<p>I went to Chapel Hill thinking I would major in Business and Psychology.
But after thinking for a while, I decided that I really want to write. How good is the J-School at Chapel Hill? Would it be possible to major in Business and Journalism?</p>
<p>I would appreciate any comments about the Journalism School.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>As far as I know, UNC's journalism school is one of the best after the big 3 jschools (mizzou, northwestern, and syracuse).</p>
<p>Per the UNC-CH website, the journalism school ranks in the top 5 in every ranking and was considered 'perhaps the best in the nation' according to their last received accreditation report.</p>
<p>i agree, one of the main reasons why im going to unc is for the jschool. i spoke to a unc rep who visited my high school, and he said it is possible to major in both business and journalism..but you probably wont see daylight much considering they're such "huge" majors lol, if that makes sense</p>
<p>and stuart scott graduated from unc's jschool. enough said.</p>
<p>Carolina's j-school is without a doubt one of the best in the country, and the student newspaper (The Daily Tarheel) wins awards every year.</p>
<p>Having a journalism degree from UNC-CH will be impressive to future employers in the field.</p>
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As far as I know, UNC's journalism school is one of the best after the big 3 jschools (mizzou, northwestern, and syracuse).
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<p>I always thought the big 4 j-schools were Columbia, Berkeley, Northwestern, and Mizzou. But anyway, UNC is quite good. And obviously Syracuse is too.</p>
<p>Here's are a couple of threads that may help you in your decision. Although they are about the grad. programs, I think they have some important information. </p>
<p>columbia is only offers graduate j school</p>
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columbia is only offers graduate j school
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<p>Oops, you're right. Same with Berkeley. But the OP should read the thread about j-school anyway, IMO. It's not considered good prep for a journalism career by many (perhaps broadcast journalism would be an exception).</p>
<p>BedHead, thanks for the thread. I read parts of it and searched for J-Schools.
I understand that the possibility of getting a job in Journalism is hard and many do not recommend majoring in Journalism.
This is the exact reason why I was thinking about majoring in Psychology. (I love the subject and wouldn't mind being a psychologist).
But I do realized that UNC-CH is in the top 10 J-Schools in the nation, possibly in the top 5. It also has a 75% liberal arts based curriculum. Added to the fact that I plan to major in Finance as well, wouldn't it be helpful if I went the J-School way instead of the Psychology way? I am thinking it might help me get a better position for the Tar Heel Paper, make contacts, learn how to write better, etc.</p>
<p>Margsala: Based on what I have seen, I think you might do better to take the minimum number of j courses to get your skills where you want them, and do Finance and Psychology or some such mixture. Of my really successful journalism friends (WSJ, WSJ, BusinessWeek, Fortune Magazine, NYT, PBS Frontline producer after CBS News), not one studied journalism. One who did well with a j degree from Columbia also had an economics grad degree and arguably didn't need the j degree at all.</p>
<p>On the other hand, they all went for it by writing for school papers and/or going overseas to work as stringers. So, yes, maybe it would be worthwhile to do enough to get you a better position at the Tar Heel, but don't compromise your education. Take just what you need. Focus first and foremost on becoming a fast, good writer and good researcher/reporter.</p>
<p>Does anybody else have an opinion on this?
A part of me wants to go the Psychology way and giving myself a chance to become a Psychologist if I so choose. My Theory of Knowledge and Psychology teachers think I would make a great Psychologist...
Another part of me wants to reallyy focus on writing. Most of my friends think I should this.
I guess what I would REALLY want is to double major in Journalism and Psychology, but they both seem so unsafe. So I have to pick. And my opinion changes every day :P</p>
<p>I know you want to hear from someone else and I think you should get more input...</p>
<p>Do you want to become a writer or a journalist? Or are you not sure? 'Cause some people will tell you that being a journalist is a good way to kill your writing skills. Something else to look into.</p>
<p>If you want to be a journalist, do Finance and Psychology (if you can) and throw in some journalism classes (as I said before). Knowing finance would put you ahead of a lot of journalists.... And Psych. sounds like something you are just really interested in.</p>
<p>ANYBODY ELSE??????</p>
<p>"Cause some people will tell you that being a journalist is a good way to kill your writing skills." - Why is this? I mean if you're a news writer, which is very structure and formula based, yes, but I definately don't think so for features or editorials.</p>
<p>Margsala- It seems lile journalism has such a bad rep for ungrad. I interned and wrote for a major regional paper this year, and all the editors/reporters I met were a combiation of those who both majored in journalism and did not major in journalism. My own editor had majored in journalism in college while the head features editor had majored in something else instead. Almost all had not gone to grad school for journalism. One thing they stressed to me, however, was it wasn't about whether you major in journalism or not, but the internship oppportunities you take when you're in college. Just my 2 cents :)</p>
<p>I would say major in journalism, and minor in psychology; or the other way around. </p>
<p>This is a offhand question but can you write for the Daily Tarheel your freshman year?</p>