This graduate area provides students with a theoretical and methodological foundation in the study of verbal and nonverbal communication in contexts related to interpersonal interaction (including socio-cognitive, relational, influence, and mediated contexts), intergroup communication (including social categorization based on race, language, gender, nationality, culture, etc.) and health settings (including doctor-patient, campaign, intervention, and mediated contexts). Our faculty are committed to maintaining high standards in both undergraduate and graduate instruction and our alliances with the Institute of Behavioral Research and the Center for Health and Risk Communication allow for a focused study of interpersonal communication and health communication processes that are directly relevant to a variety of real world contexts. Doris Acheme, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma. Intergroup and intercultural communication, language attitudes, racial identity processes, quantitative and qualitative methods. Analisa Arroyo, Ph.D., University of Arizona. Interpersonal, relational, and family communication, body image, mental health and well-being. Soroya J. McFarlane, Ph.D., University of Miami. Health communication, health disparities, culture, community-engaged research, mixed methods. Mackensie Minniear, Ph.D., University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Family communication, intergroup communication, race, ethnicity, critical views of family and interpersonal communication. Chelsea L. Ratcliff, Ph.D., University of Utah. Health communication, persuasion and social influence, message effects, communicating uncertain science to the public, ELSI, quantitative research methods. Sachiko Terui, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma. Global health communication, health literacy, health disparities, cross-cultural comparisons, health interventions, mixed research methods.
