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The City University of New York CUNY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM The City University of New York 219 W. 40th Street, New York, NY 10018 General Information 646-758-7800 OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS & STUDENT AFFAIRS 646-758-7700 admissions@journalism.cuny.edu

www. journalism.cuny.edu

CUNY Graduate School

Journalism of

administration Stephen B. Shepard Dean J u d i t h Wa t s o n Associate Dean G e r a l d o Va s q u e z Director of Finance & Administration Stephen Dougherty Director of Admissions & Student Affairs William Chang Director of Career Services Jere Hester Director of NYCity News Service

Dean Stephen B. Shepard

Amy Dunkin Director of Academic Operations Diana Robertson Director of Development

inside The Mission The School Convergence The Curriculum Arts & Culture Reporting Business & Economics Reporting Health & Medicine Reporting International Reporting Urban Reporting NYCity News Service January Academy The Faculty Internships Career Planning Admissions & Student Affairs Paying for J-School The Reviews 10 Reasons to Choose CUNY

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 20

Ya h a i r a C a s t r o Associate Director of Admissions & Students Affairs

board of advisers Roz Abrams Dean Baquet Merrill Brown David Carey Connie Chung Les Hinton Jared Kushner Michael Oreskes Norman Pearlstine Rossana Rosado Howard Rubenstein Arthur Siskind Richard Stengel David Westin Mark Whitaker Matthew Winkler Mortimer Zuckerman

WCBS-TV News Anchor Washington Bureau Chief, Assistant Managing Editor of The New York Times New Media Consultant Group President, CondĂŠ Nast Publications Television Journalist and Anchor CEO of Dow Jones & Co. Publisher of the New York Observer Senior Managing Editor at the Associated Press Chief Content Officer at Bloomberg News Publisher of El Diario/La Prensa President of Rubenstein Associates Senior Adviser to News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch Managing Editor of Time President of ABC News Washington Bureau Chief of NBC News Editor-in-Chief of Bloomberg News Chairman and Publisher of the New York Daily News and U.S. News & World Report

The Research Center

DESIGN BY NANCY NOVICK, PHOTOS BY JOHN SMOCK

THE MISSION RE-IMAGINING JOURNALISM AND JOURNALISM EDUCATION

The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism offers a top-notch, affordable education teaching traditional journalism values while preparing students to thrive in a rapidly changing media landscape. As the profession reinvents itself for the digital age, the CUNY J-School is at the forefront of equipping the next generation of journalists with the tools to find stories and tell them effectively – using print, broadcast, online, or interactive media, or some combination of formats. Just as importantly, our faculty of seasoned journalists is preparing students to reimagine how journalism is practiced, so they can help lead the changes underway while applying age-old standards and ethics to the work they do. Our rigorous three-semester curriculum leading to a Master of Arts in Journalism degree teaches the eternal verities of the profession – reporting, writing, editing, critical thinking, and ethical values – right alongside the tools every backpack journalist will need to survive. The full-time program offers study in five subject concentrations that allow students to delve more deeply into a beat or content area. Every student also graduates with on-the-job experience, through a required paid summer internship. Our students reflect the wonderful ethnic, economic, and international diversity of the U.S. population, and they take pride in digging out stories about people and neighborhoods in New York City often overlooked in the media. In our state-of-the-art facility just off Times Square, we are learning and teaching change. Come join us as we help pave the way for the future of journalism.

The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism 1

THE PROGRAM

THE SCHOOL ALL WIRELESS, STATE OF THE ART The CUNY Graduate School of Journalism lives in the same space that housed The New York Herald Tribune offices from 1924 to 1966. Though the building is symbolic of a bygone era of newspapers, our facility today is very much a 21st century, state-of-the-art journalistic environment. We literally built this J-School from scratch, gutting the interior to create a modern, twostory, all-wireless educational complex. In addition to our cutting-edge newsroom, we have television and radio broadcast studios and control rooms, broadcast editing classrooms, individual editing suites, and whisper rooms. We also have an equipment room stocked with professional broadcast-quality digital video cameras, hard disk audio recorders, digital still cameras, and smart phones â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all available for students to use at no charge. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve even arranged for students to take the J-School home with them by preloading thousands of dollars of software, including Adobe Creative Suite, Final Cut Studio 2, and ProTools, on their Apple laptops. Another important part of our facility is the Research Center, which features a focused collection of more than 1,500 print volumes, 32,000 electronic books, and 40 periodicals, as well as hundreds of full-text electronic journals and databases. Students, faculty, and staff also have access to more than four million additional items via the CUNY library system.

2 The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism

CONVERGENCE

core courses

WORKING ACROSS MEDIA PLATFORMS

Craft of Journalism Legal and Ethical Issues Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

Journalists today are just as likely to have their work appear online as in print or on television, and they may have to produce their own videos, podcasts, slideshows, or blogs. This merging of media platforms is known as convergence, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a guiding principle behind the academic program at the CUNY J-School. Students may concentrate in print, broadcast, or interactive jour-

Broadcast News Writing and Production Craft of Journalism II or Craft of Journalism II - Broadcast

media courses

nalism, but they can also mix and match media courses depend-

Feature Writing

ing on their interests and career aspirations. They get their media

Editing

instruction inside the classroom and from writers, broadcasters, multimedia experts, and photographers who serve as coaches, working one-on-one with students on their projects.

Narrative Journalism Investigative Reporting Opinion Writing Journalism of Ideas

Whether you want to maximize your interactive storytelling skills or become a long-form feature writer for a magazine, we can

Political Reporting Interactive Journalism II Interactive Journalism III

help you craft a course of study to make you a well-rounded

Entrepreneurial Journalism

journalist comfortable working across all platforms.

Advanced Broadcast Production Workshop (Audio Storytelling) Audio Podcasting Television News Magazine Production Journalistic Judgment News Service Workshop

ABOVE

Interactive Program Director Jeff Jarvis speaks at the 2008 New Business Models for News Summit

The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism 3

THE PROGRAM

THE CURRICULUM PRACTICING A HIGHER FORM OF JOURNALISM

Our three-semester curriculum is a carefully constructed blend of the old and the new, designed to ensure a solid grounding in the basics while giving students freedom to tailor their mix of media courses and focus their work in a content area. At the core are what we call the eternal verities of reporting, writing, critical thinking, and ethical values. These are covered in our Craft of Journalism I and II and Legal and Ethical Issues courses that everyone must take. All students also take foundation courses in broadcast and multimedia/interactive skills â&#x20AC;&#x201C; proficiencies every journalist is expected to have in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s converged media world. Beyond that, students may choose to focus in one media format or to combine formats. For example, a student who wishes to specialize in magazine reporting could take print-based courses such as Feature Writing, Narrative Journalism, Investigative Reporting, or Journalism of Ideas. Someone who wants to create documentaries might pick a combination of broadcast, interactive, and print-based courses. In the last two semesters, students also take courses in a subject concentration such as business or international reporting. Each concentration offers three required courses. Specializing gives reporters a framework for producing stories that require insight, analysis, and strong beat development skills. And students graduate with an area of specialty that makes them more attractive to employers. In the final semester, students complete a capstone project that showcases the many skills they have learned.

4 The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism

Arts & Culture Reporting Helping to Understand Culture

Should taxpayers finance the arts? What critical criteria should be applied to emerging forms like music mashups? Does Paris Hilton matter?

subject courses Cultural Reporting This course spans visual art, film, music,

The Arts & Culture concentration grounds students

dance, theater, literature, fashion, food,

in cultural analysis and the history of criticism and

product/interior/graphic design, and

equips them to critique new forms at a time when digital technology is changing how artists make art and how writers respond to it. Taught by journalists

architecture. Students write about people, trends, and institutions, and explore market forces and controversies that affect the arts.

writing for some of the most respected media outlets

Criticism and the Arts

in the country, A&C students explore the aesthetic

Students learn to write criticism of music,

and economic foundations of the arts along with the

movies, and performing, visual, and

technological and political forces that affect them.

interdisciplinary arts. These critical pieces range in length and style â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from short

Students read classic and contemporary writers from Joseph Mitchell and Joan Didion to Katha Pollitt and Anthony Lane. The program director is Margot Mifflin,

reviews to indepth essays. Covering Culture in the Age of Convergence Among the topics in this course are understanding

who has written about art, pop culture, books and

the arts business as it adapts to the digital world,

womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s issues for Elle, The New York Times, The

assessing emerging art forms such as video games

New Yorker, and Salon.com, among many others.

and YouTube, and evaluating user-generated content. The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism 5

THE PROGRAM

Business & Economics Reporting Becoming Financially Literate

This is a fascinating time to consider a career in business journalism. Globalization and the Internet

subject courses

are transforming virtually every industry, forcing ex-

Covering the Economy

ecutives to rethink their business plans and experi-

Students learn the economic context of the

ment with new management styles. Reporters and

business world, including business cycles,

editors who understand how these forces shape the economy and can interpret the ways executives and companies try to survive these sweeping changes are in great demand.

fiscal and monetary policy, and globalization. They interpret statistics, identify trends, and analyze economic controversies. Covering Companies Students learn how to interview executives,

Some business journalism programs emphasize

evaluate corporate strategies, analyze

the courses you can take at their affiliated business

earnings reports, and understand the role of

schools. At the CUNY Graduate School of Journal-

capital markets and investors. They select a

ism, we prefer to teach business concepts in a jour-

single company to cover for the semester.

nalistic context, with practicing business journalists whose real-world experiences inform what you need to know and how you should apply it. The program

Covering Wall Street Students become fluent in the language of Wall Street, learning how the stock, bond,

is led by Sarah Bartlett (above), who has worked as

and currency markets work, and the role

a reporter and editor at Fortune, Inc., The New York

played by Wall Street firms, exchanges, and

Times, and BusinessWeek.

regulators.

6 The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism

Health & Medicine Reporting Focusing on Urban Health

Smart, incisive coverage of health care issues is more vital than ever. The Health & Medicine con-

subject courses

centration prepares future journalists to understand

Covering the U.S. Health Care System

the complexities of the U.S. health system, spot the

This course teaches students where the money

hype and hoopla surrounding the marketing of new

flows â&#x20AC;&#x201C; who pays and who gets it. They learn

drugs and medical technologies, examine medical

about private insurance and public insurance,

conflicts of interests, and investigate how the place where people live and the food they eat affect their

drug company marketing practices, and where hospitals and doctors fit into the financial picture.

health. Students work on the Diabetes Project us-

How to Cover Medical Studies

ing new-media tools to help residents of a Bronx

Students learn how to separate the hype from

community learn about diabetes. Each semester,

reality in studies published in medical journals

students also help produce Talking Health, an hour-

and to find the conflicts of interest in the U.S.

long, live video-streaming webcast on a timely health

medical system and report honestly about them.

topic. The program is directed by Trudy Lieberman, a former investigative reporter for Consumer Reports who

How the World Affects Our Health Here students begin to see how good health is more than just drugs prescribed by doctors. We examine how food, housing, poverty,

currently writes for the Columbia Journalism Review

work-related stress, transportation, and the

and The Nation.

environment affect health.

The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism 7

THE PROGRAM

International Reporting Learning to Cover the World

There is no more exciting place to offer a graduate program in international reporting than New York

subject courses

City. The United Nations, foreign policy experts,

Introduction to International Reporting

international aid organizations, and the largest for-

Students cover the United Nations, do stories

eign news operations in the U.S. are all located here,

about U.S. foreign policy, diplomacy, and

presenting countless opportunities for honing skills needed to report overseas. The city is also home to

global economic and health issues, and report on immigrants and refugees in New York.

an amazingly diverse recent immigrant population,

Cross-Cultural Reporting

including West Africans in Harlem, Mexicans in Jack-

Students immerse themselves in one or more

son Heights, and Chinese and Koreans in Flushing.

of the many ethnic and national groups in New York. Learning customs, communication

As U.S. journalism seeks less costly, more con-

styles, political attitudes, family life and history,

vergence-savvy means of covering the world, we

students cover these communities from the

will be in the forefront of that effort. The program,

vantage point of international correspondents.

led by Lonnie Isabel (above) who oversaw foreign and national coverage as deputy managing editor of Newsday, requires a summer internship in a for-

Topics in International Reporting This is a comprehensive course that targets one or more newsy regions overseas for

eign land, at the U.N., or in Washington covering

coverage, either through a class project or

foreign policy.

with individual assignments.

8 The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism

Urban Reporting Mining the City for Stories

It is hard to imagine any subject more central to the mission of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism

subject courses

than the coverage of cities. Located in one of the

Covering City Government and Politics

most vibrant cities in the world, the J-School has an

Using a variety of media formats, students

unparalleled network of professors expert in every

report on the vast New York City government

conceivable public policy issue, neighborhood, and ethnic group. We are fortunate to benefit from these connections. They inform our curriculum, provide

bureaucracy, public authorities, and key players such as lobbyists, labor unions, and community organizations.

terrific adjuncts and guest speaking opportunities,

Covering New York City’s Economy and Business

and generate eye-opening field trips.

Students learn about the city’s most important industries and employers, the role of small

Students who choose the urban reporting concen-

businesses and immigrant entrepreneurs,

tration are well positioned to take advantage of the

and the impact of real estate and economic

J-School’s NYCity News Service, which feeds stu-

development.

dent work to major news outlets. Heading the urban program is Sarah Bartlett, who covered urban affairs for The New York Times and co-authored a book titled Schools of Ground Zero: Early Lessons Learned in Children’s Environmental Health following the

Covering New York’s Immigrant Communities This course teaches students to cover critical social issues in New York City through the unique lens of the city’s many ethnic communities.

Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City. The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism 9

THE PROGRAM

NYCITY NEWS SERVICE MAKING AND BREAKING NEWS The work at the CUNY J-School doesn’t end in the classroom. The award-winning NYCity News Service provides students a platform to make – and break – news. Led by former Daily News City Editor Jere Hester (below), the multimedia web-based operation feeds neighborhood news and other stories to local and national media. Our reporters get crucial help in placing their work. They’re rewarded with professional-quality clips, which are valuable in securing top summer internships and post-graduation jobs. Combining old-fashioned beat reporting with the new storytelling tools of the trade, the News Service has provided a forum for innovative projects, including an interactive map featuring audio interviews and photos of some 300 New Yorkers and multistory looks at the people behind changing immigration patterns. On Election Day 2008, our reporters turned out some 40 story packages, capturing the city on a day in history. News Service work, which also features a podcast, has been picked up by The Associated Press, New York Daily News, WNYC Radio, and other major news organizations, as well as community papers such as the Norwood News and The Queens Courier. Student stories have also been cited on numerous blogs and web sites, including The Huffington Post and Politico. The site has received the Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence and eduStyle awards. As a companion to the NYCity News Service for longer-form student work, the J-School also produces 219Magazine.com, an online journal of issues and ideas featuring narrative stories, literary reportage, photo essays, and more.

nycitynewsservice.com

10 The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism

JANUARY ACADEMY FURTHERING YOUR EDUCATION In between the first and second semesters, when most schools

sample workshops

are still on holiday break, the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism runs its January Academy. This series of two dozen or so

Non-Fiction Book Writing

seminars and workshops covers important journalistic subjects

How to Do the Intimate Story

that don’t necessarily merit a full-blown course.

Making Sense of the Census Covering Personal Finance

The lineup includes classes that focus on technical skills, such as

Understanding Business

spot news photography, broadcast announcing, and using Excel

Voice Coaching Workshop

spreadsheets in reporting, as well as seminars in specialized areas of writing, such as food, travel, personal finance, and sports. Web Tools for Interactive Storytelling, for instance, explores free and easy-to-use Internet tools that help bring another dimension to journalism on the web. In the ever-popular Freelance Workshop, students submit pitches that are vetted by editors of national publications. For those who just can’t seem to find enough hours in the day to get everything done, Tips, Tricks, and Techniques for Time Management teaches journalists how to be productive.

Preparing a Resume Reel The Art of the Personal Essay The Digital Journalist Copy Editing Essentials News Photography Starting a News Venture Game On: Sports Writing 101 Freelance Workshop Web Tools for Interactive Storytelling How to Find Stories

Courses are taught by experts from the CUNY J-School facul-

Food Writing

ty and the ranks of working journalists. Current students of the

Using Excel in Reporting

J-School pay for the January Academy through a one-time $100

T ips, Tricks and Techniques for

fee and may take as many classes as they wish. The program is also offered at a minimal cost to alumni and CUNY undergraduates interested in journalism. And it’s free to applicants, who can use the classes to give the CUNY J-School a test run.

T ime Management Flash and Interactivity for Interactive Majors Travel Writing

The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism 11

THE PROGRAM

THE FACULTY THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST

The foundation of a great school is a great teaching staff, and at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, the faculty is first rate. Our instructors are all experienced journalists who have worked for top media organizations, from ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN to The New York Times, Time, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal Online, Newsweek, New York Daily News, The Guardian of London, and many more. Among them are six Pulitzer Prize winners, including Bernard L. Stein who won for editorial writing at The Riverdale Press and Steve Twomey who won for feature writing at The Philadelphia Inquirer. Other honors include the five National Magazine Awards won by BusinessWeek during Dean Stephen B. Shepard’s 20-year tenure as editor-in-chief; five Emmy awards given to David Diaz while a reporter/anchor for WCBS-TV and WNBC-TV in New York; and three Overseas Press Club Awards won by Steven Strasser while covering foreign beats at Newsweek. Our New York City location lets us draw upon a large pool of exceptional adjuncts, many of whom come straight from their newsrooms to teach for us – journalists like Andrew Lehren of the investigative unit at The New York Times, Barbara Raab, senior news writer and web editor at NBC Nightly News, and Rose Marie Arce, a senior producer for CNN. We also “borrow” seasoned journalism professors from other CUNY colleges, like Eric Alterman, media columnist for The Nation, or Gerald Solomon, former producer for CNN’s

Linda Prout, Director of the Broadcast Program

12 The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism

Sandeep Junnarkar, Associate Professor, Interactive Program

Anderson Cooper/360. Our faculty members are known for hands-on involvement with students, and they put their extensive connections to use when students are seeking internships, jobs, and freelance opportunities. And you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find a more highly qualified full-time teaching staff, including Assoc. Prof. Jeff Jarvis, author of the BuzzMachine.com blog and What Would Google Do?; Prof. Linda Prout, a Fulbright Scholar and experienced broadcast journalist who produces a show for CUNY TV on ethnic media; Assoc. Prof. Sandeep Junnarkar, former New York bureau chief of CNET News.com and director of a multimedia web site, livesinfocus.org; Assoc. Prof. Wayne Svoboda, a Fulbright Scholar who reported for Time and The Economist; Peter Beinart, a Rhodes Scholar who is editor-at-large of the New Republic; and Assoc. Dean Judith Watson, an award winning political/legislative reporter who was New York bureau chief for United Press International. Other full-time faculty members are described in the subject concentration pages of this booklet. You can view a full faculty listing, with bios, on our web site at www.journalism.cuny/faculty.

Steven Strasser Associate Professor

Trudy Lieberman, Director Health & Medicine

Wayne Svoboda, Director Print Program

Consuella Askew Chief Librarian

The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism 13

THE PROGRAM

INTERNSHIPS BUILDING YOUR RESUME

Academic courses and on-campus experience are only a start when it comes to building your journalism career. In today’s competitive job market, real-world training is crucial. That’s why our paid summer internship program is such an important distinguishing feature of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. As part of our curriculum, we require all students to work in a professional internship position between the second and third semesters. That practical work experience alone becomes a huge asset when you’re applying for jobs. But we sweeten the deal by guaranteeing you’ll receive a minimum of $3,000 for your efforts. We know of no other graduate journalism school that does that. Internships are essential in developing your career on many levels. You’ll be producing stories for real publications, newscasts, or web sites that you can show to potential employers. You also gain through networking in the office and learning from coworkers. Our students have interned at top media organizations in New York City and elsewhere. In many cases, they have been offered jobs after graduation at the places where they interned. As we at the CUNY J-School like to say about our students midway through the program, “They leave for the summer as students. They come back as professionals.” The Office of Career Services works closely with all students to help them find and secure internship opportunities.

14 The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism

recent internships ABC News Nightline ABC News Good Morning America The Associate Press (Santiago, Chile) Bloomberg The Brooklyn Paper BusinessWeek Crain’s New York Business CNN Diaro Libre (Dominican Republic) Dow Jones Glamour.com ESPN Publishing KQED Radio The L Magazine MarieClaire.com MSNBC The New York Times online video unit New Vision (Uganda) New York Daily News Newsday NY1 News NYPost.com People Magazine Point Reyes Light (California) ProPublica The Press of Atlantic City The Queens Courier Saveur Scholastic Math magazines Sports Illustrated TalkingPointsMemo.com Time Out New York Telegraph.co.uk USAToday.com Working Mother Magazine WNYC Radio

OUR SERVICES

CAREER PLANNING HELPING TO FIND JOBS

Landing the right job in journalism can be tough. But students at the CUNY

recent jobs ABC News Bloomberg BusinessWeek CBS News City Hall Newspaper Computer Shopper magazine Crain’s New York Business CNN The Deal ESPN.com Financial Week Herald News (N.J.) MainStreet.com NBC Local Integrated Media The New York Times online Newsday New Jersey News Services New Vision (Uganda) NY1 News Poughkeepsie Journal The Queens Courier/El Correo The Riverdale Press The San Francisco Examiner The Star-Ledger WKBN/WYTV (Youngstown, Ohio) WNYC Radio

contacts

Graduate School of Journalism get a leg up. The Office of Career Services provides a wide range of resources to help you reach the ultimate goal of finding employment after you graduate. Whether you need internship leads, resume polishing, or guidance during a job search, you can expect plenty of personal attention from the career services staff. And since you’re going to school in New York City, you’ll get to meet dozens of journalists and media recruiters who may be in a position to hire you down the road. William Chang Director of Career Services 646-758-7732

Among the services the Career Office offers: ■

Networking Events: These include panel discussions with successful

journalists about career planning, job searching, and freelancing; recruiting visits by media organizations, and an annual job fair where graduating students can meet face to face with prospective employers. ■

Career Skills Counseling: We provide a variety of workshops on topics

such as resume and cover letter writing, interviewing skills, and salary negotiation. One-on-one appointments with staff members are available as well. ■

Career Services Web Site: Students and alumni can tap into our web site

for internship and job listings, freelance opportunities, links to professional journalism organizations and other job-posting sites, and more.

Lili Grossman Career Services Coordinator 646-758-7727

The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism 15

OUR SERVICES

ADMISSIONS & STUDENT AFFAIRS RECRUITING TOP-NOTCH STUDENTS

In the Office of Admissions & Student Affairs, our goal is to attract a diverse group of the highest caliber aspiring journalists, then to guide and support them every step of the way, from application through commencement and beyond. We recruit applicants from a variety of backgrounds. Some will come straight from college, others will be practicing journalists, yet others will be seeking a new career. In all cases, we look for demonstrated writing proficiency and a knack for storytelling, a broad-based undergraduate education, a passion for current events, and a commitment to journalism. We consider candidates from many perspectives. We want to know more about you than your grades and standardized test scores, and invite you to tell us about yourself and your interest in our program in your statement of purpose. Prospective students should consult our application checklist at www.journalism.cuny.edu/admissions/how-to-apply to begin working on their materials. Once we receive your completed application (note that the deadline is January 2), we will schedule you for an interview and entrance exam, either in person or remotely. Our admissions committee reviews all applications, then we send out acceptances in early April. For more information on admissions and student services, please visit our web site at: www.journalism.cuny.edu/admissions.

contacts

Stephen Dougherty Direrctor of Admissions & Student Affairs 646-758-7731

16 The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism

Yahaira Castro Associate Director of Admissions & Student Affairs 646-758-7726

Colleen Marshall Admissions/Outreach Counselor 646-758-7852

PAYING FOR J-SCHOOL THE BEST DEAL THERE IS

The publicly supported CUNY Graduate School of Journalism offers one of the great values in advanced journalism education. Still, many prospective students wonder how theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be able to afford a rigorous, full-time academic program that lasts 16 months. The answer is that most rely on a combination of resources, including personal savings, family assistance, federal and state loans, part-time professional internships, and scholarships. On the scholarship front, the J-School has raised millions of dollars in private funds, allowing it to give financial awards to most students seeking aid. Applicants are notified of scholarship awards at the time of their acceptance to the J-School. Dozens of professional organizations and foundations also offer scholarships to students who meet specialized criteria. Another source of money that can help offset expenses is the required summer internship. A unique benefit of the CUNY J-School, we guarantee every student will receive a minimum of $3,000. Students also contain costs by sharing housing, doing paid work for the J-School, and freelancing or working at an outside job one day a week, the maximum the J-School allows. The Office of Admissions & Student Affairs works closely with students to assemble a plan that will make it possible for them to finance their studies. We also assist out-of-state residents in establishing New York State residency to be eligible for in-state tuition during the third and final term of the program.

The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism 17

ALUMNI

THE REVIEWS OUR GRADUATES SPEAK

Our alumni network provides a link for graduates to stay in touch with each other and with students at the J-School. The network includes, as well, dozens of working journalists who attended one of the CUNY undergraduate colleges. Damian Ghigliotty, Class of ‘08 In the year and a half I spent at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, I learned the fundamentals of business reporting, found an incredible internship, and published several stories, including a piece in The New York Times about the death of local funeral homes. But the most important gem I came away with is the real ability to write and report – from the bottom up and the top down. Angela Hill, Class of ’07 One thing that is really special about the J-School is they will find ways to work with you. During the time I’ve been an alum, I’ve come back to the J-School often to work on little side projects I’m interested in. We use software here at ABC News that is different from the J-School. It’s always great to know I can go back to the J-School if I want to strengthen my skill sets in other software programs. Benjamin Levisohn, Class of ‘07 I don’t think I could have made the switch from trading stocks to journalism without going to CUNY. I had a knowledge base but I didn’t know how to be a journalist. It compressed the kind of training that

18 The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism

would have taken years on the job into a year and a half. With the help of the top-notch faculty, it allowed me to get the kind of job I couldn’t have gotten otherwise. Tyler Mitter, Class of ‘08 What I love the most about the CUNY J-School is the intimacy of the program. It is small enough to foster a learning environment where individuals are nurtured. Here, students find their voices and cultivate their style as journalists, well on the way to becoming brands of their own. During my education here, I made both lifelong friends and professional contacts. Dana Oliver, Class of ‘08 The CUNY J-School was the perfect fit for me. My professors were diverse, well experienced, and very willing to contribute to my growth as a young reporter. My colleagues became like family and were a constant source of emotional support. Annie Shreffler, Class of ‘08 Knowing I would have to do an internship meant the J-School was serious about having me go on and actually become a journalist. This wasn’t just a way to get a degree. This meant we’re going to support you and we’re working on connecting you to the good journalism organizations around the city, the country, and other parts of the world. Daniel Tiegman, Class of ‘08 I came to CUNY with some specific, though challenging goals: improve my reporting, tighten my writing, and learn the basics of digital media in all its formats – not to mention experience one of the most diverse and colorful cities in the world! In a short 16 months, all goals were met and exceeded.

The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism 19

10 REASONS TO CHOOSE CUNY YOU CAN’T GO WRONG

1. Our three-semester M.A. program teaches real-world professional skills. You learn storytelling in every media format, even as you’re studying the age-old journalistic standards of reporting, writing, editing, critical thinking, and ethical values. 2. You get to choose a subject concentration. This enables you to practice a higher form of journalism: stories that require expertise, analysis, and strong beat development skills. And you graduate with an area of specialty on your resume. 3. We provide a paid summer internship to all students. We know of no other J-school that does that. Internships are critical when you’re seeking a job in journalism, so we make sure you’re equipped. 4. Our NYCity News Service syndicates students’ stories to major media outlets. You will soon amass a bunch of professional-quality clips, broadcast pieces, or interactive projects that will help you get a job. 5. We have an exceptionally strong faculty of working journalists with many ties across the media community. They will teach you, mentor you, and reach out to colleagues in the profession to help you find jobs, internships, and freelance opportunities. 6. Our J-School is small and intimate, so every student gets plenty of personal attention from faculty, staff, and classmates. You won’t get lost in the crowd. 7. Our all-wireless facility is cutting edge. And our Times Square location can’t be beat. We’re right next door to The New York Times and an easy walk to many other major media companies. 8. Our alumni network is hard at work for our graduates. The network includes dozens of working journalists who attended one of the CUNY undergraduate schools, such as City, Hunter, Brooklyn, or Queens College. 9. We rank among the leading graduate journalism programs in the country. That’s why we attract top-notch students. And it’s why our alumni get very good jobs after commencement – often where they interned. 10. Finally, you can’t beat the price. As a public university, we offer the best value in the country.

www. journalism.cuny.edu 20 The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism

Dean Stephen B. Shepard

Amy Dunkin Director of Academic Operations Diana Robertson Director of Development

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Ya h a i r a C a s t r o Associate Director of Admissions & Students Affairs

The Research Center

DESIGN BY NANCY NOVICK, PHOTOS BY JOHN SMOCK

www. journalism.cuny.edu

CUNY Graduate School

Journalism of