<p>I'm currently a junior in high school and not sure where I want to go to college. I'm interested in majoring in journalism or something with English or creative writing. What would be the best colleges that offer these majors on the East coast? I live in NJ and do not want to go that far away from home. I was looking at TCNJ and am considering that as an option but have no clue about its reputation or if it is the right school for what I want to do, so if you know anything about it, that'd be helpful. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Look into Temple.</p>
<p>Syracuse. One of the top 3 j-schools in the country.</p>
<p>Def. Syracuse for journalism, also NYU is great for either english or j-school--great internship ops also, maybe go to Columbia undergrad if you have the stats to get in....they have a great ENglish dept and then you could go to their renowned journalism grad school...</p>
<p>University of Maryland College park has an excellent Journalism program. Don't know what your credentials are, but not as competitive as Columbia or NYU.</p>
<p>I think that Boston University is strong in this area also. Although not in the east, Ohio University, is one of the top journalism schools too. TCNJ is considered a very good school.</p>
<p>Syracuse is very good: Mike Tirico from ESPN and Bob Costas went there, among others. NYU is good too.</p>
<p>Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY also has a well respected journalism program, although Marist's most well-known graduate is not universally admired. Bill O'Reilly was a history major, however, not a journalism major.</p>
<p>There have been many, many threads on journalism. </p>
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<p>What's the difference between majoring in journalism or majoring in communications? It depends on the school. Sometimes, there can be very little difference. Generally, however, a major in communication tends to focus more on the theories behind how people and societies communicate, rather than on "hands on" skills such as writing, interviewing, and editing. It is important to take a close look at the classes offered and the focus of the program when looking at a commmunications major. Some communications programs are focused more on preparing students to do graduate level work in communications theory than they are on preparing students to find jobs as journalists. Finally, keep in mind that it is not absolutely necessary to major in either journalism or communicatons if you want to work in journalism. Other majors - when combined with work in campus media or journalism-related internships - can also be a foundation for a career in journalism.</p>
<p>When looking at any journalism or communications program, there are a few important questions to ask to help you evaluate the program's quality and how well it will prepare you to find a job after graduation:</p>
<p>[ul][<em>]Is the curriculum emphasis on actual "real world" journalism skills or on communications theory (i.e., "mass communications") [</em>]What percentage of the faculty has "real world" experience, i.e., they've actually been journalists or in communications? (You want a program where a higher percentage have experience and working knowledge, not just theoretical knowledge) [<em>]What opportunities are there to work in on campus media? (At some schools, getting a reporter or editor position at the student newspaper or radio station can be very competitive) [</em>]How up to date is the equipment in the program? (Esp. important if you are interested in broadcast journalism) Are the facilities adequate for the number of majors? (If you never get into use the facilities because they're tied up for grad students, they won't help you) [<em>]How many opportunities are there for internships? How many students actually do internships? Is it realistic to combine an internship with the level of academic effort required? How do you get internships? [</em>]What size are the classes? How much writing and editing do you actually do in the classes? How good are the professors at giving you feedback about your writing and editing? [li]What is the career placement office like? Does the journalism program have its own career placement/advising program or do you go through the school's "general" career office? Where did last year's graduates end up working immediately after graduation? Where do alumni work?[/ul]</p>[/li] <p>So, how do you track down good schools for journalism? Start by looking over the 110 colleges and universities that have programs accredited by The</a> Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.</p>
<p>I promised a list of what I consider the best undergraduate journalism programs in the country. Here it is, in no particular order: University of Missouri-Columbia, Syracuse University, Northwestern University, University of Southern California, Boston University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, New York University, University of Oregon, Indiana University, U of Maryland-College Park, Ithaca College, Emerson College, Washington and Lee University, U of Wisconsin-Madison, Pepperdine University, the University of South Dakota, the University of Georgia, the University of Florida, and the University of Texas-Austin. Other excellent journalism and communications programs include: Susquehanna University, Muhlenberg College, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara University, Loyola University (Maryland), Simmons College, San Diego State University, Temple, American University, the University of Pennsylvania, Creighton University, Marquette University, Villanova University, and Ohio University.
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<p>A journalism minor or part-time work on a campus paper, radio or TV station while majoring in something else such as business, urban planning, government, etc. may provide a much better preparation to be a working journalist. I hired j-school grads who had the story formula down pat, but they had no perspective. They wrote formula stories that lacked depth. Over time I came to prefer people who had work experience in another field but also had a talent for writing. In my experience, they generally were better reporters.</p>
<p>So my advice differs slightly. I think you may be better off finding a school where you can minor in journalism while getting an education in another field that prepares you to know and understand how business, government, politics, etc. actually works. That way you'll know what is real news and not just pablum.
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A journalism minor or part-time work on a campus paper, radio or TV station while majoring in something else such as business, urban planning, government, etc. may provide a much better preparation to be a working journalist. I hired j-school grads who had the story formula down pat, but they had no perspective. They wrote formula stories that lacked depth. Over time I came to prefer people who had work experience in another field but also had a talent for writing. In my experience, they generally were better reporters.
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<p>^At Medill, students get the best of both worlds. J-students have to take <em>at least thirty-one</em> courses outside of the j-school. That's only slightly less than the number of courses many college students take for their entire degree programs!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/documents/Medill_BSJViewbook_ForWeb.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/documents/Medill_BSJViewbook_ForWeb.pdf</a>
Medill</a> - Curriculum</p>
<p>^Same @ Newhouse/Syracuse....if my memory serves me correctly, one of the criteria for accredidation(sp?) is broad based exposure to liberal arts outside of comm/journ including math, sci, etc and in many cases, a minor or major outside of the comm school.....</p>
<p>^If that's the case, it makes me wonder what the basis of saying journalism curriculum being not well-rounded comes from. </p>
<p>This is my speculation: the group without the journalism background are probably of higher caliber (shear intelligence or ability to process/perceive info...etc...the kind of ability that's mostly determined before college) since they need to have something extra to convince employers to hire them and they don't have the journalism schools to help them network. Many of them may even come from Ivies or other top universities. On the other hand, most of the journalism schools are outside the top-25 (if I am not mistaken, Northwestern is the only exception). So the end result is it looks like the group without journalism background have better perspective. Then one is tempted to conclude journalism curriculum isn't well-rounded when all along, there's an unfair comparison. Correlation doesn't equal to causation especially when the appropriate control isn't in place for comparison!!!</p>
<p>Also look at UMiami's Communications School . It is on the accredited list.</p>