CUNY Graduate School of Journalism

The Master of Arts degree in journalism at CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism is a new, intensive, three-semester program designed to prepare gifted graduate students for a wide variety of careers in the field of journalism. This full-time program offers students a course of study that is both broad and deep, emphasizing the eternal verities of the journalistic profession while providing ample opportunities for specialization.

The curriculum is built upon a core of seven common courses, followed by a wide range of courses in different media formats and options for subject matter concentrations. The core courses stress the foundation skills and knowledge that all good journalists must have, including reporting, writing and editing skills, and analytic thinking needed to deal with complex subjects. Other core courses cover journalistic ethics and legal issues, broadcast fundamentals, and fundamentals of interactive media such as online journalism, multimedia presentation, web site design, and blogging.

There can be no more dynamic environment in which to learn and work than New York City. The city is the media capital of the world, and the Graduate School of Journalism is situated in its very heart. Located in midtown Manhattan in the former home of the legendary New York Herald Tribune, the School is just one block from Times Square and next door to The New York Times. With dozens of media outlets within walking distance and the whole of New York City just a subway ride away, the Graduate School of Journalism could not be more ideally located.

In addition to the plentiful resources of New York City, the School itself boasts state-of-the-art media technology and a superb faculty composed of industry professionals and veteran journalists who have chosen to bring their expertise to the classroom. Students will have daily contact with working journalists, developing mentoring relationships and making the connections that will guide them both in and out of the classroom. Students will also participate in professional internships across the city, gaining the hands-on experience that is so important during that first crucial job search.

The School was designed to reflect its mission of preparing students for the ongoing convergence of print, broadcast and interactive journalism technologies. The centerpiece is an 80-seat wireless newsroom with a 20-foot multimedia wall, adjacent to a digital television and radio broadcast center. Five editing suites are supplemented by a 14-position edit classroom, all outfitted with Apple’s Final Cut Pro editing software.

Classrooms can reach out anywhere in the world via wireless connectivity, teleconferencing, online interactivity and live streaming. Instructional space and furnishings are highly flexible to allow students to work in small teams, as an entire class or individually. A café and mini lounges scattered throughout provide informal space for relaxing or working. A library/research center houses 1,500 donated journalism books, newspapers and magazines, which are supplemented by online subscriptions and databases available to students day or night on their Apple laptops.

Consistent with the current push for transparency in news, faculty and administrative offices, seminar rooms and portions of classrooms are constructed of glass and aluminum. A floating stairway of glass, stainless steel and terrazzo joins the third and fourth floors. “Green” technologies were used to improve air quality, save energy, dampen sound and maximize natural light.

In addition to the professional-level radio and broadcast studios at the School, students also have access to facilities at CUNY-TV, a 24-hour cable station located nearby at the CUNY Graduate Center. For their fieldwork, students are able to borrow high-end cameras, microphones and audio recorders, video cams, laptop computers and other equipment from the School’s broadcast center.

Students selected to take the road to advanced study at the Graduate School of Journalism will join some 3,700 others who study at CUNY's Graduate Center, all of them competitively selected from a large pool of qualified applicants. This student body, in the heart of New York City, has a remarkable range of backgrounds and interests. Evenly divided between men and women, it is one of the most diverse student bodies found in any American graduate institution, whether classified by age, ethnic background, or socioeconomic profile. Some arrive after years of professional experience, others are freshly minted graduates of public and private colleges throughout the United States and about 80 foreign countries.