<p>So, I've always wanted to be a writer. And I was wondering would it be smarter to have my undergrad major as journalism or english? Journalism obviously being the more practical choice.</p>
<p>Well, the obvious question seems to be: what kind of writing do you want to do. If you want to write for a newspaper or magazine--journalism. If you want to write literature--English. Plus English is available at almost every school whereas journalism is harder to find (more available at graduate level). There are plenty of writing-related fields for English majors; I, for example, have my sights set on the publishing world (maybe an editor). Then, of course, there is the poor, struggling novelist (another attractive option).</p>
<p>Well, majoring in English, assuming that the classes would be more reading and literature based, wouldn't be any more helpful in your career as a writer (like a novelist?) than a journalism major. Unless the English major had classes specifically focused on creative writing, it does not seem that it would be more beneficial to your career as a writer than a journalism major. Journalism isn't the most practical, either, though. It's one of those jobs where you stay poor for years before you get to any sort of desirable place. Do what you want to do. I know many journalists who did not major in journalism but made it on their writing abilities alone. Don't sell out so early :o( I don't think majoring in the field that you want to necessarily means you'll be unsuccessful for the rest of your life. Plus, there's always graduate school. Good luck :o)</p>
<p>What kind of journalism? It would be interesting to see how many big time journalists majored in something else. Tom Friedman of the New York Times, for example, majored in Near Eastern Studies, and Paul Krugman majored in Economics.</p>
<p>I think majoring in English does help you to write creatively. It's just like watching a pro play basketball if you're learning. You probably won't be writing creatively unless you do take creative writing classes, but seeing how others do it successfully can only help you do the same.</p>
<p>I'd say English. Journalism majors usually just go to grad school in a journalism field. English majors can go to grad school for journalism, law, publishing, film, etc. It leaves more doors open and definetly, being exposed to literature and thinking about it in an anylitcal (spelling?) way will help you become a better writer.</p>
<p>You could double-major if you really wanted to, and it wouldn't be a huge strain, since they're very similar fields. Or do one and minor in the other.</p>
<p>Do most graduate journalism students come from undergraduate journalism programs? I suspect not. Do something else for undergrad and professional school afterwards.</p>
<p>bumpbumpbump</p>
<p>While you call journalism more "practical," I've heard from my journalism major friend that many people in the journalism community say that, if you want to be a journalist, you should just write articles. There is also the contingent that says majoring in journalism is the best way to go, or getting a graduate degree in journalism. What matters is what is best for you. I'd imagine the average English major would have more adaptability than the average journalism major, and that the average English program is more rigourous than the average journalism program. The particular program(s) which you attend is the most important, though.</p>
<p>I think I read a stat once that something like 60% of Columbia's Graduate Journalism program have undergraduate degres in journalism. I'm not sure where it came from, though.</p>