Admission to the doctoral education program in Mass Communication is announced according to priority research topics

• Anti-Soviet propaganda in the Georgian emigrant press;
• Postmodernist discourse in modern Georgian journalism;
• Blogging formation and development specifics in Georgia;
• Propagation of national ideas in the Georgian press of 1918-1921 and 1921-1924;
• State social advertising and its institutional field;
• Artificial intelligence in media and mass communication;
• Coverage of the issues of cultural heritage of the occupied territories of Georgia in the conditions of information warfare (by specifying the empirical field and period).

Prerequisite for Admission:

• English language proficiency on B2 level;
• Previous work/publication in the relevant field and/or participation in scientific-research projects and events and/or at least 2 years of work experience in the relevant field;
• Submission of a research project / a successful interview with the committee.

Number of vacant places – 4;

Program tuition fees – 3000 GEL;

Those willing to enroll in 2024-2025 academic year can submit documents from September 2 to September 13 inclusive (Doctoral office, room N79a, from 12:00 to 17:00).

Enrollment Stages:

• Entrance exam for Doctoral Program in English language will be held on September 16;
• An interview with the committee in the specialty will be held on September 20.

The criteria for evaluating the contestants’ knowledge:

• Knowledge of the field of Mass Communication;
• Motivation to pursue studies at the doctoral program;
• Scientific/practical experience;
• Relevance and significance of the presented research topic;
• Scientific and practical value of the presented research topic;
• Methods through which the doctoral student will implement research and analysis;
• Justified preconceptions/expectations regarding the research topic;
• Innovative thinking;
• Presentation skills;
• Scientific publications;
• Participation in scientific conferences.

In order to be enrolled on the Doctoral Program, a contestant must submit an application to the Rector of the University and enclose the following documents:

• A Candidate’s autobiography (information about education and work experience), “CV”;
• Notarized copies of MA Degree and its supplement (The University is entitled to request from the applicant or enrolled Ph.D. student a recognition document of the Diploma in accordance with the legislation. If an applicant cannot present a recognition document within the reasonable deadline, it can serve as the basis for denying admission or annulling enrollment);
• A copy of ID/passport;
• A photo ¾, printed; In case of enrollment in the doctoral program, the doctoral candidate must submit a photo 3X4 (cm) in electronic form (on CD) when signing the study contract;
• A document verifying military draft registration (for male students);
• English proficiency certificate of B2 level (TOEFL, IELTS, FCE, CAE). An individual who has graduated from a BA or MA program where the language of instruction was English does not have to submit a language proficiency certificate. In case of no certificate, an applicant has to take an English exam at Caucasus International University Language Centre;
• A written explanation that an applicant is not enrolled in any doctoral degree program of other higher educational institution;
• A cover letter regarding the research topic;
• Two letters of reference from appropriate academic circles (In case of having work experience in the field of the program, one letter of recommendation from the relevant academic sphere should be provided, the other one from the employing company or organization).

Research topic project which includes:

• The vision of the doctoral candidate about the significance and novelty of the topic;
• The scientific and practical value of the topic considered;
• Methods through which research and analysis will be conducted;
• Reasonable anticipation / expectations.

(After enrollment, a contestant is allowed to change the subject matter of the project completely or partially, depending on a doctoral student’s interests).

In case of indicating scientific publications and the participation in conferences in the submitted documents, the applicant must submit copies of the above-mentioned materials.

PhD candidate, whose native tongue is not Georgian and who wants to study on Doctoral Program in Mass Communication offered in Georgian, must submit the Georgian language proficiency certificate (B2 level).

Prerequisites for admission to the interview:

• A contestant who fully submits the registration documents within the given deadlines defined for registration and meets the prerequisites for admission to the doctoral program, as well as successfully passes the English language exam (or has an internationally recognized certificate), will be admitted to the interview;
• The contestant goes for an interview at the admissions committee created by the recommendation of the head of the doctoral service and by the order of the rector of the university. The candidate’s data, cover letter, letters of recommendation and research topic project will be submitted to the committee by the doctoral program coordinator or the head of the doctoral program;
• The relevance and importance of the selected topic should be substantiated in the cover letter;
• The contestant will be considered enrolled in the doctoral program if s/he is supported by the majority of the members of the committee during the open voting. When enrolling in doctoral studies, the following are taken into account:
  • scientific publications;
  • participation in scientific conferences;
  • Other documents and materials related to educational/research activities (certificates, patents, etc.).

The applicant will be admitted to the doctoral program after the successful interview. Enrollment information will be available no later than September 25.

Autumn semester of 2024-2025 academic year for doctoral program students will commence on September 30, 2024.

Interview Topics for Doctoral Program in Mass Communication

1. Evolution of forms of communication - from word to virtual reality;
2. Concepts media, mass media, mass communication;
3. Communicative features of mass information channels;
4. The specificity of mass media as a social institution, the principles of reality reflection;
5. Early and modern models of the communicative process, theories of interaction between society and mass media;
6. The extent of the influence of mass communication, the influence of its effects on the user’s lifestyle;
7. Impact of rapid development of information technology on society;
8. Modern information society;
9. Development prospects of multimedia journalism;
10. Mass media as a communication system and social institution. Structure of mass media system;
11. Professional ethics as a mechanism of media social responsibility;
12. Mass media, society, government, basic normative theories, authoritarian theory; libertarian theory; theory of social responsibility;
13. Communicator as a subject of mass communication; Specificity of the communicator in electronic mass media;
14. Theories of Herbert Marshall McLuhan;
15. Message as content of mass communication; information and its structure; the principle of adequate reflection in the notification; discourse, text, message;
16. Globalization and mass communication processes. Modern trends in media development;
17. Mass communication means and globalization;
18. Mass communication processes in “information society”. Demassification of mass media and alternative means of information;
19. Internet as a mass communication system. The emergence of new media;
20. An analysis of reviews of the theories of Marshall McLuhan, Alvin Toffler, and Jürgen Habermas.

Literature:

1. M. DeFleur, E. Dennis. Understanding Mass Communication. Tbilisi, 2009
2. Group of authors – “Journalism” - Tbilisi, 2016
3. Revaz Surguladze, Eldar Iberi. Mass Communication Theory Issues. Tbilisi, 2003
4. Frank Webster. Tulheories of the Information Society, 2020

For more information, contact Doctoral Programs Coordinator, Rezi Berulava - 574192872