Department of Communication

Communication studies is a social science shaped by a great variety of theories and methods. Our research at the Department focuses on mediated public communication. The primary educational goal of the Department is to provide our students with excellent scientific qualifications for as broad a range of professions in the field of communication as possible.

The Department of Communication investigates processes of public, (media-)transmitted communication and its infrastructural conditions. Our analyses focus on the changing media in modern societies as a result of new technologies and its impact on individuals and society. We study media structures from an internationally comparative perspective. We analyse media organizations and "media governance", the history of media and communication as well as the contents, use and impact of media and communication. A particular emphasis lies on the use and development of research methods for communication studies.

The Shanghai Ranking "Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2023" ranks the University of Vienna in the field of "Communication" at position 3. With this result the Department of Communication is the second European institution behind the Amsterdam School of Communication Research (University of Amsterdam), which is leading this ranking.

With its focus on research, the Department of Communication also contributes to major research areas of the Faculty of Social Sciences, such as "Gender and transformation", "Governance, democracy, solidarity", "Knowledge, materiality and public spaces", "Migration, citizenship and belonging", "Political competition and political communication", "Visual studies in the social sciences" as well as the research fields "Intercultural Communication" and "Communicator Research".