<p>DS is considering going into journalism (possibly photojournalism) as an eventual career. Recognizing that no major is offered per se, does anyone have an opinion on what Brown has to offer as a foundation for such a career?</p>
<p>This is a bit of the general, can a liberal arts degree prepare me for something which is practical?</p>
<p>Of course, my opinion is absolute. We have a wonderful VA department and you can take up to 4 classes as RISD so the “photo” side and training there is certainly covered. There are plenty of opportunities to really refine your skills as a writer at Brown as well, and even course work specific to journalism if that’s your interest (though not an abundance of it). Our creative non-fiction classes and non-fiction writing program in general is one of the most popular area of study at Brown.</p>
<p>There are plenty of Brown students who have gone on to journalism careers. I hope your son realizes the upheaval that is happening in that industry now, and that job prospects are not great.</p>
<p>There are 2 schools of thought in the journalism profession – some people endorse a degree in journalism and others prefer seeing a liberal arts education. There are many, many journalists who have successful careers and never studied journalism in school. What most prospective employers want to see are good clips (or in your son’s case, photographs) – and your son should be able to get many of those at Brown if he works on one of the student publications.</p>
<p>Also, there are several working or former journalists who teach classes at Brown, some in surprising places (like the Africana Studies department) who can be great resources. </p>
<p>As someone who believes that all journalists need is a strong liberal arts education, I can assure you that Brown provides a very strong foundation for that career.</p>
<p>the journalism industry is suffering a bit now because it has been complacent - newspapers have fallen out of favor but the web has not. in fact that is where all of the NY Times resources are going these days.</p>
<p>anyway, brown has many high-level alums in journalism, both editors at major news agencies, and pulitzer-prize winning reporters. getting a great job in journalism should be no problem. i have friends from brown that went to the boston globe, new york times, and atlantic straight out of college.</p>
<p>Also, there are at least two (and most probably more) student led publications on which he can work: The Brown Daily Herald, the school’s newspaper, and the RISD/Brown Independent, which is more of an artsy, edgy kind of paper. I believe there are more publications, too, I just can’t think of them just now.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that none of the newspapers have figured out a viable business model related to web-based journalism. They are all cutting staff and budgets right now. (Washington Post just recently eliminated a separate business section to save money.) Reuters has 2,000+ employers in their Bangalore office because that’s where journalism is moving. Even your local county council meeting can be (and is) reported on from Bangalore with ‘virtual’ attendance. </p>
<p>30 years ago a classmate of mine at Stanford with excellent grades and an appealing personal style applied to over 200 newspapers for an entry-level position. She got 2 offers. Today, the number would be 0. Have a back-up plan…</p>