Graduate Journalism Courses

The E. W. Scripps School of Journalism offers a Master of Science degree and, in cooperation with the School of Telecommunications, a Doctor of Philosophy degree in mass communication (see following section).

Admission is based on your academic and professional background. To assist the school in evaluating your qualifications, you must submit your scores on the Graduate Record Examination, a resume, three letters of recommendation, official transcripts from all colleges attended, and a statement of 500 words or less about why you want to attend graduate school. International students from non-English speaking countries are required to submit a TOEFL score. You need not have an undergraduate major in journalism.

International students should apply as early as possible. All applications for financial aid are due February 1.

The master's program is designed to provide opportunities to study professional journalism or prepare for further academic work. Required coursework in both areas is a blend of professionally oriented classes with mass communication principles, theory, and research.

The flexibility of the program allows professionally oriented students to specialize in newspaper, magazine, or broadcast journalism; public relations; advertising; or visual communication. The master's program requires 49-53 hours and usually involves 15-18 months for completion. Required courses are:

Master's Degree Core: JOUR 501, 511, 512, 803, and 806.

Advanced Research (choose one): JOUR 808, 811, 816, 821, or 830.

Topics Seminar (choose one): JOUR 635, 812, 814, 815, 850, 866, or 871, or 880.

Research (choose one): A thesis, for six hours' credit, involving a carefully designed research project conducted in the traditional academic format; a professional project of publishable quality, for six hours' credit; or a readings option for one hour credit. Students electing the readings option must complete an additioal nine hours of 800-level coursework in journalism beyond the core, advanced research, and topics seminar requirements.

In addition, you are required to take undergraduate reporting, editing, and graphics if you have not previously taken such courses. Credit toward the required 49-53 hours will not be earned for these courses. A graduate electronics publishing course may be substituted for the graphics course.

Some required courses may be waived if you present evidence that you have completed equivalent coursework or have equivalent professional experience. If required courses are waived, other graduate courses must be taken to make up the number of hours.

You are required to maintain an accumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0. Only graduate credits with a grade of B- or above will count toward a degree.