U of U Communication Department Ranked in Top 30 Internationally
In November 2024, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy’s Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), a global university ranking initiative based on academic analytics, found the Department of Communication to be the highest ranked program at the University of Utah. These rankings were based on factors such as number and impact of scientific publications, editorial positions on prominent journals, and prestigious awards.
"You can see the impact of our alumni every time you pick up a newspaper, turn on your TV, look at a billboard, or play a video game. Our work is everywhere you go."
The Department of Communication, which experienced 12% growth in entering class enrollment in 2024, was ranked in the top 20 domestically and top 30 globally. Communication has placed highly in the list since ARWU started ranking individual academic units in 2017.
“Our faculty, staff, and students have worked hard to elevate the department into a world class unit,” said Avery Holton, Department Chair. “Seeing that validated in the ShanghaiRankings is incredible.”
The global rankings track 55 academic disciplines across the Natural Sciences, Engineering, Life Sciences, Medical Sciences, and Social Sciences. This November, Communication was the highest ranked of the fourteen units at the University of Utah that made the top 100. “I am thrilled to see the Department of Communication being recognized internationally for its outstanding, socially impactful work,” says Wanda Pillow, Acting Dean of the College of Humanities. “I applaud the department’s leadership team as well as each member of our talented Communication faculty whose intellectual contributions, dedication to service, and excellence in their chosen disciplines have led to this acknowledgement on the global stage.”
A History of Excellence
The Department of Communication has a long history of excellence at the University of Utah. In 1892, Maud May Babcock was recruited from the faculty at Harvard University to establish a Department of Elocution at the University of Utah. Babcock became the first female faculty member at the university. Over the decades, the department name would shift from Elocution to Public Speaking in 1916 and eventually to Communication in 1972. Across that 132-year span, the department built a reputation for pioneering research that could rapidly evolve with changes in communication.
Clinical Associate Professor Marcie Young-Cancio and students listening to department alum Holly Rowe in the Edna Anderson Taylor Communication Institute. Rowe is a 3-time Emmy winner, ESPN reporter, and recipient of the 2023 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Award.
Communication faculty have shaped the field with their research and through leadership in prominent organizations. Professor Babcock not only founded the department in 1892, but she went on to become the first Utah faculty member to serve as President of the National Communication Association (NCA) in 1936. Other faculty members have gone on to serve as President since such as Joseph F. Smith (1945), Malcom Sillars (1980), and, most recently, Kent Ono (2020).
“We are proud of our department history and the amazing people who have been part of it,” noted Holton. “Our alumni have served as Governors and CEOs, newspaper editors and press secretaries, public relations directors and campaign specialists. You can see the impact of our alumni every time you pick up a newspaper, turn on your TV, look at a billboard, or play a video game. Our work is everywhere you go.”
Continued Growth and Evolution
The last two decades have been a time of accelerated growth for the Department of Communication with its research portfolio dramatically expanding. “Communication evolves rapidly,” said Robin Jensen, Associate Chair of the department. “As a faculty, we are constantly evolving our research programs, and classes, to shape the future. The Department of Communication has a history of always being on the move.”
Now the Department is proud to be a center for communication across disciplines including Science, Health, Environment, and Risk Communication (CommSHER) which works closely with the Huntsman Cancer Institute, journalism, rhetoric, critical/cultural studies, and a flourishing strategic communication program.
“Communication is an intellectually dynamic unit that engages the core issues facing society. The global ranking recognizes and rewards that impact,” said Jakob Jensen, Department of Communication professor and Associate Vice President for Research for the University of Utah.
An Exciting Future
Holton highlighted growth in areas such as artificial intelligence, computational science, and video games. These departmental foci intersect with larger trends at the university and in society. “We like to think of ourselves as the front door of the university. Communication is at the forefront of every issue, and we are one of the first departments that students encounter when they set foot on campus,” said Holton.
The Department of Communication looks forward to many more years of research expansion, serving students, and global recognition.