UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Communication ranked No. 3 in the nation in terms of research productivity, according to a recent analysis of scholarly articles that have appeared in eight academic journals sponsored by the National Communication Association and the International Communication Association.

With just 11 current tenure-track faculty members and 22 graduate students, the UCSB department produced 11 percent of the research articles published in the journals between 1999 and 2004.

Only two other major research universities—the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Michigan State University, each with more than 40 faculty members—were more prolific. The 349 articles were published by 125 authors from 85 universities.

UCSB’s Department of Communication was also distinguished by its commitment to collaborative research by faculty members and graduate students. Two of the three most published graduate students during that period were UCSB students.

Michael Stohl, chair of the department, attributed the department’s research productivity to “the combination of extraordinary people working extraordinarily hard and well together.”

“We don’t try to be all things to all people,” he added. “We are a small, focused department, built from a core group of scholars who had a vision of excellence.”

“The Department of Communication is one of the gems in the Division of Social Sciences,” said Melvin L. Oliver, dean of the division. “While relatively small, UCSB’s department fosters a culture of excellence, collaboration, and engaged scholarship.”