<p>I seem to have a bit of a dilemna...I am unsure of whether I want to become a journalist, book editor, scriptwriter, or english professor. What should I major in at college? Many schools do not offer journalism or communications, so would majoring in english suffice to become a journalist? Or would majoring in journalism be okay if I decide to go into publishing and become a book editor? Also, some schools have a communications major but without a concentration in print journalism...instead its more of the study of technology, speaking, etc....so at those schools should I major in English and not communications? Anyone recommend any schools with good English, Journalism, or Communications departments regardless of selectivity of admissions (make sure the communications department has a journalism-type concentration...an example of this would be Villanova). Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>An english degree will probably definitely suffice for you in this situation. Personally, there must be other journalist or english majors here on this forum that can help you.</p>
<p>A great place to start would be to go up front and speak with a person like a journalist from say the Boston Globe or a really well known place or firm and ask would a english degree suffice for a job in his/her industry. You'd probably get a straight answer like yes, because they would most liekly give you an answer such as "there are many paths towards a journalism degree" or "yeah, we got ppl who majored in business too and now are working for us in journalism or etc"... or "We have many english majors that are here and are represented real well here"</p>
<p>With that said, the question really does lie, for flexibility reasons, would it be best to pursue English just in case you don't want to be a journalist and want to become an English professor? I mean, sure, with journalism, you can become a journalist, but by the way, english majors frequently take that route too, and they have the luxury of having the option or choice to choose scriptwriting, book editing, and/or choice to become a professor of English too. I feel maybe English offers more career choices, as in its more open and more freedom to choose career choices of what you want, compared to journalism degree that is. Though I could be wrong. IDK.</p>
<p>Great schools with great programs in English are Johns Hopkins, Princeton, U Georgia, Penn State, Wash U, Stanford, UIUC, UFlorida, Berkeley, UChicago etc..</p>
<p>The only Jounalism program that I know of is Northwestern, and that is pretty good program for journalism.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughtful response Phead. Anyone else got any input?</p>
<p>News organizations want to hire journalism majors. So that should be the major to choose if you ever rule out your other career interests. </p>
<p>But, if you want to pick one major to maybe fit all your interests, then I'd say English. DO NOT pick English if you know you want to be a journalist. Go with Journalism.</p>
<p>I completely disagree. I have an internship at a prestigious Conde Nast Internship and one of my best family friends is a staff writer at the New York Times. everyone i've asked in the industry - including people at my internships, this guy (who is also a Journalism prof, and has been in the business for years) say a journalism undergrad major isnt particularly helpful for aspiring journalists. you are just as well off majoring in something else, and having experience working on your campus paper and getting internships - that's how you really learn how to be a journalist, not in a classroom. i would say only major in journalism if you love studying it and are positive you want to do this. it doesn't sound like that's the case, so i would recommend you choose one of the other majors... you'll still get writing experience , and they would help with all your career options without hurting your chances of becoming a journalist. meanwhile, you can work on publications to see if you like it.</p>
<p>Look over the specs for Communications majors at a few universities. I suspect you'll find a lot of course requirements that stray pretty far from the career options you've listed.</p>
<p>English or Journalism majors would both serve you very well. While I'd generally agree with aube88 that a journalism major is certainly not a requirement for entry into the field, a top program will offer some advantages with regard to advising/connections/internship opportunities. If English feels "more right" I wouldn't hesitate to tell you to go for it.</p>
<p>In a perfect world you'd double major or major/minor in the two fields. The Northwestern (Medill) program is world renowned, has a relatively light load of required journalism classes, and supports double majors. English at NU is also a very strong department and a particularly easy (and popular) second major to pursue. Alternatively, English could take top billing at a place like Emory where Journalism is available as a "co-major" or minor.</p>
<p>if you're really undecided, you should consider attending a LAC; the timeline for choosing a major is longer (through sophomore year and longer at most places) and, a lot of what looks to you right now as necessary through course work, can often be duplicated through ECs and through internships; I mean, how many courses do you need to perfect standing in front of a blue screen, or reading from cue cards? Give yourself a chance to flex your muscles intellectually, you might like being a scholar. If not, the experience won't hurt you and may even earn you some respect in your chosen field.</p>
<p>Northwestern is good for all 3 and you can easily do English+journalism or English+communications double-major.</p>
<p>If you're interested in journalism or communications, you should look at the University of Maryland- College Park. It's journalism school is supposedly one of the best in the country and the communications is pretty good as well. My brother graduated with a journalism degree from there and the prestige of the program when job searching is a phenomenal benefit, plus the alumni connections for that field are amazing.</p>
<p>bump......</p>
<p>Marshall has a pretty good journalism department although it's often overlooked.</p>
<p>Syracuse University's NewHouse school of Public communications is the best in the country. You should go there for undergrad.
Columbia University houses the best Journalism school for graduate study. Consider there also.</p>
<p>Honestly, your college major will hardly matter in the end. You'll probably work in journalism at some point to pay the bills, but that doesn't mean you need technical training in it. Plenty of schools with more liberal-arts and less pre-professional programs will offer you an English education that will have you ready to take on whatever career you choose. That being said, journalism programs will put you in an environment with other writers (as opposed to people who want to be teachers or just like to read, which English majors can sometimes fall victim to). It just depends on how specialized you want your college experience to be. Career-wise, neither offers a distinct advantage.</p>
<p>Good journalism schools: Mizzou, Northwestern (Medill)
Good English schools: Kenyon, Columbia</p>
<p>I am a journalist by trade, and this debate interests me, so I decided to poll some journalism friends of mine about their college degrees. Here's what they had to say:</p>
<p>"My B.S. major was Film and Television Production/Communications and my Masters is in Childhood Education. No journalism degree..."</p>
<p>"BA: Psychology/Early Childhood Education
MEd: Reading"</p>
<p>"BS: Math
BS: Physics
Certificate: Conservation Biology
MS: Environmental Studies"</p>
<p>"Triple major: English/Music: Vocal Performance/Theatre"</p>
<p>"BA in History, concentration in psych. No masters degrees. In all my years [more than 10] working at magazines and newspapers, by far the vast majority of people majored in something like English or History or maybe Communications. And Ive encountered very very few people with a masters degree let alone a masters in journalism.</p>
<p>You most definitely do not need to major in journalism. More important is work on a school publication and internships. I wouldnt necessarily tell someone NOT to major in it undergrad or NOT go to grad school in journalism, but Id tell them its not necessary. And depending on their long-term goals, it may be better to have a well-rounded understanding of a totally different subject area like political science or economics or history or something."</p>
<p>"I have a Bachelor of Music in Violin from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. I also have a masters in journalism from Columbia." (She went back for it after several years.)</p>
<p>"Officially, liberal arts--that's all Sarah Lawrence offered. But it says "English" on my resume, because that's what I studied the most. Certainly not journalism. I pretty much read Robert Frost for four years. "</p>
<p>"I was a Film Studies major in college, and I worked at my college paper for 3 years as an arts writer (one year of that was as A&E Editor) and photographer. I went to grad school and got an MA in journalism."</p>
<p>"Magazine journalism"</p>
<p>"English" </p>
<p>In addition, one of my editors majored in creative writing and the other majored in English and statistics. Another friend's father is a newspaper journalist (and history major). Another friend has a B.A. in psychology and a Master's in Theater. I could go on and on. . . and I think I have. </p>
<p>I DO also know several people who went to J school, but most of them went AFTER they'd been out in the work world for a while and decided that this was the career for them and that they wanted a more in-depth study of journalism. So I wouldn't say a journalism major is useless, but I would say it's not the most important step to becoming a journalist. </p>
<p>I was a speech communications major, English minor and was heavily involved in the school newspaper. I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but when it came time for interviews, I walked in armed with a pile of clips and decent writing ability. That's what got me my job--not my major.</p>
<p>And one late entry:
English, musical theater minor, and grad school was Liberal Studies. "Def have no journalism training whatsoever."</p>
<p>So, a BA in Journalism is not required for Journalism grad school? If not, what do J Grad-Schools generally look for in their applicants? </p>
<p>I am interested in pursuing a BA in Art History while enrolled in a Pre-Law program. I definitely want to go to grad school, but might decide on journalism, instead..</p>