Jennifer Becker, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Communication

Bio

Jennifer A. H. Becker (PhD Oklahoma, 2005) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Depending on her research goals, she has used quantitative and qualitative methods to study varied forms of interpersonal communication in relational and applied contexts. Dr. Becker’s work has appeared in academic outlets such as the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Communication Monographs, Journal of Applied Communication, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Communication Studies, and Communication Quarterly. Some of Dr. Becker’s more recent scholarship applies an interpersonal perspective to communication pedagogy with attention to student and community engagement, online teaching and learning, and honors education. She and Dr. Caroline Parsons recently published the edited volume Honors Communication: Contextual Issues and Lessons Learned in Teaching, Advising, and Mentoring the Undergraduate Honors Student in Communication (Peter Lang, ISBN 978-1-4331-7549-7).

Over the years, Dr. Becker has taught courses in interpersonal, relational, and family communication as well as capstone, human communication theory, research methods, and college-level instruction courses. She is a versatile instructor who has taught at the undergraduate and graduate levels, honors courses, experiential learning courses, and all modalities (in-person, asynchronous online, synchronous online, and hybrid). The University of Alabama recognized Dr. Becker for excellence in teaching in 2017, 2018, and 2020, advising in 2019, mentorship of other faculty in 2018, and research in 2019.

Dr. Becker originally hails from southeastern Minnesota. In her free time, she enjoys exploring and contributing to the local community with her husband and three school-aged children.

Teaching

COM 5103 Theories and Applications of Communication: Seminar in Interpersonal Communication

Research Interests

Interpersonal Communication in Relational and Applied Contexts
Communication Pedagogy

Degrees

PhD in Communication, University of Oklahoma, 2005
MA in Communication Liberal Arts & Sciences, Ball State University, 1999
BA in Communication Studies and Psychology (double major), Winona State University, 1998

Publications

Co-Edited Book

Becker, J. A. H., & Parsons, C. S. (Eds.). (2020). Honors communication: Contextual issues and lessons learned in teaching, advising, and mentoring the undergraduate honors student in communication. Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b16292

Book Chapters

Becker, J. A. H. (2020). Teaching honors interpersonal communication. In J. A. H. Becker & C. S. Parsons (Eds.), Honors communication: Contextual issues and lessons learned in teaching, advising, and mentoring the undergraduate honors student in communication (pp. 137-174). Peter Lang.
Becker, J. A. H., & Parsons, C. S. (2020). Introduction to honors communication: Contextual issues and lessons learned in teaching, advising, and mentoring the undergraduate honors student in communication. In J. A. H. Becker & C. S. Parsons (Eds.), Honors communication: Contextual issues and lessons learned in teaching, advising, and mentoring the undergraduate honors student in communication (pp. 1-19). Peter Lang.

Jennifer Becker, Ph.D.