UW-Madison Department of Communication Arts

What UW-Madison Department of Communication Arts does

The UW-Madison Department of Communication Arts is an academic department within the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It offers an undergraduate major in Communication Science and Rhetoric, or Radio, Television, and Film, and graduate programs (MA and PhD) in four areas: Communication Science, Film, Media and Cultural Studies, and Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture. The department also supports Digital Studies and Digital Production certificate programs. Students are admitted through UW-Madison's central admissions pipeline.

The department operates specialized facilities including the Instructional Media Center, Hamel Digital Lab, television production studios (2nd floor), editing/post-production suites (3rd floor), Communication Science labs (4th floor), and the Center for Communication Research (6th floor) — all housed in Vilas Hall on the UW-Madison campus. Its most distinctive asset is the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR), one of the world's major archives for film and theater research materials, holding over 300 collections, 20,000 films and TV programs, 2 million still photographs, and several thousand sound recordings. WCFTR is physically housed in the Wisconsin Historical Society's Library-Archives Division and is a participating member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). UW Cinematheque serves as WCFTR's screening outreach arm.

As a public state university department, the unit is funded through UW-Madison state appropriations, federal research grants, and student tuition; no commercial revenue is generated. Recruitment occurs via UW-Madison's central admissions, departmental website (commarts.wisc.edu), the annual Fall Career & Internship Fair at The Kohl Center, and alumni engagement through the Communication Arts Partners (CAPS) board. The department traces its origins to 1920 (first MA in Speech in the US) and 1922 (first PhD in Speech) and has maintained continuous operation under its current name since 1970.

Name

UW-Madison Department of Communication Arts

Legal name

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Website

https://commarts.wisc.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

1920

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The UW-Madison Department of Communication Arts is a public academic department offering undergraduate and graduate programs in communication science, film, media studies, and rhetoric, serving students through UW-Madison's central admissions pipeline and supporting the world-class WCFTR film and theater archive.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education (Communication Arts Academic Department)

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAGALAB

Higher Education Lecture Capture & Course Media

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Educational Media & Multimedia (Video, Audio, Interactive)

SECONDARYMPABACAH

University/Educational Local Stations (College Radio, Campus TV)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Broadcasting (TV & Radio)/Local Broadcast Stations & Affiliates (TV & Radio)

SECONDARYMPADADAL

Educational & Instructional Nonfiction

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Film & Video Production/Distribution/Documentary & Nonfiction Production

Keywords

• Higher education
• Communication arts
• Media studies
• Film studies
• Rhetoric and communication science

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tuition and State/Federal Funding: As a public university department, the Communication Arts Department is funded primarily through UW-Madison's state appropriations, federal research grants, and student tuition. This is a public higher education funding model.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The UW-Madison Department of Communication Arts is an academic department within the College of Letters and Science that offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Communication Arts (with focus areas in Communication Science and Rhetoric, or Radio, Television, and Film at the undergraduate level, and Communication Science, Film, Media and Cultural Studies, or Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture at the graduate level). It also operates specialized teaching and research facilities, including the Instructional Media Center, the Hamel Digital Lab, television production studios, the Center for Communication Research, and the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR), one of the world's major film and theater archives.

Product overview

The UW-Madison Department of Communication Arts is an academic department offering undergraduate and graduate educational programs. The department provides a major in Communication Science and Rhetoric or Radio, Television, and Film at the undergraduate level, and graduate programs in Communication Science, Film, Media and Cultural Studies, and Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture. Supporting these academic offerings are several specialized facilities: the Instructional Media Center (media production), the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (major film and theater archive), the Center for Communication Research, and UW Cinematheque (film exhibition). The department also offers extensive course offerings spanning communication theory, media production, film studies, rhetoric, and digital media.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undergraduate Program

Quantifiable outcome

• First MA degree in the United States in Speech awarded at Wisconsin in 1920; first PhD in 1922

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FIAF (International Federation of Film Archives)coreTechnology or IntegrationWCFTR is a participating member of FIAF, enabling it to borrow filmed material from major archives for UW Cinematheque screenings and loan its prints for screenings at events organized by other FIAF member archives worldwide.
• UW CinemathequecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUW Cinematheque is the screening facility of the WCFTR, dedicated to showcasing international cinema history and fine films. It regularly screens archival and rare prints from around the world, drawing on WCFTR's collections and expertise.
• UW School of Library and Information StudiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWCFTR partners with the UW School of Library and Information Studies to provide training opportunities for enrolled students in the Archives and Records Management for a Digital Age program.
• Wisconsin Historical SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe WCFTR is housed in the Wisconsin Historical Society's Library-Archives Division, which serves as the physical location for one of the world's most accessible archives, regularly visited by researchers from around the world.
• Media History Digital LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWCFTR partners with the Media History Digital Library on digital projects that expand access to media history collections, including the 'Expanding Film Culture's Field of Vision' exhibit and other digital initiatives.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• USC School of Cinematic Arts: Top US film school with both production and academic tracks, including significant archival holdings and research libraries. The clearest comparable to UW-Madison's combination of academic programs, production facilities, and the WCFTR film archive.
• Indiana University - The Media School: Public university academic unit (formerly Department of Telecommunications) offering media production, journalism, and media studies programs. Comparable peer in scale, structure, and focus areas to UW-Madison's Comm Arts program at a major Big Ten public university.
• University of Texas at Austin - Department of Radio-Television-Film: Public university department with the same name structure as UW-Madison's 'Radio, Television, and Film' undergraduate track, offering degrees in film/TV production, media studies, and screenwriting. Highly comparable in scope, focus areas, and student profile at a leading public research university.
• USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism: Premier US academic communication school with strong journalism and communication programs at a leading private research university. Both schools train students in media production and communication research and offer graduate specializations spanning media studies and communication science.
• NYU Tisch School of the Arts - Cinema Studies: Academic department offering undergraduate and graduate programs in cinema studies with archival and historical research strengths. Comparable to UW-Madison Comm Arts' Film graduate program in its research-oriented approach to media history and screen studies at a leading private research university.
• UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television: Major public university school combining theater, film, and television studies with hands-on production training. Similar to UW-Madison Comm Arts as a comprehensive communication/film program at a top public research university.
• Northwestern University School of Communication: Top-tier US school offering comprehensive academic programs in communication with multiple tracks (Radio/TV/Film, Communication Studies, Theatre) at a major research university. Mirrors UW-Madison Comm Arts' structure of multiple graduate areas and undergraduate tracks with comparable production facilities and a film studies focus.

Others

• George Eastman Museum: Major film museum and archive housing one of the world's largest collections of motion picture materials. Operates both as an archive and a public exhibition venue, comparable to UW-Madison's combination of WCFTR (archive) and UW Cinematheque (exhibition).

Emerging players

• Academy Film Archive: Major non-profit film archive operated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Comparable archival mission to WCFTR with focus on preserving motion picture history and providing access for researchers and the public.

Broad incumbents

• Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center: Largest US film archive and conservation facility, far larger than WCFTR but operating in the same archival space. Relevant as a comparator for WCFTR's role as a major film and theater research archive with public-facing research services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/uwmadison
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/uwmadison
• Facebookfacebook.com/uwmadison
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/uwcommarts123
• Instagraminstagram.com/uwmadison

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UW-Madison Department of Communication Arts