Research Opportunities

For additional information about research opportunities for undergraduates, see the Undergraduate Research Center—Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. Also see Lab Groups run by professors in the Department.

Directed research allows students to receive credit for engaging in a more directed and advanced research project under the supervision of participating faculty. Student Research Program (SRP) 99 courses are lower-division research courses (1-2 units with P/NP grading), departmental Comm 199 courses are upper-division research courses (usually up to 4 units with letter grading) and requires a contract course through MyUCLA. More information on directed research can be found at Undergraduate Research Center.

The Communication Departmental Honors Program offers a select group of highly motivated students the opportunity to conduct original research under the supervision of a faculty mentor, culminating in the preparation of a journal-length research article, the Honors Thesis. Graduating with Communication Research Honors demonstrates the student’s dedication to the scholarly pursuit of learning and provides an excellent preparation for graduate and professional level study.

Eligibility: Admission to the Communication Research Honors Program is limited to Communication majors who are seniors with a global GPA of at least 3.6 and who have taken Comm 150 (Methodologies in Communication Research). Students admitted to the program are required to enroll in the 198 Honors sequence (198A, B, and C) in the Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters of their senior year. Students may take Comm 150 concurrent with Comm 198A during Fall Quarter. During Fall Quarter, Honors students will develop a comprehensive research project under the direct supervision of a Communication faculty member, culminating with a written theses proposal. The proposed research is undertaken during Winter Quarter, and the final Honors Thesis is then completed and submitted at the end of Spring Quarter. The Communication Research Honors Program is separate and distinct from the Letters and science College Honors Program, and Communication majors who meet the eligibility requirements of both programs can graduate with both Communication Research Honors and College Honors. For more information, please contact Departmental Honors advisor Professor Steve Peterson at steve@ucla.edu.