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Our
Philosophy
The primary goal of the Journalism Department is to prepare students
to become intelligent, responsible and articulate journalists.
The university is committed to the belief that the best journalism
education combines a strong, professional program with a thorough education
in the liberal arts and sciences. For that reason, the Journalism Department
is within the College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences and its students must fulfill that college's
extensive General Education Requirements. The Journalism Department
occupies a unique place within the college; it is the only department
that prepares students for a specific career.
The department subscribes to the definition of journalism education
given by Edward W. Barrett, former dean of the Graduate School of Journalism,
Columbia University:
"The primary aim of education for journalism is the development of
disciplines, arts and attitudes of mind: the discipline of giving attention
to the distasteful as well as to the appealing; the discipline of learning
to gauge one's best effort to fit an allotted time span; the discipline
of continuing self-education; the art of expresssion that is lean, direct,
precise and deft; the art of grappling with a complex new subject, extracting
information from inarticulate specialists, and synthesizing the finds
faithfully and coherently; the art of recognizing fine points of accuracy
and subtle gradations of meaning; the attitude of approaching new problems
with the open-mindedness and imagination that makes solutions possible.
Above all, one seeks the attitude of ruthless fairness, of reporting
what he dislikes as honestly as what he likes – in short, true
intellectual integrity."
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Program of Study
The Journalism Department strongly urges its students to complete an
additional major in a related field, such as History, Political Science,
Economics, Sociology, Biology, Latin American Studies or a foreign language.
With planning, a student can complete two majors in the College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences in four years. If a student wishes to pursue a second
major in a different school or college in the university (such as the
School of Business Administration), more than four years will be necessary
to meet all requirements. (For more information, see the College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences entry in the UConn catalog.)
All journalism majors must complete one lower-division journalism
course, The Press in America, and at least 24 credits in upper-division
courses in the department. Of the upper-division courses, five (totaling
15 credits) are specified: Newswriting I, Newswriting II, Journalism
Ethics, Law of Libel and Communications, and Copy Editing I. The remaining
nine credits (or more) may be chosen from a variety of courses including
Feature Writing, Magazine Journalism, Publication Practice, Copy Editing
II, Advanced Reporting Techniques, Newswriting for Radio and Television,
and Supervised Field Internship.
Students must also complete 12 credits in upper-division courses in
a related field. (For students who are pursuing a double major, the
courses in the second major may be used to fulfill that requirement.)
Students are urged to consider their related courses as essential to
their career preparation, and to work closely with their advisor to
choose courses that will provide them with the knowledge they will need
to be successful reporters and editors. Students who have a specialized
interest – such as arts or environmental reporting – are urged
to take their related courses in those areas. All students are urged
to pursue courses in Statistics and Computer Sciences, some of which
may fulfill college General Education Requirements.
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Class Size and Grading
Journalism classes at the University of Connecticut are, for the most
part, small; no more than 16 students in a writing or editing class.
Instructors work closely with students. Students write, and rewrite,
extensively. Written work is judged by professional standards: for thoroughness
of reporting, precision, clarity, fairness and writing style. Students
are expected to correct problems of grammar, syntax and spelling before
work is submitted. Because our students are preparing for a profession
in which deadlines are absolute, late work is not accepted.
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Work Experience, Employment
Students are urged to gain experience before graduation. Many work
at the student newspaper or the campus radio or television station.
Others gain experience through freelancing, parttime and summer jobs,
and internships.
Graduates usually find their first jobs as reporters or editors at
small or mid-sized newspapers, magazines or radio and television stations,
and then progress to larger organizations. Alumni
have worked at The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Hartford
Courant, The Providence Journal-Bulletin, The St. Petersburg Times,
The Detroit Free Press, AP, UPI and ABC News, among other places. They
range from local reporters to foreign correspondents, from television-news
producers to magazine editors, from radio newscasters to Congressional
press secretaries. No graduate courses are offered.
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