Model curricula for journalism education for developing countries ...

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Broadcast workshop: radio or TV editing, production, and
performance
Schools that wish to require students to take both newspaper and
broadcast workshops could offer these workshops as shorter units
or offer the newspaper workshop in the first term in place of an
elective course.
• Bachelor’s project
• Journalism electives
• Arts/science courses
Note: A fourth tier of reporting and writing could be offered as a fourth-year course,
concentrating on — and distinguishing between — analytical writing and opinion
writing (see course description below for Analytical and Opinion Writing). Some
re-ordering of courses would be necessary to accommodate this as a required
course. Tier 1 would have to be taken in the first year, as a half credit, following the
Foundations course taught as a half credit, so that Tier 2 could be offered in the
second year and Tier 3 in the third. Tier 4 could then be offered in the fourth year as a
one-semester or two-semester required course. Alternatively, it could be offered (as
it is in this curriculum) as an elective.
MASTER’S DEGREE
In this document we offer two master’s curricula, one for students with little or no
journalism background and one for students with a journalism bachelor’s degree or
at least five years journalism experience. Both master’s programs in these curricula
combine study in journalism with study in a second subject. We understand that
some universities may not be able to offer both programs. If they choose to offer
only the program designed for students with a journalism background they could
require other students to take make-up courses in journalism at the undergraduate
level prior to admission to the master’s program. We do not recommend a oneyear
master’s degree in journalism. Nor would we recommend a master’s degree
in journalism made up largely of coursework and research in the field of mass
communications or mass media studies, though there may be a place in some
journalism schools, especially those offering doctoral programs, for a master’s in
the academic study of journalism. In such cases, students would be required to
take preparatory courses in scholarly research methods and in the literature of
journalism.
A master’s degree in journalism promises a significantly higher standard of
achievement in students’ knowledge and practice of journalism, as well as in their
specialized knowledge of another subject. Students’ evidence-gathering capacity
should show an advanced understanding of research methods, and they should