UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — More than three dozen doctoral candidates currently study and conduct research in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State, and their range of interests and perspectives spans almost every aspect of mass communications.
Still, they often find common ground in the Bellisario College’s classroom and the educational community.
With faculty experts as mentors and colleagues, along with opportunities to collaborate and teach, many students find a supportive environment to tailor their learning and make the most of facilities and resources that allow students to pursue their areas of interest.
Four current doctoral candidates, ranging from a first-year student to one primed to spend a fifth year at the University, said the opportunities and support they’ve found in the Bellisario College have been invaluable.
Cassandra Troy
Cassandra Troy is a fourth-year doctoral candidate from Virginia focusing on environmental communications. She earned her bachelor's degrees in communication arts and German from Virginia Commonwealth University. After graduation, she worked for a nonprofit and a university doing strategic communications work, while earning a master’s degree in communication from Purdue University.
Her dissertation investigates the role of solutions journalism in climate risk mitigation. Her broad research focus is environmental communication for prosocial and pro-environmental outcomes. She is particularly interested in environmental solutions and advocacy messaging.
Troy chose to pursue a doctorate in communications after working as a sustainability communications and engagement specialist at the University of Richmond. She developed a deep passion for environmental public relations and messaging.
Troy, who earned a National Science Foundation grant to support her dissertation, chose Penn State for Bellisario College’s fantastic reputation for rigorous communication research and the faculty working in environmental communications.
"The faculty I’ve worked with are extremely supportive and provide great mentorship,” she said.
After graduating, she will be going into a tenure-track position with the University of Illinois, where she will be conducting interdisciplinary research with colleagues around climate change and teaching courses like environmental journalism.
Sydney Forde
Sydney Forde is a fourth-year doctoral student from Alberta, Canada, focusing on the political and economic logics of the journalism industry. She earned her bachelor's degree in business communications from Brock University in Ontario, Canada, and completed her master’s degree in Canadian American studies at the University at Buffalo and Brock University.
Her dissertation compares the narratives and justifications of two journalism antitrust exemption acts in the United States to explore who those policies really benefit, and if they will really save the failing journalism industry.
Forde’s passion for studying structural motivations of media and media related policy developed after realizing both the immense impact mediated messages have on teaching us about the world, and how those messages are not naturally occurring.
“The media was feeding people’s anger and frustration,” Forde said. “It did not sit well with me.”
She highlighted the need to understand what economic incentives are driving the media and why people are advocating for certain policies related to media systems and telecommunications more broadly.
Forde selected Penn State for its strong history in political economic research. The program is well known for focusing on structural power dynamics and advocating for social democracy.
“I feel like the luckiest doctoral candidate in the world. It is a fantastic community of scholars, and everyone is so supportive,” she says.
In addition to numerous conference awards throughout her time in the Bellisario College, Forde recently received a national scholarship from Canada which will allow her to complete a fifth year at Penn State. Afterward, she hopes to pursue a career in academia that allows her to pursue further research endeavors.
Wilhelmina Antwi
Wilhelmina Antwi is a first-year doctoral student from the Republic of Ghana focusing on science communication and communication within STEM-based nonprofits.
Antwi, who worked as a content producer on the political and communications team at the British High Commission in Accra, Ghana, earned a bachelor's in communication studies from the Ghana Institute of Journalism and a master's degree in communication studies from Kansas State University. She emphasizes the need to look at scientific rhetoric and communication from a non-Western perspective.
Antwi decided to pursue a doctoral degree to be able to return to Ghana and teach journalism as a professor. She said she hopes to teach science communications and share her experience from the industry.
She resolved to present Western journalists' theories with new, more inclusive views that are applicable to diverse cultures. Antwi said she hopes to be able to share her working experiences and cultural knowledge to support journalism students in Ghana.
“Many of my peers did not get that same experience I did because they had to work, and I want to change that,” she said.
Antwi picked Penn State because it is one of the top graduate programs in mass communication and media studies with a science communication lab and robust faculty. She emphasized that the incredible staff and community in the Bellisario College have been indispensable in staying grounded while away from home.
“I’m so grateful for the community here and, I feel honored to be among so many great minds,” she said.
Erika Solis
Erika Solis is a fourth-year doctoral student from Elizabeth, New Jersey, focusing on regulation in the video game industry and children’s media. They earned their bachelor’s degree in advertising and master’s degree in strategic communication from Rowan University.
Their dissertation is on current statutes and determining how regulations impact large data organizations with a focus on children's media and privacy. They are a Google Public Policy Fellow working with the Washington, D.C.-based New American Foundation and its Open Technology Institute, with a focus on researching children’s privacy and age verification.
Solis chose Penn State due to its extensive resources, including lab spaces and excellent faculty. The University was highly recommended by one of their professors at Rowan University.
“I have friends doing all different types of research," they said. "It really allows you to dig into what you are interested in without overlapping topics with someone else.”
In the future, Solis hopes to pursue research with a Washington D.C. policy institute or a nonprofit organization that studies the impact of online regulations with big-data organizations.