Journalism

About the Major: Students in the Journalism major can opt for two concentrations — Broadcast and Print/Online.

Broadcast Concentration
Wayne State University's broadcast journalism program prepares our graduates for careers in TV, radio, and digital media. Students learn the fundamentals of journalism, and also learn a wide variety of state-of-the-art on-air and producing and editing techniques. All students get real-world experience by doing internships with some of the many professional TV and radio stations in Metropolitan Detroit. Additionally, they learn how to write news for broadcast and how to design and package information for digital media platforms.

Print and Online Concentration
Wayne State University's print and online journalism program prepares successful graduates for a wide variety of careers in journalism and other fields. Students learn how to get information, how to write effectively, and to tell stories and communicate on a wide variety of platforms for many different media. Additionally, they learn feature writing and how to design and package information for digital media platforms.

Career Opportunities: A major in Journalism prepares students for a variety of careers. Journalism majors are employed in fields such as news reporting, editorial, advertising, publishing, public relations, television and radio, corporate communication and publications, social media, writing training programs, grant writing, screenwriting and writing books.

Mission Statement: The journalism program seeks to produce graduates who can gather, analyze, and present the information that enables the public to make informed decisions. Successful journalism graduates understand the social and technological changes that are complicating public communication and are comfortable addressing the interests and needs of diverse audiences.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Gather information through a variety of techniques used in the field using different media platforms.
2. Present information in accurate, concise, and grammatically correct written ways through different media.
3. Use the profession's "best practices" in both gathering and presenting the news.
4. Show an awareness through an Exit Interview that the profession is and will continue to evolve, both in terms of ever-changing technology and in the structure of the workplace.
5. Make informed assessments as to the quality of information gathered using critical thinking skills.

Student Experience: In addition to the skill sets mentioned above, students also get a thorough grounding in the history and law of American journalism and study management techniques and professional ethics. All students do at least one professional internship, many of which have led to jobs.

Journalism Institute for Media Diversity

The Journalism Institute for Media Diversity at WSU is the first of its kind and is one of the few programs in the country dedicated to increasing diversity in the area of journalism. The Institute awards first semester scholarships to new students and other scholarships are available after one semester as a journalism major.

The Benjamin J. Burns Journalism Library

The holdings of Wayne State's Benjamin J. Burns Journalism Library are available for students to take out on loan and use in their own writing and research. The library itself is located on fifth floor Manoogian Hall, room 560, across from the Journalism Office. The holdings are arranged into the two categories of non-fiction and miscellaneous. Basic lists, as universal, keyword searchable, PDFs, are linked below. The list can be obtained also as a Microsoft Access Database. To arrange to check out materials, contact the Department of Communciation at communciation@wayne.edu or (313) 577-2943.

Minor in journalism