Program Requirements
Students are expected to enter the program with a firm grasp of written and spoken English.
The MA degree in Journalism requires the completion of 44 credit hours, including a 4-credit culminating course or 4 credit hours for the master’s project or master’s thesis.
Core Requirements*
| JR 600 | Writing and Reporting Across the News Media |
| JR 601 | News and Society |
| JR 604 | Journalism Law and Ethics |
| JR 606 | News Communication Theory and Research Methods |
*Students with an undergraduate degree in Journalism may be eligible to waive JR 600 or JR 604 and substitute an elective course(s) if they completed equivalent undergraduate courses within the last five years with a grade of B or better. For more information, contact the graduate program director in Journalism.
Key Competencies (8 credits)
Print and Multimedia Journalism
| JR 610 | Advanced Print and Multimedia Reporting |
One course from the following:
| JR 608 | Interactive News |
| JR 640 | News Editing and Page Design |
Broadcast Journalism
| JR 611 | Television News Producing |
| JR 613 | Electronic News Gathering/Reporting |
Electives (12 credits)
You may select a mix of elective courses from the following areas (In some classes, assignments may be prepared for more than one medium):
Conceptual Electives
| JR 555 | Reporting Issues of Cultural Diversity |
| JR 570 | Global Journalism |
| JR 571 | Newsroom Management |
| JR 574 | The Press and Propaganda |
| JR 694 | Journalism Topics |
Cross-Media Electives
(Prerequisite: JR 600)
| JR 595 | Multimedia Journalism Practicum |
| JR 608 | Interactive News |
| JR 610 | Advanced Print and Multimedia Reporting |
| JR 611 | Television News Producing |
| JR 613 | Electronic News Gathering/Reporting |
| JR 640 | News Editing and Page Design |
| JR 660 | Feature Writing |
| JR 664 | Specialized Reporting |
| JR 690 | Internship |
| JR 695 | Directed Project |
Electives
(Note prerequisites before registering)
| JR 561 | Television News Magazine and Documentary |
| JR 562 | The Magazine |
| JR 585 | Journalism Topics |
| JR 590 | Online Publishing |
| JR 591 | Broadcast Journalism Practicum |
| JR 592 | Public Affairs Reporting |
Courses from other departments may also be selected as electives with the approval of the graduate program director in Journalism.
Culminating Experience
| JR 693 | Cross-Media Journalism Capstone |
Students are strongly encouraged to enroll in the portfolio-based capstone course, requiring the completion of a professional-quality body of work, as the culminating experience of their master’s program. A thesis or long-form project may be substituted for this course with approval of the graduate program director.
JOURNALISM (MA) at a glance
44-credit program
Full-time enrollment. Full-time enrollment is typically 8 or 12 credits per semester.
Fall admission
Students usually complete the degree in two years.
meet the graduate program director
Professor Jerry Lanson blogs for the Huffington Post and has a passion for ethics. He has taught multimedia reporting, feature writing and advanced print courses. Lanson has also co-written two writing and reporting texts and authored a book on overcoming writer's block.
BroadcAst Journalism Alumni
Boston News Anchors
Pam Cross '75
Latoyia Edwards '98
Ed Harding '75
Gene Lavanchy '86
Maria Stephanos '88, MA '93
David Wade '95
Susan Wornick '71
National Correspondents
Maria Menounos '00, Access Hollywood
Graduate Studies
FOR CURRENT STUDENTS
To read the Graduate Handbook and learn about research and fellowship opportunities, visit the Graduate Studies website.
