Research Profile of the Department of Journalism and Communication (DJC)

The DJC runs a robust and dynamic graduate program offering a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Communication as well as a Master of Journalism and Communication (in academic year 2022/2023 to be split into a Master of Arts in Strategic Communication; and a Master of Arts in Journalism and Multimedia Studies).

Over the years, the DJC built a sufficient pool of competent supervisors/advisors in almost every specialization within the broad field of journalism and communication. We have specialists in print journalism, broadcast journalism, online journalism, public relations and strategic communication, development communication, media theory, media law and media ethics. Our research lies within almost every philosophical tradition in the humanities and social sciences; and we valorise all methodological approaches (qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods). Naturally, most lecturers in the DJC have researched and published in more than one strand of the field. There is, therefore, hardly any area in journalism and communication in which we do not have competent supervisory capacity.

The key strands of our research and publishing include: New Media Technologies particularly Social Media; Communication for Development (C4D) and/or Science Journalism and Communication encompassing mainly: Health Communication, Climate Change, Environmental Journalism and Communication. Other strands include: Media and Information Literacy; Community Media; Media Law, Policy and Regulation; Media Rights and Freedoms [e.g. Safety and Security of Journalists]; Media, Democracy and Politics; Media Ethics; Media, Peace and Conflict; Media History and Culture; Media and Gender.

Important to note is that the DJC has over the years nurtured several partnerships that provide to our graduate students sandwich opportunities. Our partner institutions include Örebro University in Sweden as well as University of Oslo and Oslo Metropolitan University in Norway. In the United States of America, we have nurtured partnerships with North Carolina State University, University of Minnesota, Michigan State University and others continue to come on board.

On the African continent, the DJC maintains robust partnerships with institutions in South Africa where several lecturers have done their doctoral degrees such as University of KwaZulu-Natal; University of Johannesburg; Stellenbosch University; and Rhodes University. We also maintain a working relationship with the University of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia; University of Rwanda; University of Dar es Salaam and St. Augustine University in Tanzania; University of Ghana at Lagon; Nasarawa State University in Nigeria; Moi University and Daystar University in Kenya; University of Nairobi and many more that join our pool of partnerships every year. Such institutions provide support in co-supervising as well as the timely external examination of our graduate students.

If you wish to do a PhD at the Department, please critically study our research interests and competencies in comparison with your own to determine whether or not there is any available staff member(s) who can supervise your work. It is important that you complete your application to our graduate programs (particularly the PhD) after reading through the research profiles of our lecturers. Aligning your research interests with those of the Department’s staff means you will easily get a supervisor. In the table below, you find the list of graduate supervisors in the Department and the areas in which they have researched and published: