Master's Program Administration

Aswin Punathambekar, Ph.D.

Associate Dean of Master's Programs

Email: aswin.punathambekar@asc.upenn.edu 

Aswin Punathambekar, Ph.D. is a Professor of Communication at Penn's Annenberg School and Director of the Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication. His research examines the transformation of media industries in an era of globalization and digital platforms, with particular expertise in how entertainment industries produce and manage cultural identities across national and diasporic contexts.

Punathambekar's industry-focused scholarship includes From Bombay to Bollywood: The Making of a Global Media Industry (2013), which traces the evolution of Indian cinema into a transnational media powerhouse, Media Industry Studies (2020), a comprehensive examination of contemporary media production, and Planet Digital: A Global Media Cultures Reader, which explores how digital platforms have transformed media production and circulation worldwide.

Rachel Pepper

Director of Graduate Programs

Email: rachel.pepper@asc.upenn.edu