Hire an LSC Ph.D.
Our graduate students are trained in all subfields of the communication discipline and have extensive research and teaching experience. Wisconsin’s Mass Communications degree program is routinely ranked among the very top programs in the country with respect to student training and placement.
As a result, our graduates have gone on to outstanding careers in academia, international public service, and the private sector. Again this year, we are proud to have outstanding students on the job market. Brief sketches of our candidates are available below, including contact information and additional web links for students who maintain their own page with more detailed information on their academic background.
If you have questions about graduate student placement or about our Ph.D. program in general, please contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Dietram A. Scheufele.
Students on the Job Market:
Ashley Anderson
Doctoral Candidate
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Office: 320 |
Ashley Anderson’s research focuses on the role of communication in public engagement in and public opinion of science and emerging technology. Her dissertation research investigates how online communication environments affect democratic discussion of scientific issues. She has published in International Journal of Public Opinion Research, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, Materials Today, Public Understanding of Science, and Science as Culture. Anderson has experience teaching writing-intensive courses on communication theory and speech composition and has helped coordinate an interdisciplinary graduate student course on the intersection of science and communication. Prior to graduate school, she worked as an associate editor of a national trade magazine.
Michael Cacciatore
Doctoral Candidate
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Office: 307 |
Michael Cacciatore is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research centers on the intersection of science, communication and politics with a specific focus on public attitudes and risk perceptions for emerging scientific issues. Michael’s work has been published in Public Understanding of Science, Nanotoxicology and New Media & Society.
Beth Ryan
Doctoral Candidate
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Email: elryan@wisc.edu |
Beth Ryan is a doctoral candidate whose research explores media, societal, and individual responses to risk. She recently completed a two-year public relations project that explored the use of social media in the promotion of environmental behaviors and community involvement for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Beth is currently a lecturer in technical communications in the Department of Engineering at UW-Madison. Her previous teaching experience includes the classes Contemporary Communication Technologies and Their Social Effects; Media, Politics, and Emerging Technologies; and Introduction to Communications.
Recent Ph.D.s
Kajsa Dalrymple, 2011
“Making Waves: Mass media, opinion leaders, and the campaign for environmental change”
First Job: The University of Iowa
Timothy K. F. Fung, 2010
“Value Framing, Cultural Cognitive Systems and Cultural Cognition: Exploring How Media Framing Effect Vary Across and Within Culture”
First Job: Hong Kong Baptist University
Andrew R. Binder, 2010
“Mass Media, the Negotiation Of Meaning, and Social Transformations of Risk: Public Opinion Dynamics Surrounding the Establishment of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility”
First Job: North Carolina State University
Amy B. Becker, 2010
“Fresh Politics: Comedy, Celebrity, and the Promise of New Political Outlooks”
First Job: Towson University
Tsung-Jen Shih, 2009
“Predicting Attitudes Toward Nanotechnology: The Influence of Cultural and Predispositional Values”
First Job: National Chengchi University
Sara Steffes Hansen, 2009
“Brands and Social Interaction of Avatars: An Exploration in a Virtual World”
First Job: University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Shirley Soo Yee Ho, 2008
“Value Predispositions, Communication, and Attitudes Toward Nanotechnology: The Interplay of Public and Experts”
First Job: Nanyang Technological University
Jerralyn Moudry, 2008
“Perceived Value Congruence and Family Communication Patterns As Predictors Of Parental Television Mediation”
First Job: Wisconsin Lutheran College
Roberto Garcia Rodriguez, 2008
“Centeotzintli: Sacred Maize a 7000 Year Ceremonial Discourse”
First Job: University of Arizona
Patrisia Gonzales, 2008
“Birth is A Ceremony: Story and Formulas of Thought In Indigenous Medicine and Indigenous Communications”
First Job: University of Arizona







