Exploring Communication in Agricultural and Environmental Science Graduate Student Recruitment: A Media Richness Approach

Abstract

Demand exists for a workforce with graduate degrees in agricultural and environmental sciences. However, research on effective graduate student recruitment into colleges of agricultural and environmental sciences (CAES) is limited. Prospective graduate students consider distinctive factors when selecting an institution, necessitating further examination of their communication channel use. Media richness theory posits communication media are on a continuum of leanness to richness, and agricultural communicators can select the proper medium for an audience based on the message and its richness. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of media richness during the recruitment of prospective graduate students. Nineteen graduate students representing 10 departments within a CAES participated in semi-structured interviews. Qualitative inductive coding revealed three prominent communication channel themes: online, indirect, and direct. Findings indicated participants began their journey using indirect and online channels with less personalization and moved into richer media with the capacity for immediate feedback as their interest increased. Participants expressed disappointment at online channels with outdated information because they felt impersonal. Participants preferred phone or zoom calls as rich media to understand institutional culture, valuing personalization and immediate feedback from current students.