Grad school for journalism?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm pretty sure I want to become a journalist, book editor at a large publishing house or some other type of writer...</p>

<p>Is there any need or benefit to going to grad school? Some schools like Columbia University only offer journalism in their grad school...so should I go somewhere and major in english...then journalism for grad....I'm confused</p>

<p>Also, I'm interested in becoming a college professor of enlish/literature but don't know if its worth all those years of school and then the stress of getting tenure...</p>

<p>Should I just go to a less expensive undergrad school so I can go to prestigious and expensive grad school or go to a prestigious undergrad school only.</p>

<p>***FYI I'm planning on living and working in NYC (unless I decide to become a prof.--then I don't really have a choice...)</p>

2

<p>I'd like to know the answer to this question also!</p>

3

<p>bump......</p>

4

<p>Anyone? Im really confused...</p>

5

<p>Ohio University</p>

6

<p>There are several different approaches to a career in journalism. Many people choose well known undergraduate programs and then get jobs right out of school: University of Missouri, Northwestern and Syracuse have very respected programs that place a lot of their graduates in newsrooms across the country. If you want to write for a major newspaper (say, New York Times, etc.) you may have to do a Master's. Columbia and Berkeley both have very well known journalism grad schools. </p>

<p>That said, you seem unsure as to whether you want to go into academics in English or journalism. My advice would be to choose a good university or LAC where you can get a thorough education that would include excellent preparation in writing. If your interest in journalism continues, you can always write for the school paper and do internships as a way of honing your skills.</p>

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<p>bump......</p>

8

<ol>
<li><p>Everyone in the know will tell you you can major in anything and break into journalism (even the sciences, business, art history, etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>Unless interested in an academic career, undergrad journalism majors generally don't gain any further advantage and don't generally pursue grad degrees in journalism. This is not quite true of undergrad liberal arts majors (see "3").</p></li>
<li><p>Grad school is expensive. Journalism generally pays poorly. While the math often argues against shelling out the tuition payments, there are tangible advantages gained by going to top journalism grad programs (e.g. Columbia, Northwestern) - making contacts, attracting recruiters, exposure through school's news bureaus, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Why not pursue journalism AND english, consider going to a school undergrad that will allow you to pursue BOTH. Double majoring in print journalism and english is very doable at Northwestern-Medill, for example. You have the advantages of holding a degree from a world reknown institution, access to recruiters and a far-flung alumni network, and the flexibility of a double degree. In the process, you expose yourself to the magazine world and decide if it's something you really want. If ultimately not for you, grad school in english lit is still there for the taking.</p></li>
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9

<p>i know i could try to pursue a degree in journalism and english, but a lot of schools dont offer journalism at the undergrad level. Should i just major in english and work for the paper and will that be enough? HELP!!!</p>

10

<p>From what I have heard, lots of kids either do their undergraduate degree in journalism, and if it is not offered they do a couple of things -- either major in something like english or communications and / or major in the subject they want to write about (ex. if they want to write for forbes, they might major in business). the one thing i have heard though is that in this area it is important to get work writing while you are in school, do lots of writing on your own, and get a job writing after college before thinking about graduate school. supposedly experience and a nice portfolio are really important...hope that helps!</p>

11

<p>undergrad, go to Ohio University. one of the most respected journalism schools in the country.</p>

12

<p>thanks for the replies.</p>

<p>Anyone know any schools for undergrad that are known for journalism or respected english or communications departments. Specify what they are known for please.</p>

13

<p>Journalism:
Mizzou
UNC-Chapel Hill
Northwestern
Wisconsin
Ohio
Indiana
NYU
USC
etc.</p>

14

<p>Katliamom is right. The best way to prepare for a journalism or writing career is to attend the school that has the best academic program you can get into. Most high-quality unis or LACs will have good English departments, but you should strive for a well rounded education, especially in subjects such as history, economics, technology, languages. Then you can write for school publications and seek summer internships in the fields that grab you. It's not necessary to get an undergrad degree in journalism to enter that world and for some people that may be too narrow a preparation for their careers. Good luck!</p>

15

<p>Quoted from Bala

[quote]
1. Everyone in the know will tell you you can major in anything and break into journalism (even the sciences, business, art history, etc.)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I'm sorry. But, I work in the industry and have to say that this way off base. </p>

<p>If you want to be a reporter, the best way to break into the field is with a undergrad journalism degree. And by breaking into the field, I mean landing a $12/hour job at local weekly paper. (It's probably a free paper, too.)</p>

<p>If you want to work for a major, mainstream, national news outlet (NYT, WSJ, CNN) then get a second major to go with the journalism degree. I recommend English, business, or history. Or, if you want to go to grad school, use that opportunity to stray from journalism. </p>

<p>But, no matter what, do not expect to work at a major, mainstream, national news organization right out of college. You've got to cut your teeth at something small before you make the big time. </p>

<p>Many people will disagree with me because "they've heard" or "they know somebody" who uses an art history degree in journalism. Well, good for them. But, those are the exceptions, not the rules. Take it from me, someone who has been a reporter but now works in a very-closely-related field, journalists want journalists. </p>

<p>There was a lively debate about this very topic earlier this week. You can catch up on it here. <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/517870-major-help.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/517870-major-help.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Sorry, I can't offer any advice about the book editor portion of your question.</p>

16

<p>My son had to make the same decision you are facing - he wants to be a journalist. Initially, he was determined that his undergraduate degree had to be in journalism so he applied and got into University of Delaware (our state school as a financial and academic safety), American U., U. of Maryland, and Ithaca College. However, he really liked Princeton and William & Mary, so he opened up to the idea of majoring in English, working very hard on the student paper, and trying to do summer internships. </p>

<p>He did not get into Princeton, but by the time of acceptances, had pretty much dropped it down on his list below W&M and Ithaca. Maryland was too big even though it has a great journalism program and mega opportunities in DC. Ultimately, his decision came down to W&M (major in English, work on the paper) or Ithaca (lots of merit aid, phenomenal school of communications with a journalism degree, work on paper). He chose W&M, but it was a close call - he would have been happy at either. W&M, however, was very familiar to him -- my wife, my sister, my brother-in-law, and I are all grads, so he has spent his life visiting there. He loves working on the student paper (The Flat Hat), has worked his way up to News Editor, has gotten great experience as a reporter and as an editor and manager. He is doing an internship with our local newspaper (the News Journal in Wilmington, DE), which is part of the Gannett chain. He also added Anthropology as a second major.</p>

<p>Whether he goes right for a job with a paper (or, perhaps, a news website or some other alternative to print) or for a graduate degree in journalism? Who knows? Still a lot of time before he makes that decision. But, two years in to the undergrad and he is still happy with his decision. </p>

<p>While you do not have to get a journalism degree to get into the field, you should major in something like English or communications or media and do lots and lots of writing (a really good student paper should be on your list of must-haves when searching for a college), seek out internships, and get the best possible liberal arts education you can. I have a number of W&M classmates who went on to become journalists and/or writers after majoring in English, philosophy, government, history, etc.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

17

<p>In my opinion, I feel that any undergraduate degree in the humanities or social sciences would be fine! English undergraduate degrees, history undergraduate degrees, etc. can all help you develop critical writing skills that you need as a writer. Don’t forget the importance of extracurricular–try to write papers for school newspaper or join other publications. I feel that most undergraduate colleges are fine, as long as you take rigorous classes and do extracurricular activities, while maintaining a gpa that is at least 3.0. Build up your resume! If you have a very good resume from your undergraduate years, it can help you land a journalism or other writing job right after college. </p>

<p>However, there are very good journalism grad programs out there. If you want to live and work in NYC, perhaps you could try the Columbia grad program. Journalism grad programs are helpful for networking, developing and improving your journalism skills, and learning the ethics/history/etc of journalism. So maybe by your spring semester of your 3rd year of college, it will become more and more clear whether it would be in your best interest to do grad school or not.</p>

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<p>Also, a reason why I say that any undergraduate degree in humanities or social sciences is good is because I know a lot of colleges don’t offer undergraduate journalism degrees (including the most highly prestigious colleges, like the ivy league)… correct me if i’m wrong though…</p>

19

<p>Posted by Bala:</p>

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<p>This is good advice. I’m not a journalism major but I have many friends who were. Journalism graduate school can be a great thing, but it costs money (on top of undergraduate tuition) and is typically reserved for people who lack formal journalistic training and are looking to break into the upper echelons of journalism. </p>

<p>If you go to a good (or really any, I suppose) undergraduate journalism school, you can likely avoid the need for this expensive endeavor altogether. I think Bala’s idea to look at undergraduate schools that allow you to pursue both English and Journalism is an excellent one. I can speak for Medill (Northwestern) specifically when I say it is very easy to double major in journalism and any liberal arts major as the journalism program itself already requires students to take many classes in the liberal arts school. I suspect this is the case at other schools, as well.</p>

<p>The OTHER advantage of pursuing two majors like this is that journalism undergraduate programs are essentially trade schools. You are trained to be a journalist, meaning you practice writing stories, finding contacts, editing pieces, etc. Basically everything you’d be doing during a career in journalism. As such, you can miss out on some liberal-artsy aspects of education (expanding your horizons, studying the classics, that kind of thing) thus it can be a benefit to get both kinds of experience in college.</p>

<p>Wow… long post. Hope it helps.</p>

<p>PS I can speak for Medill when I say they actually have a REQUIREMENT that you work for a magazine/newspaper/TV station (depending on your track) for a quarter and best of all THEY SET YOU UP with the internship - so you are guaranteed to get some real world experience, clips that will be published, and a taste for the industry. Sites are available all over the country, including New York, and some of the locations are very impressive (glamour, business week, time.com, men’s health, etc.). You can read about it here: <a href=“http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/journalism/undergrad/page.aspx?id=59509[/url]”>http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/journalism/undergrad/page.aspx?id=59509&lt;/a&gt;. That sounded like an advertisement. I imagine other journalism schools besides Medill have similar programs.</p>