Top 10 Student-Run Magazines
Jul 14th, 2015 by Issuu
The classrooms and hallways of a university are known for welcoming and celebrating new ideas, critical thinking, and freedom of expression. Student-run publications on college campuses are the perfect outlet for students to discuss and contribute to today’s hottest, pressing, or controversial topics, while also exploring new design techniques and aesthetics. Digital publishing on Issuu maximizes these college magazines’ ability to reach a wider audience and incorporate interactive features to engage even more readers. These student-run magazines also feature up-and-coming and new voices in the industry who will help define and forge the future of publishing — print and digital.
How to create a student publication?
The idea of starting your own publication may sound overwhelming, challenging, and even costly. To help kickstart the process, we’ve created a student publishing guide, which will walk you through designing an editorial calendar, advertising to local businesses, reporting responsibly, defending yourself from censorship, and more.
When it is time to launch your student publication, this is where the power of digital publishing and the Issuu platform really shine. Issuu makes it easy to upload your publication, distribute it online, and become discoverable to a wide audience of readers. Through leveraging Issuu‘s suite of integrated publishing tools, student publishers are able to transform their publications into interactive flipbooks, social media stories, email graphics, and other high-performance digital content.
Echo, Columbia College Chicago
Echo is an award-winning print magazine created by a team of journalism, graphic design, and photography students every spring semester in the College Magazine Workshop of Columbia College in Chicago. For each issue, the students reimagine the magazine, top to bottom, choosing a theme, crafting a design style, and writing and editing stories. Recent issue themes have been Life, which explored our beginnings and endings; Home, which explored the nature of community and belonging; and Body, which explored the power of and threats to our physical being.
ORANGE Magazine, University of Austin, Texas
ORANGE Magazine is a lifestyle magazine produced by students at the University of Texas at Austin. Originally a class project and created as a “magazine by students, for students”, the undergraduate students are given the opportunity to practice skills pertaining to editorial art design, production, finances, and more through a tangible publication, ORANGE Magazine. ORANGE continues to maintain these founding values now as an independent publication.
Vertigo, University of Technology, Sydney
Vertigo is the University of Technology, Sydney’s student publication curated by a ragtag team of student editors. Released six times throughout the year, the magazine encompasses written and visual contributions that have been fostered from a place of curiosity, or that were made with the intention of provoking curiosity in others. All students are encouraged to submit their work, regardless of faculty or experience. Vertigo is a platform that is designed for up-and-comers, as well as the most masterful of contributors. The Vertigo team is there to facilitate voices and guide them towards the expansive world of professional practice.
Spoon University, Northwestern University
Spoon University is the foodie magazine serving Evanston, Illinois’ Northwestern University. Spoon University makes use of mouthwatering food photography and amusing puns. Every page includes several recipes that cater to even the most limiting palate, while keeping the student budget in mind. You’ll want to savor every page of this publication.
Backdrop, Ohio University
Backdrop is an entirely student-produced magazine in the college town of Athens, Ohio. Founded in 2007, it is an outlet for Ohio University students' perspectives on issues including politics, sex, health, entertainment, and culture with regard to the university and its surroundings. Backdrop readers are primarily students who have an interest in their peers and community. Backdrop also provides tips on where to find the best culinary bang for your buck, bands to watch, and more. Published four times yearly, Backdrop has a shelf life of several months, with some articles never going out of style. It is both timely and timeless.
Em Magazine, Emerson College
Founded in 2008 by Emerson College students in Boston, MA, em Magazine strives to keep a close focus on art, culture, and fashion that is relevant for college students and young adults alike. In both 2013 and 2014, em Mag won the first-place Pinnacle Award from the Printing Industries of New England (PINE). Featuring only the highest quality student work, em Magazine is a collaborative publication that embraces the talent that the young people of Boston have to offer.
The PLANET, Western Washington University
THE PLANET MAGAZINE is the quarterly student publication of Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment. The magazine and its student publishers are dedicated to environmental advocacy through responsible journalism.
I,Science, Imperial College of London
I, Science is a London-based science magazine written by Imperial College students in the UK. The magazine is published three times a year. The team producing the I, Science website and the magazine is a group of postgraduate students at Imperial College London, studying for an MSc in Science Communication or Science Media Production.
Salient, Victoria University of Wellington
Salient is the student magazine of Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Founded in 1938 and ever since, Salient has continued to shake up the campus status-quo by chugging out reasoned, topical, and informative content for Victoria University students to engage with. By showcasing a wide range of ideas in its news coverage, opinion pieces, feature articles, columns and graphics, Salient connects students with the real discussions that matter. Salient is partially funded by the students of Victoria University of Wellington through the student services levy, as well as with revenue from advertising.
Grapeshot, MacQuarie University
Grapeshot Magazine was founded in 2009 by Kathleen Steele at MacQuarie University in Sydney, Australia. The magazine is run by students, for students. It features a diverse range of content including news pieces, opinion pieces, creative nonfiction, memoirs, short stories, poetry, photo-essays, illustrations, comic strips, interviews, and reviews.
