Overview
The goal of the Graduate School of Journalism is to produce professional journalists who move on to positions of leadership and influence in American journalism. The Master of Journalism (MJ) program provides intensive training in journalism skills and a knowledge of the traditions and principles of the field. A professional project is required to complete the two-year program. The program is rooted in the idea that the best possible preparation for careers in journalism is a sound liberal arts education followed by training in journalism at the graduate level. Concurrent degree programs with Law, Asian Studies, International and Area Studies, Latin American Studies, and Public Health are available.
The school offers courses in print, broadcasting, documentary film, radio, television, multimedia, and photojournalism. All students must take a focused and demanding core course that stresses reporting and writing skills. This is because members of the faculty believe that the best way to train students for careers in journalism is to place them under the supervision and guidance of seasoned journalists in small classes, give them instruction in the skills and attitudes of the craft, and introduce them to intensive practice in reporting, writing, and editing. Professors give exhaustive critiques of students' work. Students are also required to take Journalism Law and Ethics and to complete a summer internship at a media outlet.
Beyond the core course, there are courses in specific areas such as political, business, environmental, community, science, international, and cultural reporting. There are also courses that focus on different techniques such as investigative reporting and magazine reporting. The curriculum also includes courses in copyediting and photography, and a sequence of courses in television and radio reporting.
Another group of courses is intended to increase understanding and practice of multimedia reporting. A host of webskills and software classes are offered to give student expert level training with these tools.
Applicants for graduate study should hold a bachelor's degree comparable to that given by the University of California. Requirements and procedures are outlined in the Graduate Application for Admission and Fellowships brochure, available at the Office of the Dean of the Graduate Division, and in the Announcement of the Graduate School of Journalism. Complete admissions information is available on the Journalism website .
The Graduate School of Journalism also offers courses for undergraduates designed to give them insight into journalism.
Undergraduate Program
Journalism: Summer Minor
Graduate Program
Journalism : MJ
Courses
Journalism
JOURN 24 Freshman Seminars 1 Unit
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
The Berkeley Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Berkeley Seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester.
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit as topic varies. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
JOURN 39H Freshman/Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2010, Fall 2009, Spring 2009
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Priority given to freshmen and sophomores
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-4 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
JOURN 39J Freshman/Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2010, Spring 2009
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Priority given to freshmen and sophomores
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-4 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
JOURN 39K Freshman/Sophomore Seminar 1.5 - 4 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013
Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Priority given to freshmen and sophomores
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-4 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.
JOURN 98 Directed Group Study in Journalism 1 - 4 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
JOURN 100 Introduction to News Reporting 3 - 4 Units
Terms offered: Summer 2017 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2016 10 Week Session, Summer 2016 First 6 Week Session
Survey of journalistic principles and practices, and study and practice of methods of gathering, writing, and editing news.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-4 hours of lecture per week
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5-10 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Instructor: Henry
JOURN 102AC The Wire: When Journalism Meets Drama 3 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2013, Fall 2012, Spring 2012
The goal of the class is to make students aware of how the issues of crime, policing, and identity are framed and mediated through television, as well as through conventional journalism. The class will explore the relationship between real crime, popular fiction, and television, specifically The Wire.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.
Instructor: Drummond
JOURN C103 Edible Education: Telling Stories About Food and Agriculture 2 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2013, Fall 2012
As the costs of our industrialized food system become impossible to ignore, a national debate over the future of food and farming has begun. Telling stories about where food comes from, how it is produced (and might be produced differently) plays a critical role in bringing attention to the issues and shifting politics. Each week a prominent figure in this debate explores what can be done to make the food system healthier more equitable, more sustainable, and the role of storytelling in the process.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
Instructor: Pollan
Also listed as: L & S C103
JOURN 110 Introduction to Multimedia 3 Units
Terms offered: Summer 2017 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2016 10 Week Session, Summer 2016 First 6 Week Session
What’s it like to tell stories using a variety of different media? Competence in the use of new journalistic tools and the skill to shape content for rapidly changing formats are both essential for any communicator in the 21st century. This intensive introductory course is designed to teach foundational skills for students who have minimal or no experience in creating multimedia news packages. Using lectures, readings, discussions, guest speakers, and field work, we will guide students through an exploration of the elements and forms of multimedia storytelling, and teach skills in newsgathering and story production.
Objectives & Outcomes
Course Objectives: The objective of this course is to train all students—regardless of their planned area of specialty—to grasp foundational skills that can be applied to many types of storytelling. Using case studies, instructors will teach how to – and how not to -- create, organize and manage multimedia news packages. Students will learn how to choose which medium — video, audio, still photography, graphics or text — best suits the particular type of story or different segments of a story they wish to tell. By the conclusion of the course students will have developed basic skills in choosing stories, shooting video and still images with a mobile device, writing accompanying text, and editing their work by laptop into finished story packages. Importantly, students will also learn how to apply core journalistic values and the highest professional standards to their multimedia work. A required final project presents students the opportunity to apply their learning.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: None
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Instructor: Hernandez
JOURN 111 Social Media and Journalism 3 Units
Terms offered: Summer 2017 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2016 10 Week Session, Summer 2016 Second 6 Week Session
This course will help students understand and use social media for journalistic purposes by focusing on how social networks, conversational media, and associated digital media tools and platforms can be used to develop new sources, establish beneficial conversations with end users, identify story ideas and trends, aggregate and curate the work of other journalists, and promote their own work.
Objectives & Outcomes
Course Objectives: The objective of this course is to help students -- regardless of their area of specialization – know to use social media for cu ration, conversation, and audience-building. By the conclusion of the course students will have developed knowledge of and familiarity with the key players in the fast-changing landscape of social media, and will know how to best use social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and others to transmit stories online and move viewers to action. Students will be alert and adaptable to new forms of social media as they emerge. They will also develop skills in the interactive nature of news in socially-based media, where readers continually interact with authors and where reader reactions serve as an iterative element in the evolution of content.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: A student must complete the following classes to be eligible for enrollment in J111 Social Media and Journalism:<BR/>J110 Introduction to Multimedia <BR/>J100 Principles of Journalistic Writing
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Instructor: Rue
JOURN 115 Advanced Multimedia 3 Units
Terms offered: Summer 2017 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2016 10 Week Session, Summer 2016 Second 6 Week Session
Instruction begins with how to properly approach a news assignment for online publication, specifically how to choose which media form—video, audio, photo, graphics, or text—is best for telling a particular type of story or different segments of a story. Students also learn how to storyboard an assignment by breaking a story up into its component parts and deciding which type of media should be used to tell each part of the story. This is followed by lessons on capturing video, photo, and audio; proper technique; and working with news subjects.
Objectives & Outcomes
Course Objectives: Students will learn software used to edit photos, video, photo slideshows, and audio, followed by instruction on mapping software and online data visualization programs. Some basic HTML instruction will be included.
Recording hardware for this class will rely on student-owned devices—smartphones such as the iPhone or Android. Professional equipment, like a professional audio recorder or DSLR camera that students might already own, is allowed for use in this course. However, lessons will be geared toward capturing multimedia using smartphones. A laptop, or access to a computer in order to perform editing, is required.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Enrollment in this course is restricted to students who have already taken and passed the fundamentals courses J110 Introduction to Multimedia and Principles of Journalistic Reporting & Writing (J100 Reporting the News)
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Instructor: Rue
JOURN 120 Investigative Reporting 3 Units
Terms offered: Summer 2017 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2016 10 Week Session, Summer 2016 Second 6 Week Session
Whether it’s matters of national security, public health, or official misconduct, investigative reporters play a crucial role in a democracy, exposing events, realities and conditions that powerful interests would often prefer kept quiet. The best investigative reporters – such as Woodward and Bernstein, Seymour Hersh, Glenn Greenwald – change the way we think about the world.
The objective of this course is to teach students the basic tools and techniques used in investigative reporting. We will explore how to find sources, obtain public records, and craft enterprising reporting into compelling stories that go behind the curtain of public life.
Objectives & Outcomes
Course Objectives: A goal of this course is to make students proficient in how professional journalists investigate leads, use public records and other sources to unearth or verify buried or hidden information.
By the end of this course students will be able to apply investigative techniques to everyday reporting as well as produce one longer form investigative piece. Students will also have built a working knowledge of the different types of public records available, including understanding how to access court and corporate documents, and be comfortable in using these documents as they report stories. Students whose work is of the highest standards may be published in the Daily Cal or another outlet.
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Instructor: Thigpen
JOURN 130 Specialty Reporting 3 Units
Terms offered: Summer 2017 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2016 10 Week Session, Summer 2016 Second 6 Week Session
This course provides background and techniques for students interested in developing their journalistic skills at covering a single beat. The course will explore the concepts and methods used by beat journalists to write stories that go deeper than general reporting--including source development, understanding key issues, debates and institutions, and parsing official documents. The course will launch with The Good the Bad and the Ugly of American Business. (In subsequent years, at the discretion of the J-School Dean, Specialty Reporting may shift its focus to other news beats.)
Objectives & Outcomes
Course Objectives: As reporters, you can investigate, report and expose the machinations underlying these inequities. Whether you're interested in writing features on funding angels, creative entrepreneurs, or corporate scoundrels, Business Reporting offers you a set of basic tools for understanding, researching and reporting on business practices -- whether good, bad or ugly. To enrich the class, we host guest speakers from business journalism, finance and industry. We also plan a field trip to a Wall Street Journal news bureau where you’ll network with reporters.
Reporters in this class will also read and produce management profiles, color features and stories about creative entrepreneurship, new technologies, funding innovations and corporate philanthropy. The field is as wide as your imagination.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: The prerequisite for this course is Principles of Journalistic Reporting & Writing (J100 Reporting the News)
Hours & Format
Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Instructor: Chase
JOURN 134 International Reporting 3 Units
Terms offered: Summer 2017 Second 6 Week Session
In a globalizing world local stories often become international ones. From politics to financial markets to terrorism and climate change, a more closely connected world often means critical issues do not stay put. Events in Russia, China, Iran and Germany regularly occupy headlines in the U.S. Journalists covering foreign lands now face new levels of complexity in their work. Competent reporting demands a high levels of skill: a broad awareness of global trends, an ability to develop reliable sources, and a keen understanding of how different communities respond to the forces affecting their lives.
Objectives & Outcomes
Course Objectives: International Journalism will build an appreciation of the importance of news originating outside the U.S., as well as increase a student’s skill at critical analysis of foreign news. Students will learn where to find data about foreign entities, how to find and interview sources, and how to write in an authoritative, newsworthy style. By the end of the course students should have a working knowledge of the key issues in one country or region, be able to discuss them in class, and be able to write a well-informed long form news story using their sources and data. Students will also have increased knowledge about customs and cultural sensitivities in the region of the world that is their focus.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: J100 Introduction to News writing is preferred; students who have not taken J100 should notify the instructor
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.
Instructor: David Thigpen
JOURN C141 Understanding Journalism 4 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014
In this course, students learn why sound journalism is so important to a healthy, working democracy. Journalism is rapidly changing. The class will give a context to those changes and provide an overview of comtemporary journalistic institutions. Students will examine how news is made, who decides what news is, who makes it, who profits by it, and what rules guide how reporters and editors work. Central issues affecting journalism, such as bias and professionalism, will be discussed. The class is not specifically intended for future journalists, but students will learn why pursuing a career in journalism can be so fulfilling and thrilling, as well as becoming better consumers of the news.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Media Studies major or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.
Instructor: Goldstein
Also listed as: MEDIAST C103
JOURN 197 Field Study in Journalism 1 - 2 Units
Terms offered: Summer 2017 8 Week Session, Summer 2016 8 Week Session, Fall 2015
Supervised experience in the practice of journalism in off-campus organizations. Individual meetings with faculty sponsor and written reports required. See Additional Information, "Field Study and Internships."
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of fieldwork per week
Summer:
6 weeks - 1-2 hours of fieldwork per week
8 weeks - 1-2 hours of fieldwork per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
JOURN 198 Directed Group Study in Journalism 1 - 4 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Summer 2017 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2017
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Total grade point average of not less than 3.0 and consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week
Summer:
6 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week
8 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
JOURN 199 Supervised Individual Study and Research 1 - 4 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
Enrollment restrictions apply; see department.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Total grade point average of not less than 3.0 and consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer:
6 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week
8 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Undergraduate
Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.
JOURN 200 Reporting the News 5 - 7 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
This course is an intensive 15-week research and workshop experience. It provides the foundation for the rest of the curriculum offered at the J-School. 200 Stresses hard news reporting, writing, and editing. In small classes faculty members with extensive experience in newspaper reporting work to develop the scope and quality of the reporting and writing ability of their students. The researching, reporting, rewriting, and editing schedule is extensive and students work on a range of stories covering a broad spectrum of subjects. The aim is to produce professional level work--publishable newspaper stories--in an environment and timeline similar to a professional environment.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 5 hours of seminar and 15 hours of fieldwork per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructors: Chavez, Drummond, Henry, Gorney, Gunnison, Rasky
JOURN 201 Advanced News Reporting 3 - 4 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015
Advanced study of reporting in more complex subject areas and more sophisticated writing styles.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 200 or consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with consent of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar and 8 hours of fieldwork per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
JOURN 209 Multimedia Reporting Bootcamp 1 Unit
Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013
This is a required one-week intensive multimedia training workshop at the beginning of the fall semester to equip all first-year graduate journalism students with basic knowledge of digital storytelling techniques as well as the use of multimedia equipment and editing software to produce multimedia content. The objective is to train all students—regardless of their planned area of specialty—with some foundational digital skills to be applied during their reporting for the school’s local online news sites in the J200 Intro To Reporting class. The concepts and skills taught during the workshop also will be reaffirmed and expanded over the semester in the Multimedia Skills class.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 1 weeks - 15 hours of seminar and 15 hours of laboratory per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructors: Hermandez, Grabowicz
JOURN 210 News Photography 2 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Fundamentals of photography and taking news photography.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Priority to journalism graduate students
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture and 4 hours of laboratory per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Instructor: Light
JOURN 211 News Reporting Laboratory 2 - 4 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
This course is an intensive laboratory course taken in conjunction with our core reporting class, 200. It is designed to simulate as closely as possible the deadline and production pressures of a modern, multi-media news organization. Students report to the newsroom during the week to receive their reporting assignments. Print, audio, and video elements are gathered, produced, edited, rewritten as necessary and then made available to pre-selected media outlets for publication. Each section will produce a themed final project.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-4 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
JOURN 212 Advanced Radio 1 - 3 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Radio students may continue to develop their news and production skills in several formats: (1) the reporting and production of the weekly "Inside Oakland" program (broadcast on KALX-FM). Each episode explores a specific theme with focus on the geographic, cultural, and political entity known as Oakland; (2) the collaborative production of a documentary program focusing on a particular topic; (3) the development and production of independent long-form pieces for broadcast on different outlets.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 275 or consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with consent of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Drummond
JOURN 213 Documentary Photography 3 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
An exploration of magazine photography as applied to photo essay, day assignments and book projects, as well as content based lectures (location lighting, environmental portraiture, etc.) and critiques. Students work on in-depth assignments that include research, reporting, and photographing. Legal/ethical and business issues are explored, including fund-raising and grant writing to support extended projects.
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with consent of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Light
JOURN 215 Multimedia Skills 3 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
This class teaches the fundamentals of using digital video, audio, and photo equipment, as well as editing digital files. The class is designed to expose students to what it is like to report in a multimedia environment. While primarily for students taking new media publishing courses, the class will be valuable to any student who wants to better prepare for the emerging convergence of broadcast, print, and web media.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of workshop per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Grabowicz
JOURN 216 Multimedia Reporting 2 or 3 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
For journalists, the World Wide Web opens a powerful way to tell stories by combining text, video, audio, still photos, graphics, and interactivity. Students learn multimedia-reporting basics, how the web is changing journalism, and its relationship to democracy and community. Students use storyboarding techniques to construct nonlinear stories; they research, report, edit, and assemble two story projects.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 215 (can be taken concurrently); Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and iMovie or Final Cut Pro
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with different topic and consent of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of workshop per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
JOURN 217 Introduction to Visual Journalism 3 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2014, Fall 2013
"Visual Journalism" explores narratives as they are designed, produced, and consumed in various digital forms. This course serves as your introduction to visual journalism. There is no question that the modern journalist requires a platform-agnostic mindset, along with a broad set of multi-platform newsgathering skills and fluency in the current tools while also upholding the timeless journalistic standards of news judgment, accuracy, fairness and truth.
Objectives & Outcomes
Student Learning Outcomes: Students will conclude the course with a focused base of visual journalism knowledge that they can use as a foundation for other courses at the J-School, as well as the basis for effective and informed ‘newsroom’ discourse and innovation upon graduating.
Students will explore the topic of visual journalism both critically and theoretically through readings, critical thought, and practical, hands-on development with digital tools and technologies.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Hernandez
JOURN 219 Mini-Special Topics 1 Unit
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
A four- to six-week intensive workshop mini-course designed to accompany and enhance other courses in the program. Workshop topics vary from semester to semester, but have included Using the Flash Animation Program, Audio Editing with ProTools, Designing Web Databases, Dynamic Web Page Design, and Using Geographic Information System Programs.
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with different topic and consent of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring:
4 weeks - 2-3 hours of workshop per week
5 weeks - 2-3 hours of workshop per week
6 weeks - 2-3 hours of workshop per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
JOURN 220 Coding For Journalists 2 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Fall 2015
This course is an introduction to programming concepts as they relate to the journalism industry. The goal of this course is to equip students with a foundational technical literacy to construct interactive online stories such as data visualizations, infographics, maps, multimedia packages, games or innumerable other types of projects students may conceive.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Students must have completed the Digital News Packages class in the fall. Students who have not taken this course should contact the instructor for exceptions to the prerequisite. Basic knowledge of jQuery is highly encouraged
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Rue
JOURN 221 Introduction to Data Visualization 3 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
This weekly three-hour course will explore the skills needed to find, clean, analyze and visualize data. The class consists of two hours of instruction and one hour of supervised lab time working on directed projects. Students will create a final project suitable for publication. The focus will be on free and open source tools that can immediately be applied to other projects and professional work.
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: De Groot
JOURN 222 Building Interactive Digital News Packages 3 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016
This class teaches students how to develop interactive online news packages using best practices in design and web development. The course focuses on story structure and production of content and will cover the following topics:
Best practices in developing interactive multimedia stories online;
Design fundamentals and typography for online content;
HTML and CSS for designing and constructing web projects;
jQuery coding for adding interactivity to online content.
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructors: Grabowicz, Hernandez, Rue
JOURN 223 New Media Visuals 3 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015
"Visual journalism" explores narratives as they are designed, produced, and consumed in various digital forms. Students will have the opportunity to explore various digital technologies, create and produce narratives, and analyze stories in digital forms. DSLR video narrative, animated visual explainers, data visualization design will all be explored and will serve as the primary areas of inquiry for this project-driven course.
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Hernandez
JOURN 226 Science Reporting 3 - 4 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015
Advanced study of methods of reporting developments in such fields as science, education, health, or the environment.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: For journalism students, 200 or equivalent; for others, consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with consent of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 8 hours of fieldwork per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Pollan
JOURN 228 Political Reporting 3 - 4 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Fall 2014
Study and discussion of politics and practice in reporting political events and campaigns.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: For journalism students, 200 or equivalent; for others, consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with consent of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 8 hours of fieldwork per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Rasky
JOURN 230 Business Reporting 3 - 4 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2015, Spring 2014
Reporting and writing of business, financial, and consumer affairs.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: For journalism students, 200
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with consent of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 8 hours of fieldwork per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
JOURN 234 International Reporting 4 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013
This course is designed for students who are interested in foreign reporting. Course will include a broad overview of the issues that need to be researched when reporting on the politics, economics, and social issues of a foreign country. Past classes have traveled to Mexico, China, Cuba, Hungary, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructors: Chavez, Wakeman
JOURN 237 Reporting on Japan 1 or 2 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2011, Spring 2010
Each semester, this course will focus on a different aspect of Japan. Among other topics, the class may discuss Japan's changing cultural standards or its developing social problems, its political shifts or its history, the changing economy or the shifts in its regional relations and its global role. Through guest speakers--including noted experts, writers, businessmen, and diplomats--and roundtable discussions, students will develop a greater knowledge of the country for use when reporting.
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with different topic and consent of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Wakeman
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
In this workshop students use the profile form to develop a variety of skills that may be helpful whenever undertaking an ambitious story: figuring out what the story is and why you are writing it; interviewing; observation; background reporting; structuring material; finding your voice; describing people without resorting to cliche; crafting a lead from what seems an infinite number of possibilities. Readings will be from great magazine and newspaper profile writers.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 200 or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Gorney
JOURN 243 Long-Form Writing 3 or 4 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
This class will trace the process of writing long-form pieces: how writers choose their sources, gather information, organize their material, and decide whether or not to believe what people tell them. Students will act as an editorial board for each other. Readings include profiles, books and book excerpts, Pulitizer-winning newspaper features, and magazine pieces from a variety of outlets. All assignments are intended for publication.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 200 or consent of instructor
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with consent of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructors: Gorney, Pollan
JOURN 254 Opinion Writing 2 - 4 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2013
The reporting, writing, and editing of newspaper editorials and op-ed essays.
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with consent of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Rasky
JOURN 255 Law and Ethics 3 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
The first eight weeks will concentrate on First Amendment and media law, including libel and slander, privacy, free press/fair trial conflicts, and litigation arising from controversial reporting methods. The closing weeks will focus on ethical dilemmas faced by reporters and editors. Using case studies, readings and guest lecturers, the course examines the murkier conflicts that don't necessarily make it to court but nevertheless force difficult newsroom decision-making.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 200 or consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
JOURN 260 Investigative Reporting for TV and Print 2 or 3 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Students will be required to investigate leads that are received by the faculty, and prepare briefing papers for the class to introduce guest speakers. They will work on researching and reporting assignments related to documentary productions and print stories for different outlets. "Sources," people with informtion critical to developing a story, need to be developed. The responsibilites of a reporter engaged in developing sourses will be a constant theme of the seminar.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructors: Bergman, Gunnison
JOURN 275 Radio News Reporting 4 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Study of techniques, practices, and methods of gathering and writing radio news. Students will produce weekly live radio news programs. Enrollment is limited to 15.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture and 4 hours of laboratory per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
JOURN 282 Introduction to Visual Journalism 4 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2016, Fall 2015
Study of the history and institutions of broadcast journalism (nine weeks), practice, techniques of reporting news for radio and television.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture and 15 hours of laboratory per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
JOURN 283 Reporting for Television 5 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015
Producing, directing, writing, and videotaping of live weekly television news program.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 282 and consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 24 hours of fieldwork per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
JOURN 284 Documentary Production 4 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Production of television documentary news programs.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 282, 283, and consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 12 hours of laboratory per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Else
JOURN 285 Advanced Television Reporting: Longform Television 4 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Reporting and production of television news magazine stories and programs.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 282, 283 and consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 15 hours of laboratory per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructors: Bieder, Calo
JOURN 286 History of Documentary 3 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2016, Spring 2015
This course covers the evolution of American documentary film from 1920 to the present, with special attention to independent productions and documentaries for network television. In the works of Fred Wiseman, Henry Hampton, Lourdes Portillo, Errol Morris, Marlon Riggs, Barbara Kopple, Orlando Bagwell, the Maysles, and the network staff producers, we look at the practical problems of making documentaries for a mass audience. (Required for J-School students who are considering specializing in documentary.)
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
Instructor: Else
JOURN 287 Inside <Frontline> 1 or 2 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010
This seminar course provides students with the opportunity to meet with and discuss projects with producers and reporters. Each session will focus on a single documentary episode and take an in-depth look on the development of the story out of an idea, the journalistic approach and methods used by the team, the process of finding and creating the appropriate dramatic structure, and the public impact and critique of the program.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 10 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
JOURN 290 Editing Workshop 2 or 3 Units
Terms offered: Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011
It can take a lifetime of writing to learn how to critique and revise your work. Hard as writing can be, rewriting -- breaking back into your own framework, rethinking, re-imagining, and revising -- can be harder yet. Sometimes only an editor can help you gain the distance needed to view your work. No matter how good a journalist you may be, an editor can help you reach another stage in your writing process.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Journalism students only; priority to second-year students completing master's project
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with different topic and consent of instructor. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
JOURN 294 Master's Project Seminar 1 - 2 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Summer 2017 8 Week Session, Spring 2017
Group meetings plus individual tutorials. Methods of research, organization, and preparation of professional thesis projects. Required of M.J. candidates working on thesis projects during both Fall and Spring semesters.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: 200 and consent of instructor
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-2 hours of seminar per week
Summer:
8 weeks - 2-4 hours of seminar per week
10 weeks - 1.5-3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
JOURN 297 Field Study in Journalism 1 - 2 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Summer 2017 8 Week Session, Spring 2017
Supervised experience in the practice of journalism in off-campus organizations. Individual meeting with faculty sponsor and written reports required. See Additional Information, "Field Study and Internships."
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of fieldwork per week
Summer:
6 weeks - 1-2 hours of fieldwork per week
8 weeks - 1-2 hours of fieldwork per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
JOURN 298 Group Study - Special Topics 2 - 4 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Summer 2017 8 Week Session, Spring 2017
Specialized seminar topics in reporting and writing.
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit as topic varies. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-3 hours of seminar per week
Summer:
6 weeks - 5-7.5 hours of seminar per week
8 weeks - 1-3 hours of seminar per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
JOURN 299 Individual Study 1 - 3 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Summer 2017 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2017
Supervised individual study and research.
Rules & Requirements
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week
Summer:
6 weeks - 2-5 hours of independent study per week
8 weeks - 1-3 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate
Grading: Letter grade.
JOURN 601 Individual Study for Master's Students 1 - 8 Units
Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Individual preparation or study in consultation with faculty adviser. Study ultimately leads to the completion of the Master's Project/Examination. Units may not be used to meet either unit or residence requirements for a master's degree.
Rules & Requirements
Prerequisites: Course is restricted to journalism students
Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with consent of graduate adviser. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Hours & Format
Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-8 hours of independent study per week
Summer:
6 weeks - 2.5-20 hours of independent study per week
8 weeks - 1.5-15 hours of independent study per week
Additional Details
Subject/Course Level: Journalism/Graduate examination preparation
Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.
Faculty and Instructors
Faculty
Orlando Bagwell, Professor in Residence.
Lowell Bergman, Professor. National security, forensic science, terrorism, corporate crime, corruption, tobacco, Symposium in Investigative Reporting.
Research Profile
Lydia Chavez, Professor. Jounalism, reporting, writing.
Research Profile
Mark D. Danner, Professor. Central America, politics, Balkans, foreign affairs, journalism, Haiti, documentaries.
Research Profile
William J. Drummond, Professor. Politics, journalism, reporting, national security, freelancing in both print and radio.
Research Profile
Tom Goldstein, Professor. Journalism, mass communications, writer, reporter, editor.
Research Profile
Tom Goldstein, Professor. Journalism, mass communications, writer, reporter, editor.
Research Profile
Richard Hernandez, Assistant Professor. Journalism, new media, Mobile, visual storytelling.
Research Profile
Ken Light, Adjunct Professor. Journalism, photojournalism, documentary photography.
Research Profile
Michael Pollan, Professor. Agriculture, environment, obesity, science, nutrition, journalism, food, cooking, gardening.
Research Profile
Edward Wasserman, Professor. Media ethics, economics and politics of news, professional standards, media history.
Research Profile
Lecturers
Joan Bieder, Senior Lecturer SOE. History of Jewish communities in South East Asia.
Research Profile
Mark Bittman, Lecturer.
Thomas R. Burke, Lecturer.
Robert Calo, Senior Lecturer SOE. Journalism, cultural geography, social history, urban affairs, television news production.
Research Profile
Andres Cediel, Lecturer.
Marilyn M. Chase, Lecturer.
David J. Cohn, Lecturer.
Edwin C. Dobb, Lecturer.
Deirdre English, Lecturer.
Paul Grabowicz, Senior Lecturer SOE. Journalism, multimedia and convergence, new media, online publishing, digital technology, interactivity, computer assisted reporting, entrepreneurism, video games, local online news sites.
Research Profile
Laura Green, Lecturer.
Shaleece Haas, Lecturer.
Carl T. Hall, Lecturer.
Adam Hochschild, Lecturer.
Joshua E. Johnson, Lecturer.
Jennifer Kahn, Lecturer.
Yukari Kane, Lecturer.
Daniel K. Krauss, Lecturer.
James Manilla, Lecturer.
Timothy Mcgirk, Lecturer.
Alan Mutter, Lecturer.
Thomas Peele, Lecturer.
Kara A. Platoni, Lecturer.
Jeremy Rue, Lecturer.
Linda Schacht, Lecturer.
Rebecca L. Skloot, Lecturer.
Zachary J. Stauffer, Lecturer.
Abbie Vansickle, Lecturer.
James R. Wheaton, Lecturer.
Samantha G. Wiesler, Lecturer.
Emeritus Faculty
Ben H. Bagdikian, Professor Emeritus.
Jon Else, Professor Emeritus. Directing, history, film, journalism, writing, documentary, producing, cinematography, nuclear weapons.
Research Profile
Timothy Ferris, Professor Emeritus.
Cynthia Gorney, Professor Emeritus. Ethics, law, journalism, writing, reporting the news, profiles.
Research Profile
Neil Henry, Professor Emeritus. Race, Africa, urban society, journalism, newspapers, community reporting, journalistic values, foreign reporting, sports, fraud.
Research Profile
Neil Henry, Professor Emeritus. Race, Africa, urban society, journalism, newspapers, community reporting, journalistic values, foreign reporting, sports, fraud.
Research Profile
Thomas C. Leonard, Professor Emeritus. Journalism, the press, role of the press in society, journalists and historians, Americans, American history.
Research Profile
Thomas C. Leonard, Professor Emeritus. Journalism, the press, role of the press in society, journalists and historians, Americans, American history.
Research Profile
David Littlejohn, Professor Emeritus. Arts criticism. literary journalism.
Research Profile
A. Kent Macdougall, Professor Emeritus.
Bernard Taper, Professor Emeritus.
Carolyn Wakeman, Professor Emeritus.
Contact Information
Graduate School of Journalism
121 North Gate Hall
Phone: 510-642-3383
Fax: 510-643-9136