Master of Arts Journalism & Public Affairs
American University
Key Information
Campus location
Washington, USA
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 year
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
USD 1,922 / per credit
Application deadline
01 May 2024*
Earliest start date
Jul 2024
* 01 May 2024 for international student (rolling admissions)
Introduction
The AU School of Communication MA in Journalism and Public Affairs prepares you for a career as a news and information professional. You'll focus your program studies in one of three areas: Investigative Journalism, Broadcast Journalism, or International Journalism. We partner with top media outlets and changemaking nonprofit news organizations to offer several prestigious fellowships. SOC is home to the Investigative Reporting Workshop (IRW), an independent, nonprofit newsroom that pairs graduate students with professional reporters and editors to produce stories that examine government and corporate accountability. Recent reporting and co-publishing partners include The Washington Post, The Fresno Bee, The Tampa Bay Times, Public Health Watch, WAMU in Washington and WWNO in New Orleans. IRW interns and fellows worked from 2009-2021 on 15 co-productions with PBS FRONTLINE.
Credits: 33
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
The School of Communication offers prestigious merit-based scholarships and fellowships to graduate students.
Fellowships through partner organizations provide varying amounts of tuition remission and stipend, and allow you to gain professional experience while completing your graduate program. Additional applications materials are required to apply.
SOC scholarships are donor-based funds that are credited to your student account and applied to your tuition or refunded to you if you have a balance. Additional application materials are NOT required to apply.
Curriculum
Investigative Journalism
A specialty in Investigative Journalism equips you with the skills to become a top investigative reporter or editor on any media platform. Our students learn how to undertake solid, accurate reporting; to write clearly and concisely; and to create and organize long narrative and investigative stories for all platforms. They also gain a strong foundation in journalism law and ethics. You'll learn from Pulitzer Prize-winning professors, including faculty who work at the School of Communication's Investigative Reporting Workshop, founded and directed by Charles Lewis, best-selling author, investigative journalist, and former 60 Minutes producer. Our students have gone on to notable careers writing and editing for national and international magazines, newspapers, trade publications, websites, and private and non-profit organizations. SOC offers competitive fellowships specifically for investigative reporting students, and a practicum led by award-winning reporter John Sullivan in which students are embedded on the Washington Post's investigative unit.
Courses include:
- COMM-700 Investigative Journalism Practicum
- COMM-607 International Investigative Reporting
- COMM-618 Data-Driven Journalism
- COMM-619 In-Depth Journalism
Broadcast Journalism
If you're looking to launch a career as a writer, newscast or segment producer, editor, reporter, anchor, videographer, graphics producer, assignment editor, or news director, our specialty in Broadcast Journalism is ideal. Our students hone both on-air and producing news skills for television, radio, online, and mobile. You'll be able to take advantage of some of the most advanced university-based video production facilities in the region. American University's Media Production Center features digital video and audio editing suites, a computer-based newsroom system featuring Associated Press' ENPS, an HD-equipped television studio, and the Ed Bliss Broadcast Newsroom. The McKinley Building, home of the School of Communication, boasts a 145-seat theater with 4K digital cinema projection and a state-of- the-art Media Innovation Lab. Our graduates have found success in television, radio, production companies, websites, public and private organizations, and converged news operations with writing, audio, and video storytelling needs.
Courses include:
- COMM-632 Backpack Video Journalism
- COMM-687 Advanced Broadcast Production
- COMM-721 Digital Audio and Podcast Production
International Journalism
Students who specialize in this field see journalism through an international lens. They want to report from international locations, from US locations about international topics, or for internationally-based media organizations such as the BBC, Al-Jazeera, and others. With its base in Washington, DC, our program is ideally situated to help you integrate international aspects into your journalism. You'll take courses that show how the media interact with foreign policy, how you can conduct investigative reporting on global topics, and how international viewpoints can be included in your reporting. International organizations such as the Organization of American States and the World Health Organization have key bases of operation here, as do embassies and consulates from nearly every country in the world. Our students have gone on to pursue ground-breaking journalistic projects in Europe and other international locations.
Courses include:
- COMM-607 International Investigative Reporting
- COMM-643 Foreign Policy and the Press
- COMM-645 Global Journalism: Issues and Trends in the Twenty-First Century
- COMM-648 Topics in International Media
- COMM-705 Media, Persuasion, and Democracy