Key Documents: Section III. Journalism Education: Preparation for Change - Schools of Journalism: Values and Curriculum

Introduction

There are more than 400 journalism-based degree programs around the country, undergraduate and graduate. The nine selected here fit a particular set of criteria designed to identify a representative group of the institutions offering master's programs in the field. These are the only schools of journalism—as opposed to departments or isolated programs—currently offering pre-professional masters programs accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) under the latest standards put into play in 2005. (See the ACEJMC Accrediting Standards document in this section for specific accreditation requirements.)

All of these pre-professional programs set the tone for their efforts with a formal statement of mission, goals or coveted values. Some of these are just brief references to a school's broader purpose, beliefs or intent. For instance, Columbia emphasizes upholding “standards of excellence,” Oregon promises to “prepare students for professional and leadership roles” throughout the industry, and the William Allen [Page 1715]White School at Kansas singles out the need to get students to “think critically and creatively.” Other schools give more elaborate mission statements that spell out priorities related to teaching, service, ethical practices, diversity issues, and developing certain skill sets. The Grady College at Georgia is unique in making basic and applied research, related to “the media and their roles in and influence on society,” a sizable component of its mission.

The curricula for the selected schools primarily reflect the need to respond to three pressing concerns. They all strive to address current ACEJMC Accrediting Standards, the perceived changes in the business of journalism and related practices, and the obligation to teach and sustain traditional reporting and writing techniques. of course, in many instances the Accrediting Standards already pick up on the most recent innovations or issues in the field. As a result, most schools satisfy ACEJMC curriculum mandates and industry demands by providing coursework in areas like new research tools or “information literacy,” online or interactive reporting, and ethics and legal issues, among others. And all put great emphasis on nuts-and-bolts courses in turning out quality hard news and feature pieces.

Most of these schools have also picked up the tendency for journalists to eventually specialize in some way. So students can often opt for coursework tied to a particular medium (like broadcast journalism), form of writing (say investigative or literary nonfiction), or subject area (such as business/economics or international reporting). Some schools offer two or more totally separate kinds of master's degrees related to journalism or media. The Missouri School of Journalism, known widely for excellence in photojournalism graduate work, takes the whole process a step further. It offers a number of masters options based on desired subject or form, level of experience, and willingness to work in converged media.

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