RESEARCH STRENGTHS

The faculty members of the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies represent the full range of research specializations typical of the academic and professional fields we cover. However, like the faculties of many other universities, we have several areas of shared strength in which we take particular pride.

School of Journalism and
Mass Communications

We have identified three scholarly emphasis areas. They are:

• Public communication of science, technology, health and environment;
• Media and social values, including media and religion, media ethics, and media and civic engagement; and
• Media convergence and new media studies.

Researchers in SJMC also collaborate actively with researchers in other USC programs, including the Arnold School of Public Health, the School of the Environment, the Hazards Research Lab, and the Nanotechnology STS program.

School of Library and
Information Science

The primary research and scholarly activities of SLIS faculty revolve around the concepts of human information interaction, information ecology, literacy in its several contexts, and the library as a transforming institution.