Where should i look for journalism

College Search & Selection
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<p>The advantage to going to a school which has a strong journalism department, as opposed to merely a strong liberal arts school with a good college newspaper is simple--placement services (including journalism alumni networking), and the portfolio you can build up. Journalism is a field where getting in the door is very important, and you've got a better chance to do that if you've got ready made networking connections. Similarly, the opportunities afforded by certain journalism schools--for example, Missouri, which runs the town (as opposed to the college) newspaper, and runs the NBC-TV affiliate for middle Missouri--cannot be replicated in schools without a journalism program.</p>

<p>This is not to say that someone cannot go to a school without a journalism department and succeed in the field; as just one among many examples, the EIC of The Chicago Tribune is a graduate of The University of Michigan, which has no journalism program. It is easier though to come from a journalism program if you're sure that's what you want to do.</p>

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<p>dadtimesthree--I don't know if that was in answer to my question but it answered it so thanks anyway :)</p>

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<p>Excellent post, dadtimesthree. Welcome to the board.</p>

<p>Echoing Dadtimesthree's comment: The top journalism schools are going to give you some important advantages that you will not get from a non-journalism school, no matter how good the student newspaper.</p>

<p>First, as Dadtimesthree points out, you'll need EVERY advantage possible to break into that first newspaper job. The best J-schools tend to have strong and large networks of alumni actually working in journalism as well as better leads on entry level journalism jobs. Sure, there are people who graduated from Harvard or Yale or Vassar working in journalism, but numbers-wise, graduates of the top j-schools rule the journalism world. </p>

<p>But a great placement service or alumni network alone won't get you your first job. What will get you your first job is the ability to prove you already have the professional skills in hand to jump in and do the job. </p>

<p>Working on a student newspaper - no matter how good it may be - simply isn't the same as being able to show a prospective employer a transcript full of classes in reporting, interviewing, writing, and editing. </p>

<p>Working on a student newspaper- no matter how good it may be - also isn't the same as being able to show a prospective employer a portfolio full of clips from a REAL professional (read: non-student) newspaper. </p>

<p>Now, it may indeed be possible to get those clips as a student at a non-j-school IF your school has the same type of internship network as the top j-schools do. But, in most cases, journalism internship opportunities tend to be placed at the best j-schools, not at the more generalized schools. Additionally, competition for the best journalism internships is usually pretty intense...and j-school students often have an advantage when it comes to landing these sorts of internships.</p>

<p>Again, I want to stress that it is entirely possible to go to a school without a journalism program and end up working in the field. It's just that, in my opinion at least, it is much harder to get your foot in that proverbial front door than it is if you graduated from a strong journalism school. Of course, it's always possible to go to journalism graduate school. :)</p>

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<p>Does going to graduate school for journalism greatly improve your chances on the job market?</p>

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<p>Weezer - that's a tough question to answer. I will take a wild guess and say that (1) it depends on the graduate j-program and (2) whether you majored in journalism undergrad or not. </p>

<p>Number 1 is particularly important because many (but not all) graduate-level journalism programs are focused on turning out future journalism teachers/academics, not practicing journalists. A grad-level program focused on practical journalism skills, not theory, would therefore be the way to go if your goal is to actually BE a journalist.</p>

<p>As for number 2, I suspect, but don't have any hard evidence to prove it, that going on to journalism grad school wouldn't have a serious impact on your chances of landing an entry level job if you already have an undergraduate j-degree from a top j-school. It might, however, make a very big impact if you did not major in journalism in undergraduate school or attended a lesser j-school program. But again, I'm speculating.</p>

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<p>Thanks. Valuable info to anyone interested in Mizzou, you can receive a master's degree in journalism in five years there. (So that's only one additional year after college.)</p>

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<p>Weezer --- Mizzou's graduate program is excellent and well worth the extra time. Columbia and Syracuse also have the kind of skills focused grad programs I'm talking about, and there are others out there as well. If I was going to spend time in a graduate journalism program, however, I'd try really hard to get practical experience at the same time, either through internships, freelance writing, or just working for nothing at a quality local paper. Mizzou and Columbia in particular offer many opportunities for that sort of experience.</p>

<p>One thing aspiring journalists need to keep in mind, however, is that print journalism is not something you do for the money. If you're going to go to graduate school, make sure you don't have to take out large student loans to do so because most entry level journalism jobs pay diddly-squat.</p>

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<p>This is making Mizzou sound better and better each day. I've heard it truly is better than Northwestern, at least you get more hands-on experience. I'm just worried that the other programs aren't strong enough (I want to major in political science and minor in Spanish as well, then possibly doing advertisting too).</p>

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<p>The best journalism school in the country is at Columbia University in New York. Northwestern comes in at a VERY close second. Also, the University of Georgia has a very good journalism school, and may even come in at third.</p>

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<p>Columbia doesn't offer journalism in its undergraduate school.</p>

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<p>I know, that is why I said Columbia University, and not Columbia College.</p>

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<p>Mizzou, U of South Dakota</p>

<p>U of South Dakota produced Tom Brokaw :)</p>

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<p>Ohio U has a great reputation for Journalism.</p>