<p>I'm sure this has been covered in some capacity before. I tried a couple of different searches to no avail. If so, please just point me in the right direction!
I finished my BA in English Literature in 2008. I really enjoyed it wound up with a decent GPA, but was really unsure about what, specifically, I planned on doing with it. I was also unsure about what was required of me in terms of pursuing a MA, so I failed to get any letters of recommendation.
Here's my issue: I want to pursue a degree in print journalism. If applying for grad progams, how will my chances be limited with no letters of recommendation? Is it even realistic to apply?
On the other hand, a lot of undergrad journalism programs look really appealing, especially with their focus on providing experience through internships (something I failed to pursue during my undergrad).
I guess I'm just looking on advice as to where I should devote my resources.</p>
<p>I think you seriously need to look into the future of print journalism before you spend large amounts of money getting an MA in that field. The industry has taking some serious hits in the last decade.</p>
<p>Thanks, but journalism and newspapers aren’t synonymous. Journalism involves a lot more than simple newspaper or magazine. All programs I’ve been looking at have converging media and internet journalism as their primary focus. Any advice on my issue?</p>
<p>I do not know anything about journalism MA programs but I know you will need letters of rec to be considered for any halfway decent graduate program.</p>
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<li><p>Pursue the MA approach. That’s what terminal MAs are for, or at least a big part of it: to credential people who only decided what they wanted to do after it was too late to learn what they needed to in college. I know a bunch of journalists, and the only ones I know who got MAs were the ones who did no journalism at all in college. Getting an MA will be much more efficient than pursuing a second BA, and you will be ahead of college students in the internship line, too.</p></li>
<li><p>Chances are you can get recommendations if you need them. Your college’s career office is familiar with this problem and likely to help. So is the faculty. Obviously, you may not get anything gushing and personal, but your college is not likely to leave you unable to meet j-school application requirements.</p></li>
<li><p>If you have decided you want to do print journalism, and you didn’t do a lot of it in college, presumably you have been freelancing and writing the past few years. So you should have clips to submit as part of your application, and those will be more important than any recommendation. If you DON’T have clips to submit . . . how the heck do you plan to convince anyone you are ready for journalism school if you have never tried journalism?</p></li>
<li><p>Seriously, print journalism as a profession is on life support. I’m sure all the j-schools have converging media and internet journalism as their primary focus – if you were in the process of being eaten alive by a great white shark, I imagine great white sharks would be your primary focus, too. But being focused on the shark wouldn’t mean you knew enough about it to survive.</p></li>
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