Journalism

www.comm.uiuc.edu/spike

Head of the Department: Walt Harrington
Director of Graduate Studies: Brian K. Johnson
119 Gregory Hall, 810 South Wright Street, Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 333-0709
Administrative E-mail: d-king6@uiuc.edu
Academic E-mail: bkj@uiuc.edu

Graduate Degree Program

The Department of Journalism offers a graduate program leading to the master of science degree. The department does not offer a Ph.D. degree. For the program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy in Communications, see the entry for Communications.

Admission

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. institution or one of recognized standing abroad. A grade point average of 3.0 (A = 4.0) is the minimum requirement for admission to the Graduate College, with exceptions by petition only. Because the master’s program has an enrollment ceiling, some applicants with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher may not be admitted. The program places a strong emphasis on journalism, and candidates who are accepted are most often those with a demonstrated interest in practicing journalism. It is imperative that all applicants supply writing samples. Letters of recommendation and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are required. If possible, an interview with the head of the department or director of graduate studies is also helpful. A minimum score of 600 is required on the paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) (250 on the computer-based test). Students are typically admitted in the fall semester.

Master of Science

The degree requires a minimum of 32 graduate hours, at least 12 of which must be at the 500-level, including:

A professional concentration of 16 graduate hours approved by the department.Candidates without undergraduate work in Journalism or equivalent professional experience are required to complete either the standard news-editorial sequence or the standard broadcast journalism sequence.
Eight or nine additional graduate hours total in Master's Pro-seminar (four hours), Issues in Journalism (two hours) and Special Topics: Readings (two or three hours).
Four graduate hours in a thesis or in preparation and completion of an in-depth professional journalism project.
At least three graduate hours in additional elective courses.
A graduate-level grade-point average of not less than 2.875.

Financial Aid

See the description of the University fellowship and tuition and service fee waiver program in the introductory section of this site. Most assistantships (teaching or research) are awarded on a quarter-time basis and carry a waiver of tuition and the service fee. To be considered for financial aid, applications, including transcripts and three letters of recommendation, must be received no later than February 15. Students with journalism degrees or professional experience may become candidates for part-time positions in other units of the University that require journalistic skills in writing, editing, and/or photography and graphics.