Department of Journalism

Undergraduate

Journalism has become increasingly complex in the 21st century, and journalists must describe a rapidly changing world using the latest digital technologies to explain events swiftly and thoroughly.

A good journalist not only has technical and professional skills, but also intellectual breadth and curiosity about the world. Journalism students at Boston University combine a solid liberal arts background with pre-professional education to prepare for careers as writers, reporters, editors, and producers for newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and online newsrooms and other new multimedia outlets. Journalism majors therefore take a majority of their courses in disciplines outside COM (usually in the College of Arts & Sciences).

The department provides all undergraduates with the opportunity to study journalism in its broadest aspects: its history and literature; its laws, regulations, and ethics; its traditional role as a motivator and critic of government in a dynamic, democratic society; and its total effect as a social and economic institution. In addition, students acquire professional skill training, including: reporting, feature and editorial writing, editing, producing, news selection, photography, multimedia and interactive publishing, and media management. Boston, as the state capital and a recognized cultural, financial, media, educational, and scientific center, provides special opportunities for the training of journalists.

COM Course Maximum

The Department of Journalism requires that its students take no more than 11 courses within the College of Communication. The goal is to encourage the acquisition of a broad and deep liberal arts education. This requirement may be appealed, in special cases, to the chair. In any case, it does not include COM CO 101/201, any 2-credit course, or those COM courses designated as non-writing-intensive.

Journalism Program

The News-Editorial Sequence

The News Editorial Sequence prepares students for careers in newspaper, wire-service, and online journalism. There are writing opportunities in the award-winning student newspaper, the Daily Free Press.

The Photojournalism Sequence

For more than half a century, the Photojournalism Program at Boston University’s College of Communication has graduated photographers who become top professionals at newspapers, magazines, wire services, agencies, multimedia and internet-based organizations and in the freelance market. The program is an intense, hands-on, career-oriented sequence employing the latest digital technologies. Our graduates have won Pulitzer Prizes and World Press Awards and work for major news organizations including The New York Times, Associated Press, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Time, Newsweek, and international photo agencies.

Advanced students graduate with a thorough knowledge of digital photography, multimedia, and internet-based presentations gained through use of state-of-the-art cameras and digital photo labs.

The Magazine Sequence

The Magazine Sequence trains leaders in the many-faceted periodical field, combining news and feature writing, layout and design skills, and techniques of editing and publishing.

The Broadcast Journalism Sequence

The Broadcast Journalism Sequence emphasizes original reporting in television and radio. The program is designed for students who see careers in writing, researching and production of television and radio news and documentary programming. Students are encouraged to participate in broadcast journalism internships at local radio or television stations during the summer period. Students must have junior status, a 3.0 GPA, completed COM CO 101, CO 201, and JO 307 and declared a journalism major in their sophomore year. Students may not take more than a two-credit internship while they are in junior status. Students are directed, wherever possible, to work assignments for the University radio station, WBUR-FM; the campus radio station, WTBU, and Neighborhood Network News, Boston’s cable television news program.

Washington Journalism Center

The Washington Journalism Center offers senior journalism and graduate students the chance to spend a semester in Washington, D.C., meeting newsmakers, working in the bureaus of national news organizations, reporting on Congress and the federal government for New England news outlets, and studying political reporting. In addition to a course in political reporting, seminars on the legislative process, money and politics, and political feature writing are offered by national journalists. Students are provided with internships in the D.C. bureaus of national print and broadcast news organizations. They also serve as the Washington correspondents for New England news outlets through the Boston University Washington News Service, which has a newsroom also equipped with state-of-the-art television and radio equipment in the Boston University Washington Center on Connecticut Avenue in Northwest Washington. Upon successful completion of the program, students earn 16 credits.

New England Center for Investigative Reporting

A new and exciting addition to the Journalism program is the New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University (NECIR–BU). It provides students with opportunities to work on investigative journalism projects with some of the most skilled professionals in the industry. The primary goals of NECIR-BU are to produce high-quality, high-impact investigative reports; train the next generation of investigative reporters; serve as a platform for experimenting with how to effectively deliver long-form investigative content to a digital audience; and be a model for nonprofit, multimedia, investigative journalism that could be duplicated nationwide. NECIR-BU’s reporting will reach millions of people through reports appearing in boston.com, the Boston Globe, New England Cable News, and WBUR (NPR).

Broadcast and Cable Opportunities

The College of Communication is committed to offering students academic and 
professional opportunities in the newest communication technologies. The College has joined with the Boston Cable Access and Programming Foundation to produce Neighborhood Network News, a nightly evening newscast made available to more than 300,000 potential cable viewing households in Boston. A fully equipped broadcast journalism newsroom and a production studio are located in COM. Students work closely with professional staff to write, edit, report, and produce the newscast.

Internship Program

In conjunction with New England publishers, agencies, and broadcasters, the department has developed an extensive internship program for print, photo, and broadcast journalism majors.

Internships for superior undergraduates can be arranged with the publishers of weekly and daily newspapers and magazines as well as radio, television, and cable news and public affairs programs. When possible, the student selects a publication within his or her field of specialization. Students may intern either part time during a regular semester or full time over the summer. For more details, see the course description for COM JO 412 or COM JO 413.

Internships are also available year-round to broadcast journalism students at both public and commercial radio and television stations, and at Internet news organizations.

All journalism internship candidates must have junior standing, have completed COM JO 307, and have a 3.0 grade point average in their COM courses.

Professional Requirements

Journalism students are required to demonstrate reporting skills and competence as writers.

Graduate

The Department of Journalism offers programs in journalism, broadcast journalism, business and economics journalism, photojournalism, and science journalism. All five programs are designed to produce graduates trained to analyze and explain the complex events of our times as well as raise journalistic standards in all media.

Graduate students also have the opportunity to pursue a specific area of interest. They work with an advisor to design an area of specialization such as politics, sports, magazine journalism, and foreign reporting. A range of interests can be explored with the help of University faculty and other resources during this additional semester, including further enhancement of skills they have gained through previous journalism courses, such as multimedia, magazine, radio, and—of course—writing.

Journalism students at Boston University learn about the profession by covering the activities of local, state, and national government as well as various political, business, and cultural activities. Assignments are under the direction of experienced, accomplished journalists who are current or recent leaders in professional journalism.

The College of Communication ensures not only that students will be trained by the best faculty, but also that they will have the latest technology at their fingertips—for example, computer-assisted reporting and courses on the Internet and website production. (The College maintains its own web page, com.) The radio facility features the latest in digital editing and audio equipment and is home to WTBU and www.wtburadio.org, a student-run radio station that airs regular newscasts, talk shows, and a wide variety of music. Broadcast students also have two fully equipped television studios, one of which is set up for news production, complete with digital editing suites. Participation in BUTV, our in-house television production company, is encouraged. BUTV produces a wide range of television shows that air on local cable networks.

Journalism students have the opportunity to contribute to a number of student magazines, other publications, and the award-winning daily student newspaper, the Daily Free Press. Contact the Department of Journalism if you would like a sample of these publications.

Candidates for a Master of Science in Journalism may enroll as either full- or part-time students in the journalism program, which focuses on the full spectrum of writing and reporting skills. The degree requires a 12-course, 48-credit enrollment.

Candidates for a Master of Science in Broadcast Journalism gain skills and experience necessary to report and produce news and public affairs programs for radio and television. The program entails 12 courses and 48 credits.

The Business & Economics Journalism Program prepares students for a career in one of the most interesting areas of journalism, an area rich in career opportunities. The program, which assumes no previous business or economics training on the part of students, lays a foundation for reporting about people, trends, ideas, and issues in business and the economy. Students cover the Boston economy and their stories appear in area newspapers, magazines, and websites. This program requires a 12-course, 48-credit enrollment.

The Science Journalism Program is designed for those who seek careers as transmitters of scientific and technical knowledge, with a particular emphasis on the environment and medical journalism. The program is completed in three semesters, and requires 48 credits.

The Photojournalism Degree Program is an intense, hands-on, career-oriented sequence employing the latest digital technology. Advanced students graduate with a thorough knowledge of digital photography and multimedia gained through use of our state-of-the-art cameras and photo lab. We are committed to educating well-rounded journalists with a full range of skills, so all students are required to take classes in newswriting and fundamentals of journalism as well as to obtain a strong foundation of liberal arts courses. For more than half a century, the Photojournalism Program has graduated photographers who become top professionals at newspapers, wire services, agencies, and in the freelance market.