Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism - Program - Letter to Prospective Collegues

The goal of the Graduate School of Journalism is to produce professional print, broadcast, and new media journalists who move on to positions of leadership and influence. The two-year Master of Journalism (M.J.) program provides intensive training in journalism skills and teaches the traditions and principles of the field.

A Message from Dean Schell

dean_schell While the debate about the proper role of journalism education rages on, the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley has become increasingly clear about its mission. We view the school as a functioning part of the media, a place where thoughtful, competent, ethical journalists are being trained to report on a complex world in a variety of media-newspapers, magazines, television, radio, photography, new media and documentary film. But beyond our commitment to teaching core reporting and writing skills, we are also deeply committed to the idea that students, faculty and staff have much to learn from the world of ideas, literature, the arts, politics and the media themselves. Because we are one of the few journalism schools to offer a two-year program, we can aspire to such an ambitious agenda. Although our students can specialize in one medium, they also have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with others. For example, a student might wish to specialize in reporting for newspapers but still can take courses in new media, magazine writing, broadcast, photojournalism or documentary film.

The events of Sept. 11 reinforced this approach to learning by teaching us that stories are seldom strictly local, national or foreign, and that contemporary journalists do not confine themselves to a single medium to tell their stories. Plots hatched in the remote valleys of Afghanistan affect the residents of a small Pennsylvania coal-mining community, and reporters covering such stories may find themselves using digital video and audio interviews, as well as writing for print and online media outlets.

Recent news events around the world have also underscored the need for journalism schools to respond to our rapidly changing world or risk losing relevance and the capacity to adequately train a new generation for this unique calling.

Although the school covers the traditional disciplines and offers programs in such fields as investigative, urban, environmental, political, and business reporting, we are also global in our focus. We offer a variety of reporting courses each year that have taken our students to Cambodia, Cuba, Argentina, India, China, Mexico, Hungary, Nicaragua, Japan, France, South Africa, Colombia and Ghana. These courses are built around reporting projects that end up in a wide variety of news media.

What distinguishes Berkeley is that we are a workshop of active journalists running the gamut from relative beginners to seasoned veterans, each dedicated to the common proposition that the best journalism is done in an environment rich with new ideas, critical thinking and stimulating colleagues. Our regular faculty remains involved by practicing journalism, which inspires each of them to experiment with new courses. We complement their interests and skills with a revolving cadre of working journalists from the field.

I hope that after you review this bulletin and take a look at our Web site or visit the school, you'll feel as intrigued as we are about the school's ongoing evolution. Please feel free to e-mail or write me, our admissions staff or any faculty member whose field interests you.

We hope we'll see you here as a new colleague sometime in the future.

Orville Schell
Dean