Department of Journalism
Undergraduate
Journalism students at Boston University combine a solid liberal arts background with an education in professional journalism to prepare for careers as writers, reporters, editors, and producers for a variety of media. Additionally, journalism majors will fulfill a majority of their BU Hub capacities in disciplines outside COM (preferably in the College of Arts & Sciences).
The department provides 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 and videography, multi-platform 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.
Students earning a BS in journalism will have the opportunity to earn experience in a variety of pathways: narrative, visual, hard news, criticism, and others. Students are still urged to select coursework from multiple disciplines for a more balanced education.
Students also have a unique opportunity to fulfill a core professional requirement to work in a traditional newsroom for the award-winning BU News Service; in our exclusive Statehouse Program, covering the state capitol of Massachusetts; or a professional project monitored by one of our esteemed faculty. This requirement is crucial to creating working journalists in all fields.
Professional Opportunities
The College of Communication is committed to offering students cocurricular opportunities in and around the city of Boston. The Boston University News Service is a multi-platform news publication devoted to student-driven journalism. The Department of Journalism has also partnered with the Boston Globe in the past for the Globe Co-Op program, which offers a six-month experience as a full-time paid reporter in the field. Recently, the Patriot Ledger in Quincy also began offering co-op programs to our students. Our Reporting in Depth Course (JO 210), which is required, allows students to be published in regional papers as early as their sophomore year. Our Statehouse Program allows students to cover the Boston statehouse for an entire semester.
Journalism majors also have ample opportunity for internships in the Boston area, with a variety of news organizations and media companies. We partner with companies all around the state, and even around the world. Students are able to work in a multitude of areas, with faculty supervision, in either semester or in Summer Term. Structured internship programs also exist through BU’s Study Abroad programs in London, Sydney, Dublin, Paris, Madrid, Shanghai, and Washington, D.C. Students can receive academic credit for their participation or work on their own to improve their reporting and storytelling skills, and the majority of undergraduate students participate in more than one internship during their academic careers.
Graduate
The Department of Journalism offers a rigorous MS program in journalism. The program is designed to produce graduates trained to analyze and explain the complex events of our times as well as raise journalistic standards in all media.
Throughout their careers, journalists are called upon to tackle a number of issues and stories; as such, a cross-platform knowledge of the industry is essential. Media analytics are also tied into the curriculum. Journalism students at Boston University learn about the profession by covering 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. 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.
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.
Minor in Journalism
The minor in journalism is open to all BU undergraduate students, including COM students, except for those already studying journalism as a major. Current COM students may minor in a department other than their declared department within COM.
Students wishing to enroll in the COM minor must first complete COM CO 201 Introduction to Communication Writing with a grade of C or better. Please go to the COM Undergraduate Affairs website for more information and required courses. Note that there are no exceptions to minor requirements.
