University programs
A list of university programs across the country with descriptions of programs offered.
UNIVERSITY PROGRAMS
UNDERGRADUATE
The School of Journalism and Communication offers programs including the Bachelor of Journalism and Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies, Master of Journalism, Master of Arts in Communication, and PhD in Communication. The four-year undergraduate journalism program prepare students to work in journalism with practical instruction and workshop courses in print, radio, television and online journalism, along with a series of academic and lecture-based courses. Carleton also offers an option to pursue more intensive studies in a particular subject area with a Combined Honours degree in Journalism and another area of interest.
In Montreal, Concordia offers journalism undergraduate and graduate programs in which students learn practical skills in radio, television, print and online production workshops, along with a series of academic courses. They can choose to major in print, broadcast, or a stream that encompasses print, broadcast and online journalism. The major stream requires 45 credits, while the stream requires 60 credits. Students combining Journalism with another discipline may elect to graduate with the degree Bachelor of Arts (Combined Honours) in lieu of the Bachelor of Journalism (Combined Honours).The School requires students to demonstrate proficiency in at least one language other than English.
Offered the Surrey, Langley, and Richmond campuses, in British Columbia, Kwantlen offers a four-year degree program in which students earn a Bachelor of Journalism, or an Honours Bachelor of Journalism. The programs are focused on academic studies and practical training that include photojournalism and multimedia storytelling. Students who choose to complete an Honours degree do so by completing additional courses which include an Honours seminar, and directed studies during which they will work independently on a specific area with a faculty advisor on a research and writing project.
Mount Royal University in Calgary offers a four-year multimedia Bachelor of Communications – Journalism degree program. From first year, students receive practical instruction in story development, interviewing, news and feature writing, photography, audiovisual production, and infographics. One work experience internship is required. Students may minor in other subjects of interest and participate in our field schools in India and Mexico. The degree is both a professional degree and an academic degree. Students have gone on to law school, graduate school and teachers’ college post-graduation. Others find careers in news, magazines, public relations for charities, universities, governments and corporations. The journalism department’s flagship publication is The Calgary Journal which has a major impact on the local news environment. Approximately 60 students are admitted to the undergraduate program each year, and class sizes are between 15 to 20 students for most journalism courses and about 25 to 45 for general education.
In Toronto, Ryerson offers a four-year Bachelor of Journalism degree in which students get a combined generalist and specialized education. In their first two years, students learn the fundamentals of research, reporting and writing, as well as the basics of online and broadcast news. After that, they may choose to concentrate in a specific medium (online, newspaper, magazine or broadcast) or gain expertise in a cross-media skill such as editing, or in a specific beat in journalism (including sports, business or international reporting). The final year includes an optional internship at a professional news organization, and the chance to produce a newspaper, magazine, online news portal, or radio or TV program. A variety of liberal studies courses are required, and a minor in economics, politics, English, law or other areas is optional. Approximately 150 students are admitted to the program each year.
In Fredericton, New Brunswick, St. Thomas University offers a major in Digital Journalism and New Media, exploring the art of storytelling in the digital age. The program offers a variety of courses that allow students to develop storytelling skills using multi-media tools, including video, photography, sound, and social media platforms. The program promotes strong writing skills, the exploration of media ethics and the influence of new media in society. The program is designed for students with an interest in professional journalism and digital content production.
Thompson Rivers University In Kamloops, B.C.
The Bachelor of Journalism, with the option of a major in public relations, is an intensive, four-year degree that blends theory and skill development, to train students for jobs as journalists and communication specialists. In the four-year Bachelor of Journalism degree program, students complete 60 journalism credits, with 12 credits required in each of the first and second years, and 18 credits required in each of the third and fourth years. The practical side of the program focuses on writing, editing, interviewing, taking photographs, and working with new technology to produce print and online publications.
The Université de Montréal offers a French language, two-year certificate in Journalism for university graduates, in which all students receive practical instruction and workshop courses in print, radio, photo, television and online journalism, along with a series of academic and lecture-based courses to prepare them to work as journalists.
Université du Québec à Montréal
The Université du Québec à Montréal offers a French language, four-year Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, in which all students receive practical instruction and workshop courses in print, radio, photo, television and online journalism, along with a series of academic and lecture-based courses to prepare them to work as journalists
In Halifax, the University of King’s College offers a four-year Bachelor of Journalism, in which all students receive practical instruction and workshop courses in print, radio, television and online journalism, along with a series of academic and lecture-based courses to prepare them to work as journalists. They offer specialized training in radio and television documentary, magazine, narrative non-fiction and investigative reporting. Kings also offers an opportunity to pursue a Combined Honours degree. Students can choose their second subject from either the faculty of Arts and Social Sciences or Science, as well as one of the college’s three interdisciplinary programmes. The College also offers a one-year Bachelor of Journalism program for university graduates.
The University of Regina offers two undergraduate degree programs:
- Bachelor of Arts in Journalism: a four-year undergraduate degree that includes two years of general arts and two years of concentrated journalism education, as well as at least one paid 13-week newsroom internship.
- Bachelor of Journalism/Bridging to Masters: a two-year post-graduate program for students who already hold a bachelor’s degree in another discipline, with options to pursue either a second Bachelor’s degree or to transition to the Master of Journalism program via one year of undergraduate journalism education and a paid 13-week internship.
Undergraduate students receive practical instruction and workshop courses in print, radio, television and online journalism, along with a series of academic courses. Maximum class size is 26 students. Small class sizes, paid 13-week internships, highly accessible supervision, an integrated First Nations focus, and full access to state-of-the art equipment are program features.
The Digital Journalism program is no longer accepting new students effective Winter Semester 2018. Courses required by current students to graduate will continue to be offered.
The University of Windsor offers a combined honours digital journalism degree. Students learn the theoretical perspectives and technical skills journalists need to compete in the rapidly changing digital marketplace combined with an academic discipline in a four-year honours degree. The goal of the program is to graduate journalists who can find work in mainstream, alternative and citizen media.
In Nanaimo, Vancouver Island University provides students with the Bachelor of Arts program in Creative Writing & Journalism. Students have the opportunity to combine applied and creative writing skills with a background in all aspects of print and electronic publishing including editing, distribution, promotion, and production of print materials. The school also provides a minor in Creative Writing & Journalism.
The Brantford campus of Wilfrid Laurier University offers a four-year Bachelor of Arts in Digital Media and Journalism. Students take a core set of courses, but also choose to specialize in Journalism, Digital and Social Media Studies, or Public Relations. In four years, students will graduate with a one-year post-graduate certificate from Conestoga as well as a Laurier honours Bachelor of Arts in Digital Media and Journalism. During the course of studies, they will develop technical media production skills, be able to create and navigate digital and social media platform and tell intelligent and compelling text-based and visual stories.
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
Ottawa’s Carleton University offers two programs which lead to a Master’s degree in journalism — a two-year program for those with undergraduate degrees, and a one-year program for professional journalists with at least five year’s experience, or those who hold the equivalent of Carleton’s Honours Bachelor of Journalism degree. Those accepted into the two-year Master’s program take one year of journalism fundamentals in print, radio, and T.V., as well as academic classes in journalism and society, media law, research methods, and professional practices. In their second year, students take advanced workshops in two of the four media: print, radio, television or online journalism, as well as advanced academic courses in print and broadcast journalism, public affairs reporting and other optional courses. Students in both programs can also choose to pursue a more academic Journalism Studies stream. Students in both programs must complete a complete a Master’s Research Project or a two-credit Master’s Thesis — a sustained piece of current affairs journalism in a medium of their choosing, or an academic thesis on a journalism topic. Students have the option of completing unpaid apprenticeships organized through the School of Journalism, and they must have 16 weeks of hands-on journalism experience to graduate. Most two-year Master’s students work as paid Teaching or Research Assistants throughout the year. The school admits about 22 people in the two-year program, and about 5 or 6 into the one-year program.
The department is now offering a new one-year Diploma Program in Visual Journalism along with the Graduate Diploma Program and the two-year MA in Journalism Studies..The Graduate Diploma in Journalism provides a thorough and intensive professional formation for those students who already have at least an undergraduate degree in another field of study. This program begins in June each year and finishes in April. The courses are concentrated along two axes. The emphasis in the production workshops – radio and television broadcasting, print and online media – is on practical skills, with newsroom and production standards applied to all assignments and activities. Complementing these workshops are the seminars and lecture-based courses which concentrate on the theoretical and analytical dimensions of journalism education, with a particular focus on the social, economic, political and ideological contexts in which journalism is practiced. The MA in Journalism Studies is intended for students and mid-career journalists who seek a thorough introduction to the theory, the literature and the research methodologies pertaining to the critical-analytical study of journalism as an institution and a practice. It is not intended for students seeking training to become a journalist. Students in this program will undertake course work in journalism history, political economy and research methods, with a number of elective choices (e.g., journalism ethics, mediating diversity, international journalism, textual approaches to journalism). Students’ program of study will culminate in a thesis based on original research under the supervision of a qualified faculty member.
Toronto’s Ryerson University offers a two-year Master’s of Journalism degree to students with any kind of four-year undergraduate degree. Students take classes in newspapers, magazine, broadcast and new media, as well as core classes such as research methods, urban politics and society, covering the city, ethics and law, and journalism history. Students must complete an internship in a newsroom or editorial office. In keeping with the professional nature of the degree, the Master’s project is a substantial piece of journalistic work in the student’s chosen medium. Students must also take interdisciplinary graduate courses offered by Ryerson’s Faculty of Communication and Design, and are expected to complete an internship in the spring and summer of their first year. The program accepts about 28 students each year.
The Université Laval in Quebec City offers an 11-month post-graduate degree (from September to July) in international journalism. The program is open to students who already have a degree in journalism (or have taken at least 30 credits of journalism as a part of another degree), who have a university degree with relevant journalism experience, or who may have no degree but have substantial journalism experience. Applicants must be fluent in French and English, and entrance to the school requires a test in both languages, a question about an international situation, and an interview. Students complete their first trimester at Laval, taking courses in international relations. They then take classes in specialization news at the Graduate School of Journalism of Lille, France, the City University of London or the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, from January to April. Students finish their degree by completing a work placement from May to July.
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia in Vancouver has a two-year Master of Journalism program that runs over four terms, plus a three-month summer internship. The program combines the student’s academic interests with courses in media ethics and theory, alongside applied training in online, print, radio and TV journalism. Students take classes in all media in their first year, in a core course called Multiplatform Journalism. They can specialize in academic disciplines relevant to their interests, such as English, International Relations and Political Science, and Environmental and Health Studies.
The University of King’s College offers a one-year Master of Journalism that is designed for those who already have a strong background in journalism. The program is divided into five blocks:An eight-week introductory basic training module, three six-week long workshops and a month-long internship. The basic eight-week training portion consists of Journalism research, Writing and reporting with audio and video, History and ethics of journalism and news media and the courts in Canada. In the second term students can choose to specialize in two mediums, from television, radio, newspaper, narrative non-fiction and online journalism. The program is restricted to students who have an undergraduate degree in journalism, or very deep experience as a professional journalist.
Master of Journalism: a one-year degree program for journalism degree holders and mid-career professionals. Students without journalism experience may enter the program after completing the Bridging program. The program centres around a major professional project of public interest journalism.
Master of Arts in Journalism Studies (Special Case) allows for more indepth theoretical study of journalism issues.
The University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs offers an eight-month Fellowship in Global Journalism. After a six-week boot-camp in Toronto starting in September, fellows can complete the program from anywhere in the world. Global Journalism students will return to their profession and work part-time as a freelance journalist for media in print, online, television and radio. Munk says the job of its Global Affairs Fellowship program is to mentor students in their first year covering their specialty “in less time than most Master of Journalism degrees.” Students will learn how to identify and pitch stories, investigate and report in written, video and audio form. The program also places a focus on how to compete as a global freelancer from some of the world’s most successful freelancers. Students attend a series of lectures from leading journalists around the world.
College programs
Joint programs
