B.S. Journalism
Program Overview
The journalism concentration in the Department of Communication & Theatre has a five-point curricular approach. Students will master the craft of journalistic writing across all media platforms. Along with this skillset, they should be able to articulate the responsibilities journalism has to society at the local, state, national, and international levels. An essential part of that education is in ethics. All courses have elements to help students recognize the ethical challenges journalists face and articulate a range of solutions to those challenges. Student journalists are taught to employ thorough research methods, a basic understanding of statistical concepts, and the verification of facts, for accurate reporting. Finally, the concentration helps students gain professional experience through service in internships and student media.
Why Study This Program
In The Elements of Journalism, Kovach and Rosenstiel state, the “primary purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing.” Today, students of journalism face myriad challenges undreamt of by the framers of the constitution when they established a freedom of the press and debated the very concept of self-governance to which Kovach and Rosenstiel refer. The goal of the Journalism Concentration at Millersville University is to introduce students to these ideas and to teach them the craft of journalism.
This program teaches students writing, editing, research, and the critical thinking skills to pursue a career in this serious field that is an essential part of every community. Students learn how to pursue journalism in all platforms while creating content in student media.
What Will You Learn?
Journalism classes cover topics such as news writing for all forms of media, editing, page design, feature writing, ethics, and the law. Journalism courses at Millersville University include Journalism and Society, Fundamentals of Journalism, Advanced Reporting in a Diverse World, Computer Assisted Reporting, and Feature Writing.
The skills covered in the journalism coursework include:
- Writing for a wide range of news genres and platforms
- Interviewing subjects and gathering information for news reporting
- Data analysis for reporting
- The history of American journalism and the contemporary issues it faces
- Technological changes in the field
- The style/grammar guide established by the Associated Press
- Journalistic ethics and the portrayal of news subjects
- Legal issues surrounding the news media