College for Journalism Degree

[NewsRegisterReporter]

Today a buddy and me started talking about the best colleges for journalism. I said Depaul and he said Vanderbilt. Any thoughts?

 

[Write-brained]

Today a buddy and me started talking about the best colleges for journalism. I said Depaul and he said Vanderbilt. Any thoughts?

Best ... and affordable? Best ever? Best for graphics? Best for photography? Best for writing?

Lots of choices, kiddo.

 

[NewsRegisterReporter]

Best and affordable

 

[Lyman_Bostock]

Today a buddy and me started talking about the best colleges for journalism. I said Depaul and he said Vanderbilt. Any thoughts?

Northwestern, Missouri, Columbia and Syracuse are usually the ice-breakers for this conversation.

True, but there's just as many idiots there as there are at lesser-known schools.

You can get an excellent education at those places, but you also can do well at places off the radar. The big advantage is that places like Northwestern, Mizzou and Syracuse can lead to strong internships or offer quasi-realistic work experiences on campus.

 

[Cadet]

Today a buddy and me started talking about the best colleges for journalism. I said Depaul and he said Vanderbilt. Any thoughts?

You really said DePaul? When one of the country's top journalism programs is eight miles to the north? Tell me, what is DePaul's journalism department known for?

 

[friend of a friend]

Today a buddy and me started talking about the best colleges for journalism. I said Depaul and he said Vanderbilt. Any thoughts?

You really said DePaul? When one of the country's top journalism programs is eight miles to the north? Tell me, what is DePaul's journalism department known for?

Richard Daley?

 

[Cadet]

M. or J.?

 

[friend of a friend]

Either

 

[NightOwl]

I say go to Northwestern or Syracuse. Everyone I've ever worked with from those places has been extremely good.

Not so impressed with the Mizzou grads. Great school, yeah, but I've worked with plenty of Mizzou grads who rest on the laurels of being a Mizzou grad. As in, not pushing hard to go forward from that.

That's just my experience. I'm sure there are plenty of great Mizzou grads out there. But I've never been disappointed by a Northwestern grad or a Syracuse grad. Those grads show up strong and get right to work.

 

[deskslave]

Today a buddy and me started talking about the best colleges for journalism. I said Depaul and he said Vanderbilt. Any thoughts?

Yeah. You should have said "a buddy and I." Journalism professors tend to kind of big on that grammar thing.

 

[KoM]

I've always heard heard Missouri and North Carolina are the top. I don't know... didn't go to either one. But 15 years ago when I was in college, profs at my own school said they were the best.

 

[captzulu]

I can speak from experience about North Carolina's program. The J-school offers several sequences: news-editorial (writing/editing), visual communication, electronic communication (TV, radio), advertising, and PR. They are very good as far as writing goes, and there are plenty of publications you can write for (and if you're covering sports for the student paper, plenty of good teams to cover). I only took a few of the design courses when I was there, but from everything I've heard and seen, they've built a pretty strong viz-comm sequence in the near decade since I graduated (especially in multimedia, which is becoming more and more important in journalist training). The student paper's writing is pretty solid, but the design isn't as polished as some other school papers, such as Ball State. And if you're interested in broadcast journalism, they just added a brand new studio in the school. As far as cost goes, UNC is always ranked as one of the best values among public universities, especially if you're in-state.

 

[trifectarich]

Doesn't have to be a "name" program at all. College is what YOU make it.

 

[spud]

It's really moot. An education in journalism is marooned on an island without tangible experience. Now that I know better, I wouldn't have stepped anywhere near the com building when I was choosing majors.

 

[Pulitzer Wannabe]

Doesn't have to be a "name" program at all. College is what YOU make it.

That's nice and utopian, but unfortunately not reality.

For every Bill Plaschke (SIU-Edwardsville) there are thousands of kids coing out of no-name schools that can't get a look.

 

[Ace]

Why do you want to go to J-school?

 

[NewsRegisterReporter]

I agree that it does not have to be a name school. Those were just two that are off the top of my head. I currently go to a no name school and thats fine. I think really if your good at what you do it doesnt maatter. But I thought I would throw it out there.

 

[Pulitzer Wannabe]

I agree that it does not have to be a name school. Those were just two that are off the top of my head. I currently go to a no name school and thats fine. I think really if your good at what you do it doesnt maatter. But I thought I would throw it out there.

Sorry, but in this job market, you need every advantage you can get.

If I had a son or daughter who wanted to go to college for journalism right now, my advice on applications would be as such:

First tier to aim at:
Harvard
Stanford
Yale
Princeton
Columbia
Duke
University of Chicago
Basically the academic heavyweights that transcend all industries.

Second tier to aim at:
Northwestern
Missouri
Syracuse
North Carolina

i.e. The big-name journalism schools

Third tier:
Michigan
Cal-Berkeley
UCLA
Notre Dame
University of Texas
USC
Vanderbilt
Boston College
Etc., etc.
i.e. Tremendous academic schools that also have big-time athletic programs (if your interest is definitely sports journalism)

Fourth tier
Indiana
Florida
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Kentucky
N.C. State
Etc., etc.
Respected schools with big-time sports

I would also urge that they double-major in something like economics and also keep their grades way, way up in the event that they want to switch course later on and go to law or business school, or pursue a PhD in something.

 

[Ace]

I agree that it does not have to be a name school. Those were just two that are off the top of my head. I currently go to a no name school and thats fine. I think really if your good at what you do it doesnt maatter. But I thought I would throw it out there.

Sorry, but in this job market, you need every advantage you can get.

If I had a son or daughter who wanted to go to college for journalism right now, my advice on applications would be as such:

First tier to aim at:
Harvard
Stanford
Yale
Princeton
Columbia
Duke
University of Chicago
Basically the academic heavyweights that transcend all industries.

Second tier to aim at:
Northwestern
Missouri
Syracuse
North Carolina

i.e. The big-name journalism schools

Third tier:
Michigan
Cal-Berkeley
UCLA
Notre Dame
University of Texas
USC
Vanderbilt
Boston College
Etc., etc.
i.e. Tremendous academic schools that also have big-time athletic programs (if your interest is definitely sports journalism)

Fourth tier
Indiana
Florida
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Kentucky
N.C. State
Etc., etc.
Respected schools with big-time sports

I would also urge that they double-major in something like economics and also keep their grades way, way up in the event that they want to switch course later on and go to law or business school, or pursue a PhD in something.

So how you gonna pay for Harvard, pops?

 

[wickedwritah]

I'm an alum, so I'm biased, but Penn State really needs to be in the discussion with places such as IU and North Carolina.

Big Ten athletic programs, a strong academic school, a journalism program that really forces you to be liberally educated, a sports journalism program with a number of classes (if you're going that track), a respected daily (even if it's not on the level of the Daily Orange or some of the others).