocked library (both physical and virtual), increasing research papers in reputable publications and conference hosting and participation in Nigeria, Africa, and worldwide.

To encourage a virile research culture, SMC is also home to very notable centres such as the Nollywood Studies Centre. We have hosted high level national and international conferences, workshops, colloquiums and forums. We are also accepted and recognised by international and national professional bodies as a centre of visible and verifiable excellence in media and communication studies and practice. Our various collaborations with and sponsorships by Samsung, the DFID, British Council, Coca-Cola, MTN, among others attest to this standing.

SMC has become the leading and most preferred training institution for post-graduate studies in media and communication within Nigeria, with internationally acclaimed programmes, quality, standards, processes, systems, faculty and curricula.

Faculty

Our greatest strength which that we bring to bear on the PhD programme in Media and Communication is the knowledge and skill-sets available in such areas as Digital and New Media, Creativity and Innovation, Leadership and Entrepreneurship, and of course, Ethics. In addition to the full time faculty of SMC, the PhD programme can count on visiting faculty members drawn from other leading universities in Nigeria, Africa and worldwide.

Programme Structure

The SMC Ph.D. in Media and Communication is a highly structured programme consisting (consecutively) of two semesters of course work, one half-semester, part of which is spent on an overseas study visit, one semester (minimum) of field work or experiment, and two semesters of thesis writing. Apply Now Download Brochure Download Ph.D. Transcript Request Form  PhD-IN MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION-REFEREE-REQUEST-FORM Form  All candidates are admitted directly to the Ph.D. course work. Progression in the programme depends on performance in the course work. For purposes of progression, the minimum pass mark for Ph.D. level courses is 50%. Accordingly, at the end of the first year, there will be three categories of students, viz:

  1. Those that score a CGPA of 3.5 and above (over 5 points): will proceed with their PhD. thesis proposals, provided that they have also passed all compulsory courses with a minimum mark of 50%, and satisfied all other requirements.
  1. Those that score a CGPA of 3.5 and above, but have failed to score 50% or above in any compulsory course. Such candidates will repeat such courses before proceeding to the next stage.
  1. Those that score less than 3.5 CGPA: Candidates in this group will be asked to withdraw from the programme. All other regulations affecting the programme remain in force.

PhD Application Requirements

  1.  MSc. Media and Communication of the School of Media and Communication or Mass Communication and related fields from other universities, with a minimum CGPA of 4 or above out of 5 or 3 and above out of 4.
  2. Other Masters degrees (such as MBA, M.Ed., or MSc) in communication-related arts/humanities, social or physical sciences with a GPA of 4 out of 5, 3 out of 4, 5 out of 7 or 60% overall graded point may be considered. Such candidates will be required to audit all relevant compulsory courses at the MSc level.
  3. MPhil with a 60% GPA (for those with an MPhil degree in a communication discipline from other institutions)
  4. A satisfactory research proposal
  5. Academic Transcript (to be submitted before the end of December 2022)
  6. 70% score in SMC proposal defense.
  7. 4000 – 5000-word proposal on a thesis topic. (The proposal must include: Research Objectives, Statement of the Problem, Justification of the Study, Review of Relevant Literature, Methodology, and Referencing should be in APA style).

Apply Now

Download Brochure

Download Ph.D. Transcript Request Form 

Download Ph.D. Referee Request Form

Application Period: 15 February 2022 – 6 August 2022

Start Date: 4 October 2022

Viva/Proposal Interview: August 2022

Ph.D Duration: 3 Years

Application fee: N50, 000 to be paid after filling the application form online at sims.pau.edu.ng

Lecture Structure/Days: Saturdays (9:00am – 6:00pm)

Admission from MPhil level courses

Students with MPhil degrees that have had no prior media and communication education will be required to take an additional 18 credit units of media and communication compulsory courses to broaden their understanding of the discipline of media and communication. The courses to be taken will be determined by the Faculty Board on the recommendation of the Ph.D. Director and the candidate’s Faculty Advisor.

  1. MPhil with a 60% GPA (for those with an MPhil degree in a communication discipline from other institutions)
  2. A satisfactory research proposal
  3. Academic Transcript (to be submitted before the end of December 2022)
  4. 70% score in SMC proposal defense.
  5. 4000 – 5000-word proposal on a thesis topic. (The proposal must include: Research Objectives, Statement of the Problem, Justification of the Study, Review of Relevant Literature, Methodology, and Referencing should be in APA style).

Apply Now

Download Brochure

Download Ph.D. Transcript Request Form 

Download Ph.D. Referee Request Form

Application Period: 15 February 2022 – 6 August 2022

Start Date: 4 October 2022

Viva/Proposal Interview: August 2022

Ph.D Duration: 3 Years

Application fee: N50, 000 to be paid after filling the application form online at sims.pau.edu.ng

Lecture Structure/Days: Saturday (9:00am – 6:00pm)

© SCHOOL OF MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION, PAN-ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY