Communication Culture and Multimedia

Aim

The aim of the programme is to make advanced, comparative and innovative communication research possible, as well as to develop students' skills to critically evaluate meso- and macro-level communication processes and make recommendations to policy makers and implementers.

Objectives

• To provide doctoral students with the opportunity to learn the diverse paradigms of the communication theory and enhance their competences in their application in the collection, processing, interpretation and presentation of empirical data.
• To provide doctoral students with the opportunity to acquire competence to transfer theoretical knowledge to the practical organisation of communication processes at meso and macro levels.
• To promote the possibility for doctoral students to acquire competence to integrate local theoretical and practical research in the field of communication into the international context.

Syllabus

Compulsory research component

• Independent original research, participation in conferences, preparation and publication of publications, participation in scientific projects;
• Publication in an internationally peer-reviewed scientific journal, or acceptance for publication in a journal listed in such databases as Scopus, Web of Science, ERIH PLUS;
• Publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal in Latvia, or confirmation of acceptance for publication in journals included in such databases as Scopus, Web of Science, ERIH PLUS;
• Publication of the full text of the proceedings of an international conference or congress (at least three pages);
• Oral report or presentation on the topic of the thesis at an international congress or conference;
• Oral report or presentation on the topic of the thesis at a local congress or conference;
• Abstract for an international congress, conference or seminar;
• Abstract at a local congress or seminar;
• Scientific monograph (sole author);
• A section in a scientific monograph;
• Research work abroad.

By the end of your studies, you must have at least two citable publications in internationally reviewed scientific journals, or one citable publication in an internationally reviewed scientific journal (Scopus, Web of Science, ERIH PLUS), or one monograph.

Compulsory education component

• Philosophy of Science, Research Principles, Methods, Methodology and Practice in Social Sciences from an Interdisciplinary Research Perspective
• Learning and Teaching in Higher Education and Science
• Scientific Writing and Scientific Communication
• Doctoral Examination in a Foreign Language
• Doctoral Examination in the Field and Sub-Field of Science
• Independent Teaching Activity
• Independent Scientific Research Work
• Development of Doctoral Thesis
• Participation in Research Projects

Restricted elective component (courses to be chosen in the amount of 6 – 8 CP)*

* Courses from the restricted component may be replaced by free elective courses up to a maximum of 2 CP

• Conceptual Approaches to Innovative Healthcare Organisation
• Civil Defence and Environmental Protection
• Mathematical Statistical Methods in Social Sciences
• English in Social Sciences: Drafting a Scientific Manuscript
• Topical Issues in Communication Theory and Research Methodology

Elective component (courses to be chosen in the amount of 0 – 2 CP)

The free elective component (C) offers elective courses corresponding to level 8 of doctoral studies.

Documents

Allocation of credit points

Admissions regulations for the 2023/2024 academic year

Testimonials

The Communication Culture and Multimedia doctoral study programme is four years old. The first three doctoral students have completed their three-year study process and will soon submit their doctoral theses for defence. These research papers successfully demonstrate the specialisation of our programme – to apply qualitative and quantitative methods to the analysis of communication practices. Quantitative methods have not been popular among Latvian communication researchers, and they are also ignored by communication and media policy makers. RSU is trying to compensate for this by offering students specialised courses, access to databases, and individual tutorials on the statistical processing of empirical data. RSU has special grants for doctoral students, and opportunities for participating in research projects, which provide a resource for collecting new data. The course Vertically Integrated Projects makes it possible for doctoral students to cooperate in data collection with undergraduate and postgraduate students. This provides doctoral students with a broader empirical database (interviews, surveys, text analysis) as well as the necessary teaching practice. We now have data from representative polls on media use and communication practices of 2016-2020, students are gradually expanding the content analysis database of regional newspapers (here, we should especially mention a digital database of comments on the sessions from the 5th-12th Saeima and online news portals, which we have developed with the help of researchers from the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the University of Latvia). An analysis of discourse reveals how differently speakers use concepts, taking for granted their meaning.
Another promising research direction is the institutional structure of state and local government communication practices and the discourse analysis of policy planning documents. Researchers find that many problems are already programmed into binding documents, when formulating job duties and responsibilities, causes and consequences of actions, objectives to be achieved and specific actions, for example. This is one of the approaches to health communication research in Latvia.
The design of doctoral programmes in social sciences at RSU promotes a multidisciplinary approach to the development of doctoral theses. We have strengthened cooperation practice with scientists in the fields of psychology, economics, sociology, and social anthropology through the joint implementation of already three major research projects and the publication of collective monographs. The possibility of choosing two doctoral thesis supervisors, as well as advisors in other fields of science removes bureaucratic barriers to interdisciplinarity.
Of course, this is not all that can be studied in the field of communication. We are open to the research and interests of doctoral candidates. Research interests and areas of competence of social sciences lecturers and visiting lecturers provide a wide range of opportunities for doctoral theses’ topics.

Prof. Sergejs Kruks, lecturer

In the rapidly evolving field of communication, it is crucial to develop the ability to be the first to see what others have not yet noticed, or to look from a different angle at supposedly known processes or challenges, and to offer creative solutions.
Doctoral studies could metaphorically be compared to the vision correction process – academic knowledge and research-based information enable us to look at problems from a new angle, see them in more a detailed, accurate and versatile way. The Communication Culture and Multimedia doctoral programme offers an interdisciplinary approach to studies, providing an opportunity to look at issues from the perspective of law, economics, linguistics, semiotics or sociology.
I have said this before, but as a lecturer and a doctoral student at Rīga Stradiņš University, I believe that RSU is characterised by academic rebelliousness. By this I mean that researcher's have inquisitive minds, there is a dynamic research environment, and there are benevolent and supportive professors, and a critically analytical openness to new ideas. In practical terms, this manifests in the possibility to cooperate and consult with other academics, the possibility to involve a second research paper supervisor or advisor in a doctoral thesis.

Ruta Siliņa, lecturer