MS in Journalism

Advance at One of the Best Journalism Master’s Programs Around

Top ranked in multiple lists—from Intelligent’s Best Master’s in Journalism Degree Programs to SCI Journal’s 25 Best Journalism Schools In The US, BU’s MS in Journalism is ranked one of the best journalism master’s programs (2024).

Professional studios and award-winning media—BU’s TV Studio West is outfitted like a major network studio. You’ll have what you need to tell award-winning stories.

Flexible electives and diverse pathways—build areas of expertise like sports journalism, broadcast journalism, photojournalism, documentary journalism, investigative journalism, arts and entertainment, and more.

Fellowships and internships for impressive portfolios—work in Pulitzer Center–sponsored projects and the Massachusetts Statehouse or Washington, D.C. programs.

Expert reporters across platforms—100% of faculty are active journalists, including Pulitzer Prize winners, and alumni go on to investigate, write, record, photograph, and produce award-winning content.

Join Award-Winning MS in Journalism Alumni

Master’s in Journalism alumni work for outlets like the Boston Globe, NY Times, LA Times, the Guardian, WBUR, WGBH, San Francisco Chronicle, ProPublica, CNN, and many more. From Broadcast Assistant at FOX Sports to Emerging Producer Fellow and Multimedia Journalist at NBCUniversal, our alumni have successful careers in journalism. For example: 

• Sports journalism: Boston Globe, ESPN, FOX Sports, Macalester College, USA Today Sports
• Broadcast journalism: ABC News, Bloomberg, CNN, Condé Nast International, The Daily Show, NBCUniversal, New York Times, NPR, PBS, San Francisco Chronicle, US Department of State, WMUR
• Photojournalism: CNN, New York Times, La Presse
• Documentary journalism: CNN, PBS, WBUR’s Kind World

You’re Prepared for Diverse Roles in Journalism

MS in Journalism alumni hold jobs like news analyst, news reporter/correspondent, journalist, PR specialist/manager, producer, director, editor, technical writer, communications manager, broadcast news analyst, film and video editor, and web developer, demonstrating the versatility of your degree in the job market.

You’re Skilled in Key Areas for Journalism

You’ll be prepared to research, plan, create, produce, and disseminate important stories across diverse media platforms. Alumni are skilled in research, communication, social media, photo and video production, writing and editing, and more.

BU offered an incredible hands-on lab setting and all in the heart of one of the most beautiful cities in the country. . . . I loved that that would afford me more time for internships, training, and networking to really curate a graduate school experience for myself. I looked at my time in Boston as a time period where I was totally redefining my trajectory, and BU was the perfect setting for that story to unfold. I didn’t want to rush it.

Ashley Davis, Alumna and Senior Producer at CNN

What You’ll Learn in the MS in Journalism

Build and navigate new models of journalism across media platforms, political aisles, and special topic areas. The Boston University Master’s in Journalism prepares you as a master storyteller, with an emphasis on narrative content and digital and visual journalism across platforms. You’ll learn to analyze and explain complex events across multiple media—and uphold top journalism standards. 

This is one of the best journalism master’s programs in the country.

Explore our curriculum and courses.

You’ll also be able to be part of our annual Power of Narrative conference and Black Media Symposium, both of which bring together narrative practitioners from around the world.

Get Real Experience

In Boston University’s Master’s in Journalism, you’ll learn by uncovering important stories and finding the best ways to communicate them to the world. By the time you graduate, you’ll have an impressive professional portfolio. This is part of what makes us one of the best journalism master’s programs around.

Make the Studio Your Classroom

Students power COM-sponsored newsrooms such as the BU News Service, WTBU radio, and BUTV10 television, as well as the award-winning independent Daily Free Press newspaper.

Build Your Portfolio in Boston

Additionally, Boston’s thriving news media environment provides endless opportunities for investigations and photo, video, narrative, radio, and multiplatform journalism across public policy, science, sports, arts, foreign reporting, and more.

Benefit from Boston

Boston is a top destination for journalism professionals. The city’s thriving newsrooms and public radio stations are some of the best in the country. For example, the Boston Globe is the most successful newspaper in the US. 

• Ranked among the most livable cities in the world
• America’s college town 
• Top 10 US media market
  • Boston Globe, Axios, Politico, WBUR public radio, GBH public radio and television, a statehouse news bureau service, and five commercial television newsrooms 
• Boundless opportunities for internships and careers

Collaborate with Colleagues

BU offers you an amazing opportunity to get published regularly through our newly established Newsroom Initiative. With guidance from our own in-house editor, students can write for an array of news organizations all across New England. 

You can also choose to collaborate with peers at other universities on joint investigations. Campus chapters of national news associations, such as the National Association of Black Journalists, Society of Professional Journalists, and National Press Photographers Association, are also active at Boston University.

Hold Internships and Fellowships

You can take advantage of BU’s proximity to the Massachusetts state capitol building to report on politics and legislation as part of COM’s Statehouse Program. Or head south and spend a semester in the nation’s capital for the University’s Washington, D.C. Multimedia & Journalism Program.

COM works with students to connect with top internship employers. We leverage media relationships with fellowship programs and local newsrooms in Boston and across the country. Examples include paid fellowships with WBUR (Boston’s NPR news station) and the Program on Global Health Storytelling, cosponsored by the Pulitzer Center in Washington

Learn from Award-Winning Journalists

Did you know that 100% of MS in Journalism faculty are active journalists? Here, professors and lecturers practice what they teach. Faculty write bestsellers, produce documentaries, take Pulitzer Prize–winning photos, conduct investigations, and create content of all kinds. They come from print, television, radio, and online-first newsrooms. See a list of our Pulitzer Prize winners.

BU faculty see you as emerging colleagues and are committed to preparing you with connections and experiences for your future career. You receive personal mentorship and direction here.

In the study of journalism, we ask people to tell us their stories. Sometimes the best way to learn how to do that is to practice telling your own. Two [BU COM] professors helped me to do that, and the experiences were so meaningful that I now bring those concepts into my own classroom and encourage my students to focus on the . . . bits of wisdom and pieces of humanity that bind us together.

Noelle Graves, Alumna, Award-Winning Journalist, and Senior Lecturer, Department of Journalism