University of Pittsburgh Department of Communication

Name

University of Pittsburgh Department of Communication

Legal name

University of Pittsburgh Department of Communication

Website

https://comm.pitt.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Department of Communication at the University of Pittsburgh, within the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, offers undergraduate majors in Communication Rhetoric and Media and Professional Communications, a doctoral program, and supporting initiatives including the Oral Communication Lab, Speaking in the Disciplines, the William Pitt Debating Union, and the Agora Speaker Series.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education - Communication Studies

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAMAOAJ

Corporate/Professional Public Speaking Training (Presentation Skills)

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/Public Speaking & Debate Clubs

SECONDARYEDALAOAF

Alumni Communications, Marketing & Publications

Education/Student Services & Campus Operations/Alumni Relations, Development & Campus Community Engagement

Keywords

• Communication studies education
• Public speaking coaching
• Speech and debate
• Rhetoric and media studies
• Academic communication programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Pittsburgh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. University Funding and Budget Allocation: The department operates as part of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and receives funding through the university's central budget allocation process.
2. Endowments and Donor Contributions: Multiple endowment funds support departmental activities, student resources, scholarships, and awards including the Communication Development Fund, Communication Graduate Student Resource Fund, Donald B. Egolf Memorial Fund, Daniel K. and Amy L. Jenkins Endowment, Jack Matthews Endowment, and others.
3. Application Fees: Graduate application fee of $75 for domestic and international applicants, processed through the online application system.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The University of Pittsburgh Department of Communication delivers undergraduate majors in Communication Rhetoric and Media and Professional Communications, and a doctoral program in Communication. It supplements these degree programs with the Oral Communication Lab (free public speaking coaching), the Speaking in the Disciplines faculty initiative, the William Pitt Debating Union, the Agora Speaker Series, COMMRC Connect internships, and an Annual Oratory Competition.

Product overview

The University of Pittsburgh Department of Communication offers undergraduate and doctoral degree programs in communication rhetoric and media studies. The department operates several supporting programs: the Oral Comm Lab provides free coaching for public speaking and oral communication; Speaking in the Disciplines (SID) promotes oral communication skills across all university disciplines through faculty seminars; the William Pitt Debating Union supports intercollegiate speech and debate competition; the Agora Speaker Series hosts scholarly presentations; and COMMRC Connect provides internship opportunities for undergraduates. The department also organizes an Annual Oratory Competition for students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undergraduate Program in Communication Undergraduate program offering majors in Communication Rhetoric and Media and Professional Communications. Students take classes in public speaking, persuasion, interpersonal communication, and media criticism to prepare for professional and civic arenas.
• Graduate Doctoral Program in Communication Doctoral program in Communication with a January 3 application deadline for fall admission. Evaluates applicants holistically based on research potential and commitment to communication scholarship; tuition and fees set by the University of Pittsburgh.
• Oral Communication Lab Center providing individual and small-group instruction for all forms of public speaking and oral communication, including resources for public speaking, working in groups, argument and deliberation, and audience analysis. Services are free for Pitt students, staff, and faculty.
• Speaking in the Disciplines (SID) Initiative Initiative promoting and supporting the teaching and development of student oral communication skills across all disciplines in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Includes a faculty seminar with $1,200 fellowship stipends for participating faculty.
• William Pitt Debating Union (WPDU) Intercollegiate speech and debate program based on the 14th floor of the Cathedral of Learning. Covers all tournament expenses including travel, entry fees, and lodging, and offers scholarships to qualified candidates. Has a distinguished record including a National Debate Tournament victory and first-place American Debate Association varsity rankings.
• Agora Speaker Series Speaker series inviting scholars to share work relevant to various aspects of communication scholarship. Features speakers from within the department, the broader university community, and external institutions.
• COMMRC Connect Internship Program Student internship program providing 10 undergraduate students each semester with hands-on experience executing real communication initiatives for the department. Students work across Media, News, and Outreach groups.
• Annual Oratory Competition Annual undergraduate oratory competition with categories including Graduation Commencement Speech, Diversity and Inclusion Speech, Persuasive Policy Speech, and Commemorative Values Speech. Awards range from $25 to $150.

Quantifiable outcome

• Faculty from over 30 departments and programs have participated in SID Seminar since 2008
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University Center for Teaching and LearningcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008The SID Seminar is offered in collaboration with the Dietrich School and the University Center for Teaching and Learning. Instructional Designers and Technologists from the Center share practical knowledge with fellows during the seminar and remain available for individual consultations throughout each year.
• Dietrich School Office of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe SID initiative receives ongoing administrative, financial, and instructional support from the Dietrich School's Office of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, which also administers the SID Fellowship application process.
• Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Department of Communication is housed within the Dietrich School and receives ongoing administrative, financial, and instructional support from the school. The department's initiatives like SID are jointly administered.
• Department of Slavic Languages and LiteraturesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-sponsored the Agora Speaker Series event featuring Ekaterina Haskins from Penn State University on the topic of appeals to family memory in Putin's Russia.
• Film and Media Studies ProgramminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-sponsored the Agora Speaker Series event featuring Ekaterina Haskins from Penn State University.
• European Studies CenterminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-sponsored the Agora Speaker Series event featuring Elena Bruni on the topic of the multimodal rhetoric of the anti-vaccination movement.
• Year of Discourse and DialogminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFunded Agora Speaker Series events including those featuring Jennifer Keohane and Billie Murray on democratic free expression, and Todd Lawrence and Heather Shirey on street art documentation.
• University of Pittsburgh AthleticsminorOthersThe William Pitt Debating Union has historically connected with various university departments and organizations for debate events and collaborations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Boston University College of Communication: University-level communication college offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in rhetoric, argumentation, and media studies; comparable in scale and programmatic mix to Pitt's degree offerings.
• USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism: Research-university graduate school combining communication scholarship with journalism and public diplomacy at the doctoral level; directly comparable in mission and academic-program structure to Pitt's doctoral communication program.
• University of Texas at Austin Department of Communication Studies: Large public-research-university communication department offering rhetoric, media, and oral communication coursework with intercollegiate debate and forensics programs; the closest direct public-university analogue to Pitt's department.
• University of Maryland Department of Communication: Public-research-university communication department with argumentation, rhetoric, and public-communication tracks plus forensics activity; closely parallel in institutional context and curriculum.
• Northwestern University School of Communication: Major research-university school offering undergraduate and doctoral programs in communication with strong speech, debate, and rhetoric traditions, making it one of the closest structural and curricular peers to the Pitt Department of Communication.
• Communication Studies departments at Big Ten peer universities (e.g., Penn State Department of Communication Arts and Sciences): Penn State's Department of Communication Arts and Sciences is a geographically proximate public-research-university communication department offering rhetoric, argumentation, and forensics tracks with overlapping student-recruitment territory.

Others

• National Speech & Debate Association: National honor and competitive society for middle-school, high-school, and college speech and debate, providing the tournament infrastructure and K-12 pipeline that complements university programs like WPDU.

Emerging players

• Stanford Debate Society: Intercollegiate policy debate program housed within Stanford University with comparable national-tournament ambitions to the William Pitt Debating Union, though smaller in community outreach scale.
• Emory University Barkley Forum: University-hosted intercollegiate speech and debate program with a high-school invitational tournament, making it functionally comparable to WPDU's competition and K-12 outreach mix.

Broad incumbents

• Toastmasters International: Global nonprofit dedicated to public speaking and leadership training at adult-learner scale; comparable in training mission to the Oral Communication Lab and SID programs, though delivered through volunteer clubs rather than degree programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/upittcomm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/university-of-pittsburgh-department-of-communication
• Instagraminstagram.com/pittcommrc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about University of Pittsburgh Department of Communication