Annenberg School for Communication

Home to more than 20 full-time faculty members, 70 doctoral students, 20 postdoctoral fellows, 80 research and support staff, and 15 research centers and programs, the Annenberg School is the nation's premier doctoral program in Communication.

As the smallest of 12 schools at Penn, Annenberg is a close-knit and supportive environment for innovative scholarship. The school hosts various academic events every year, including the Elihu Katz Colloquium Series, the Annenberg and Gerbner Lectures, and numerous other lectures, master classes, workshops, conferences, and symposia.

In addition to bringing some of the world’s top scholars to Annenberg as visiting scholars and guest lecturers, the school provides generous funding to encourage our graduate students to present their research at national and international communication conferences and travel globally for their dissertation research, making the school a stepping off point to the world of global scholarship.

In 1958, publisher, diplomat, and philanthropist Walter Annenberg founded the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania with these words:

“Every human advancement or reversal can be understood through communication. The right to free communication carries with it responsibility to respect the dignity of others – and this must be recognized as irreversible. Educating students to effectively communicate this message and to be of service to all people is the enduring mission of this school.”

Over the ensuing years, the Annenberg School has remained true to the mission articulated by Ambassador Annenberg while responding to changes in the nature of communication as a social process and in Communication as a discipline and an interdisciplinary field of study. Today, we advance our mission through four central goals:

  • Producing and disseminating cutting-edge scholarly research designed to advance our theoretical and empirical understanding of the role of communication in public and private life.
  • Producing and disseminating high-quality applied research designed to advance the public’s understanding and effective use of communication and policy-makers' abilities to create a media environment that fosters the personal and collective development of its citizens.
  • Educating Ph.D. graduate students in the theories, substance, and communication research methods and placing them in leading academic and professional positions.
  • Providing a first-class liberal arts education to undergraduates, designed to help them become better consumers and producers of public information, strengthen their understanding of the role of communication in their personal, professional, and civic lives, and prepare them for private and public-sector leadership positions in communication-related and other fields.

The Annenberg School for Communication is a leading center for interdisciplinary research that is deeply rooted in communication studies and draws from diverse academic fields. Its research addresses critical issues in contemporary society, spanning a wide range of topics. Key research areas include:

  • Culture and Media
  • Global Communication
  • Health Communication
  • Media Institutions
  • Political Communication
  • Technology & Society

Research Methodologies and Resources:

The Annenberg School employs a variety of research methodologies, including qualitative and quantitative approaches, as well as innovative forms of scholarship like film and virtual reality. Faculty-led centers and groups foster research collaborations, organize scholarly events, and host visiting scholars. The Annenberg Library provides a rich collection of communication-related resources, including television scripts and historical materials.
 

Research Centers:

Annenberg houses various faculty-led centers and groups that play a crucial role in:

  • Fostering collaborative research.
  • Organizing scholarly events.
  • Hosting visiting scholars.

These centers provide platforms for in-depth exploration of specific communication-related issues, contributing significantly to the advancement of knowledge and understanding in the field of communication.