August 27, 2008

Communication programs rank in top 10

Com Vista, a guide to programs of study in communication-related departments, ranked communication programs in 99 areas based on faculty research productivity. This is determined by the number of publications by each department's current faculty members, said Howard Sypher, professor and head of the Department of Communication. The journals are indexed in the Com Abstract database.

Purdue's health communication is ranked No. 2, and interpersonal and organizational communication are ranked fourth. The health communication program, which was formed in 2002, looks at how interactions among patients, health-care providers and the medical industry influence the quality of health care. Interpersonal communication is the study of conversations and relationships, such as friendships, romance, families and work relationships. Organizational communication looks at communication behaviors in the workplace, political groups and other professional organizations.

In addition to these program rankings, the department also placed in the top 10 for specific areas of study that faculty and students can focus on. For example, Purdue placed second in the area of communication and emotion, and Purdue tied with University of Southern California for first place in the area of narrative.

The communication department was founded at Purdue in the fall of 1947 as the Department of Speech. It has 31 tenured or tenure-track faculty, as well as 100 graduate students and 775 undergraduate students.

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Howard Sypher, (765) 494-3300, hsypher@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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