Catalog 73 - National University

School of Media and Communicationjournalist has been replaced by who does journalism? Students willbe armed with theoretical and practical approaches to help them andtheir news organizations, both traditional and non-traditional, meetthe world’s voracious appetite for clear, accessible and relevantknowledge—“news you can use”—to help consumers make betterdecisions and lead more informed lives.With the program, National University adds its voice to the debateover what journalism is and needs to become. The program willmarry non-traditional, multimedia skills with longtime foundations,legal underpinnings and ethics of traditional journalistic practice.Near the end of this 13-month program, students will be matchedwith mentors in the businesses they aspire to enter. Along the way,they will create a portfolio of digital clips to help them gainemployment.The degree requires that students are able to write in English at anadvanced level and also be flexible enough to learn the latesttechnological skills that reporters and editors need to survive.Students must already possess a bachelor of arts degree. They mustprove basic competency in certain digital skills or take a series oftutorials in Essential Digital Competencies, JRN 501, as asatisfactory-unsatisfactory companion to their other studies. If astudent’s writing skills need improvement, he or she may berequired to enroll in a remedial writing class before continuing in theprogram. Applicants for whom English is a second language areencouraged to take the Accuplacer English as a second language test.Degree Requirements(14 courses, 63 quarter units)To receive a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism students mustcomplete at least 58.5 quarter units of graduate work, of which aminimum of 45 quarter units must be taken in residence at NationalUniversity. Students can transfer up to 13.5 quarter units at thegraduate level from a regionally accredited institution provided theunits have not been used to satisfy the requirements of an awardeddegree and the Faculty Advisor determines the course content isapplicable to the program. Students wishing to transfer credits intothe program should contact the program faculty advisor. Refer to thesection in the graduate admission requirements for additionalspecific information regarding application and evaluation. Thecapstone in this program will be developed individually with theadvisor and may include an internship in a student’s homecommunity or one arranged through National University’s studentnewspaper.Prerequisite for the Program(1 course; 4.5 quarter units)JRN 501Essential Digital Competencies(does not grant graduate level credit)Core Requirements(13 courses; 58.5 quarter units)The opening course, Multimedia Journalism, will serve as gateway tothe program, which also will offer such innovative classes ascomputer-assisted reporting, the business of journalism, producingthe online publication, specialty reporting and internationalreporting. Admitted students must prequalify for Video Journalismby taking a series of tutorials, but JRN 501 may be waived by theinstructor based on sufficient evidence of professional-level work.Consultation with the advisor is required. Essential DigitalCompetencies can be taken alongside the program for a grade ofsatisfactory/unsatisfactory as a student pursues the degree but mustbe taken prior to Video Journalism, JRN 610.Graduates will acquire a host of intellectual, managerial andjournalistic skills including:• an understanding of the business of journalism;• the ability to form original multimedia journalistic projects aboutpublic issues, events and individuals;• the knowledge to engage in public journalism by conductingpolling, interviewing and interactive audience research;• the training to develop, implement and evaluate appropriatestrategies of investigative journalism using the Web for bothresearch and presentation; and• professional instruction in the foundations of shoe-leatherjournalism, as well as story-generation and reportage.Program Learning OutcomesUpon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:• produce multimedia story packages;• explain how the division of labor has changed in the new,integrated newsroom;• generate material for print, podcast, TV and the Web;• find solutions to the problems of contemporary journalism whileemploying ethical and legal principles;• conduct independent investigations into matters of publicimportance;• create and manage interactive online publications;• build sophisticated online projects that include images, text andaudio; and• evaluate in-depth journalistic stories by conducting post-mortemdebriefings about the handling of coverage.JRN 600JRN 605JRN 610JRN 615JRN 620JRN 630JRN 640JRN 650JRN 655JRN 656JRN 660JRN 670JRN 680Multimedia JournalismAdvanced Feature WritingVideo Journalism(Prerequisite: JRN 501 or waiver approved by FacultyAdvisor)International JournalismProducing Online PublicationsAdvanced EditingThe Business of JournalismComputer-Assisted ReportingSeminar in LawSeminar in EthicsSpecialty ReportingEnterprise ReportingCapstone Project(Prerequisites: Minimum of 10 core JRN classes completed orapproval of Faculty Advisor)■ MASTER OF ARTS IN STRATEGICCOMMUNICATIONS (710-507)Faculty Advisor: Joan Van Tassel • (858) 309-3446 • jvantassel@nu.eduThe goal of the Masters of Arts in Strategic Communications is toprepare students to assume professional positions in organizationsthat must meet the challenges of operating in an increasinglycomplex and interdependent global environment. It will armgraduates with both theoretical and practical approaches todeveloping strategic communications programs that enableorganizations to meet their goals and objectives. Each coursesupplies an essential stepping-stone on the way to planning,executing, and evaluating effective strategic communications efforts.The objective of the program is to develop effective, strategicallysophisticatedprofessionals who possess the full complement ofanalytic and practical tools to lead communication efforts. It willfoster strategic thinking, logical analysis, and solution generation.Upon completion of the degree, graduates will be able to developand implement communications initiatives, using both traditionalmass media and newer cutting-edge channels, such as socialnetworking sites, blog sites, pod and video-casting, instantmessaging, texting, and other mobile media.Media andCommunications285