<p>Hello. What can you tell me about the journalism program and the Phillip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland? How good is it? How is the program compared to other journalism schools such as Syracuse, Mizzou, Northwestern, USC, UMiami, Univ. of Florida, American, and other universities?</p>
<p>Excellent reputation and a LEP (limited enrollment program), so more competitive than general admission to the University. I will leave specifics about the journalism program to current students, but you might find this article interesting
[CM’s</a> Top 10 Journalism Schools](<a href=“http://www.collegemagazine.com/editorial/2282/Top-10-Journalism-Schools]CM’s”>http://www.collegemagazine.com/editorial/2282/Top-10-Journalism-Schools)</p>
<p>What is also important to note is the location…being so close to D.C. is a definite advantage.</p>
<p>Thank you, Maryversity. Does any current UMD students enrolled in the journalism program can tell me information about the Philip Merrill College of Journalism?</p>
<p>I’m in it. It’s one of the top journalism schools in the country. It’s housed in Knight Hall, which is state-of-the-art having just opened in 2010. The facilities are amazing and the faculty is top notch. I regularly have professors that worked or currently work at places like CNN, USA Today, Baltimore Sun, National Public Radio, The Washington Post, ESPN, etc. Not only are you getting a top notch, current education from them, but the networking is huge, as these professors can help you land internships at these places. </p>
<p>Being so close to Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia means that there are literally tons of opportunities for internships, free-lancing, etc. while you are in school. The J-School sends out e-mails all the time that are newspapers/magazines/tv stations looking for interns/free-lancing, and the J-school has strong relationships with many established places that consistently look for UMD students, even places all over the country (summer internships, jobs, etc). The j-school also frequently sends out job openings. There’s also a big career fair every October that has media recruiters from tons of newspapers/radio stations/tv stations that are looking for interns/prospective workers. </p>
<p>With journalism changing, the j-school has been committed to making sure that every student is well adapted to that change. The print track is no longer called that, now it’s considered “multi-platform.” But whether you’re a broadcast or multi-platform major, you will be doing a bit of both and will definitely focus a lot on online journalism too. The j-school is also quite small compared to some other majors here (I think it’s got around 500 undergrads), which gives it a “school within a school” feeling, and means that most journalism skills classes top out at like 15-18 students. It also makes it feel more homey, and you find that you have several familiar faces in all of your journalism classes. </p>
<p>I cannot speak highly enough about Merrill. I’m only a junior so I’m not looking at jobs just yet, but I already have seen how valuable the resources are here and how this school puts you into a great position for having a ton of experience and well-regarded internships to make your resume great to get your first job. You do need to put in the work yourself obviously and definitely put a lot of effort into getting involved, but the opportunities are there. There are also several campus publications that are always looking for writers, and of course there’s the Diamondback, one of the nation’s top college newspapers.</p>
<p>^^Awesome post with great information (and, of course, outstanding writing!)…as usual Bornin92!</p>
<p>Thanks astrophysicsmom! 
Hope it helped the OP.</p>