STRUCTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT
The affairs of the department are managed by Department Head John Caughlin and Associate Head Leanne Knobloch, in consultation with faculty and staff. Director of Graduate Studies Travis Dixon and Michelle Malloch in the graduate program office are responsible for managing the graduate program and overseeing graduate admissions. Questions about the graduate program not answered by this handbook should be directed to Dr. Dixon. The department also serves undergraduate students via its advising and internship offices. Large, introductory courses (e.g., CMN 101 and 111-112) are managed by faculty course directors who supervise the teaching of graduate students in those courses; smaller courses also have faculty supervisors. The Communication Graduate Student Association (GSA) organizes professional development and social events for graduate students and provides graduate student representatives to committees. Its officers are elected each year by the graduate students.
DEPARTMENTAL BUSINESS: HOW WE COMMUNICATE WITH YOU
Mailboxes are a chief means of communicating with graduate students and faculty. Graduate students should check their mailboxes in the Woolbert Lab (4057 Lincoln Hall) at least twice a week. Mailboxes are small so don't let them fill up too much.
Email is the other primary way we communicate with you. As a graduate student you will be automatically subscribed to the CMN-GRAD listserv (via your illinois.edu address). This listserv is for the distribution of information from the department. The graduate program office sends items of timely importance to the listserv. Read each message you get, save it if it applies to you, and make sure that your illinois.edu account doesn't become too full to receive email. If you aren't using illinois.edu as your primary email address, be sure to set it to forward directly to your preferred email. The Graduate Student Association (GSA) also maintains a separate listserv and shares information about upcoming events with students. Students are automatically subscribed to that listserv when they join the program.
An Instructor's Manual is distributed to all faculty and graduate students in the department at the beginning of each year. It contains information useful for those with teaching appointments and alerts teaching assistants to department policies about administering classes, making photocopies, filing grades, and the like.
COMPUTER AND MEDIA FACILITIES
The department's media services and facilities include a computer lab in Lincoln Hall as well as equipment you can reserve from the department. Check with office staff about how to access and use these facilities.
LIBRARY FACILITIES
The University of Illinois Library is one of the largest and most prestigious libraries in the United States. It is home to millions of volumes spread out across more than 40 departmental libraries. Although you have access to all departmental libraries as a student here, you will want to become especially familiar with the Communications Library in 122 Gregory Hall; it is our departmental library and the staff is trained to work with the needs of graduate students in Communication.
The University Library also maintains a resources page especially for graduate students, which contains information about using the library, organizing your research, writing your dissertation, and regular workshops offered by the library staff.