Journalism (Master of Science)
Department of Communication | College of Arts & Sciences

The graduate program in journalism is designed for students who plan or are continuing with careers in newspapers, magazines, newsletters, public relations, broadcasting and online publishing.

Most courses are relevant to any media work. The program is a mix of hands-on professional courses and theoretical courses focused on issues inherent in all journalistic fields.

The introductory course, News Fundamentals, is a team-taught, hands-on course in media writing, reporting and editing, and is intended for students whose undergraduate majors were in an area other than journalism. News Fundamentals can be taken concurrently with The State of the News Business, an overview course that prepares students for the issues they will encounter throughout the program.

Internships are a required part of the curriculum. Students recently have held internships at RedEye, the Chicago Tribune’s youth-focused tabloid; at WGN radio and television; at USA Today; at the Chicago Reporter investigative journal and at other media outlets in the city and the region.

Admission

A student with a B or better average from an accredited university will be admitted unconditionally to the program. A student with a grade point average of between 2.7 and 3.0 will be admitted on probation and must establish a 3.0 GPA in the first term of classes.

Students who hold acceptable undergraduate degrees in journalism or those with significant professional experience may be waived from the News Fundamentals course. They should speak with the department chair as soon as they are admitted.

Excellent communication skills, including proficiencies in spoken and written English, are vital for success in this program, even for those who expect to work in oral media or in other languages. International students must take the Roosevelt University English Language Program placement and must be at the ELP 111 level before attempting graduate journalism courses. A student enrolled in ELP 111 may concurrently take only one course in journalism.

Requirements

Graduate students take nine required courses (27 semester hours) and three elective courses (9 semester hours), all of them in Journalism. These special conditions apply to graduate students:

• Only courses at the 400-level apply toward the degree.
• Students must maintain a 3.0 grade point average (a B average) at all times. No more than six semester hours (two classes) of C grades can be applied toward the degree.
• No more than six hours of graduate-level journalism courses from other institutions can be accepted toward this degree.
• All requirements must be met within six years of admission to the Graduate Division.
• Students who have completed any required course(s) as undergraduates or at other institutions will be required to substitute electives to reach the total of 36 hours.

Required courses

• Jour 401 News Fundamentals
• Jour 405 State of the News Business
• Jour 411 Advanced Reporting Methods
• Jour 431 Public Opinion and Propaganda
• Jour 463 Law and Ethics
• Jour 470 Media Criticism
• Jour 480 Journalism Project
• Jour 489 New Media and Technology
• Jour 499 Internship or Jour 493 Practicum

Electives (9 hours) may be in a concentration from this list:

Writing/reporting. Jour 452, Editorial and Column Writing (required); plus two of these: Jour 421, Specialized Project; Jour 422, Feature Writing; Jour 430 Reviewing the Arts; Jour 455, Magazine Writing.

Public relations. Jour 440, Public Relations Campaigns (required); Jour 441, Case Problems in Public Relations (required); plus one of these: Jour 445, Writing for Newsletters; Jour 446, Newsletter Publishing; Jour 474, Crisis Communications.

Magazine. Jour 455, Magazine Writing (required); Jour 454, Publication Design; Jour 457, Magazine Publishing.

Journalism education. Jour 475, The Scholastic Press (required: check with department chair for availability); Jour 492, Practicum in the Teaching of Journalism (required); plus one additional writing/reporting class.

Visual. Jour 425, Photography (required); Jour 454, Publication Design (required); plus Jour 461, Advanced Photography or other photography courses as available.