ADPR PhD Student Shares Her Path to Postgraduate Education
Jennifer McDermitt is reimagining what’s possible in the pursuit of ADPR
By: Siri Reed
Editor’s Note: McDermitt will teach full-time with MSU’s Department of Advertising and Public Relations starting fall 2025.
In the bustling world of ADPR, professional success is often viewed through the corporate lens. Industry work is often prescribed, and it is what most ADPR students aspire to pursue. This is what Jennifer McDermitt believed, too, until her love for teaching was unveiled. Now, as an Information and Media PhD student at Michigan State University, she hopes to one day lead her own college classroom.
McDermitt never imagined academia would be her end goal. She started her undergraduate degree at Central Michigan University before transferring to Michigan State to pursue a degree in English and journalism. Shortly after graduating, McDermitt’s career included working in newspaper as a reporter and copy editor before turning to publishing. The economic shifts of the 1990s led McDermitt’s company to embrace digital marketing, which is what prompted her to pursue a master’s degree in integrated marketing and communications.
“I felt like I just didn’t have the training in that area,” McDermitt said. “Getting my master’s seemed to combine everything I had already done, as well as what I was currently doing.”
Fast forward 10 years, McDermitt found herself settled in a global corporate communications job. An adjunct teaching position at Northwood University opened, and she decided to embrace a new side of her career. It was at Northwood where she discovered her love for teaching, and this inspired her to take the next steps in academia.
“I started looking around at PhD programs, and here’s this program, a really unique program at MSU. It was a combination of journalism, advertising, PR and media and information. It’s as if it spanned my entire career,” said McDermitt.
Applying for a PhD program with an industry background was daunting for McDermitt. Unlike her fellow applicants, she did not have published research to submit alongside her application. Even with these worries, she found that MSU was more than willing to work with her.
McDermitt was accepted into the program, thus beginning her journey into academia.
While still upholding her teaching position at Northwood, McDermitt found balancing work, school and her personal life a difficult task. Still, this never detracted from her love for the degree.
“The program is rigorous, but I never regret a day,” she said. “I’m constantly learning, and that’s what keeps me going.”
McDermitt recognizes that pursuing a PhD in the ADPR field is not a common choice, but she believes that it is worth consideration. While certainly difficult, McDermitt assures the specialization makes the process worth pursuing.
“Think about the classes you get most excited about, [for me,] it’s like that all the time. The concentration alone makes it really rewarding” says McDermitt.
McDermitt’s journey proves that academia is not only a worthy experience, but an obtainable possibility. To learn more about the ADPR graduate program, visit https://comartsci.msu.edu/departments/advertising-public-relations/degrees-programs/advertising-pr-graduate-programs-and.