M.S. in Journalism

What You’ll Learn

The master of science in journalism (M.S.J.) program is designed to help those involved in various aspects of mass communication to better understand and to cope not only with the increased complexity of their own majors but also with fields outside mass communications.

The program, created to assist each student in reaching his/her potential as a worker, teacher, or scholar in mass communications, prepares a master’s candidate not only for a first job but also for long-term and productive career development through the study of journalism and related fields.

The M.S.J. program is intended to afford liberal arts graduates an opportunity to concentrate on advanced study in mass communications; to provide intensive study for persons who have undergraduate journalism training and who wish to pool their journalistic skills with extensive knowledge in another substantive area or areas (e.g., political science, economics, science); and to give persons who have had considerable professional experience an opportunity to broaden their academic bases through carefully selected advanced studies.

Tracks

The College of Media offers two tracks—the teaching/research track and the professional track—within the M.S.J. program. In either track, the M.S.J. program offers five Areas of Emphasis (AOEs) that students may pursue, if desired, to obtain additional focus in a specific curricular area. AOEs are available in Advocacy & Public Interest Communications, Media Innovation, Digital Publishing, Visual Journalism, Reporting & Writing, and Television.

Teaching/Research
The teaching/research track is generally a program for persons who wish to pursue a Ph.D., to teach at the college/university level, and to conduct research in areas of mass communications. Persons in this track normally take research and theory courses both inside and outside the College of Media, as well as social science courses. The program culminates in a thesis, which is a scholarly theoretical study of an important aspect of mass communications.

Professional
The professional track is designed primarily for persons who wish to become excellent practitioners in some field of mass communications and who have less desire to teach or to become mass communications researchers. Persons in the professional track normally take communication and outside area courses that will help them to become better practitioners. The program culminates in a professional project, which helps a student to extend his/her practical and theoretical knowledge about a given aspect of mass communications and should be a non-routine project on which the student could work as a professional.

Areas of Emphasis

Advocacy and Public Interest Communication

Choose three of the following course options: Interactive Media and Audience Building, Advocacy Communication, Crisis Communication, Audience Development/Engagement and Public Interest Communication

Digital Publishing

Choose three of the following course options: Interactive Marketing Communications, Experimental Journalism, Multimedia Storytelling, Visual Storytelling for the Media, Data Journalism for a Better Story, Ethics in an AI Society, Digital Publication, Social Media Video and Multimedia News Publication

Media Solutions and Innovation

Choose three of the following course options: Interactive Marketing Communications, Experimental Journalism, Multimedia Storytelling, Visual Storytelling for the Media, Interactive Media and Audience Building, Data Journalism for a Better Story, Ethics in an AI Society, Audience Development/Engagement and Multimedia News Publication

Reporting and Writing

Choose three of the following course options: Investigative Reporting, Adventure Travel Writing and Photography, Sport Journalism, Science/Health Journalism and Nonfiction Storytelling

Television

Choose three of the following course options: Live Sports Video Production, Digital Publication, Social Media Video, Advanced Video Reporting and Producing, Multimedia News Publication and Audience Development/Engagement

Visual Journalism

Choose three of the following course options: Multimedia Storytelling, Visual Storytelling for the Media, International Media, Interactive Media and Audience Building, Digital Publication, Social Media Video, Advanced Video Reporting and Producing and Multimedia News Publication

4+1 Program

The WVU College of Media offers an accelerated Master of Science in Journalism degree program for its top-performing students. Students enter the program during their senior year, taking graduate-level courses along with their remaining undergraduate coursework. During their fifth year, they become full-time graduate students.

The accelerated program results in two degrees - a Bachelor of Science in Journalism (BSJ) and a Master of Science in Journalism (MSJ). Both degrees are conferred at the completion of the MSJ.

Who is eligible?

Undergraduate majors in the College of Media with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5. The MSJ program allows students to customize a research project that is relevant to their interests, whether they are Advertising/Public Relations or Journalism. Interested students must meet with Dr. Urbanski in the fall of their junior year. Freshmen and sophomores are welcome to stop by or e-mail for more information.

What courses would I take my senior year?

Fall

JRL 500: Intro to Graduate Studies (1 hour)
JRL 504: Mass Media & Society (3 hours)
Undergraduate Capstone course (3 hours)
Additional undergraduate courses

Spring

JRL 520: Research Methods (3 hours)
400/500 level major course (3 hours)
Additional undergraduate courses

What course work is left after my senior year?

At this stage, you become a full-time Graduate student.

Summer

JRL 697: Research (3 hours)
JRL 695: Independent Study, optional (3 hours)

Fall

JRL 697: Research (3 hours)
Graduate electives (6 hours)

Spring

JRL 689: Ethics Seminar (3 hours)
JRL 697: Research (3 hours)
Graduate electives (3 hours)

When will I earn my BSJ?

While you finish all of your undergraduate degree requirements as planned in the spring of your senior year, you will earn the BSJ when you finish the MSJ the following spring. If you decide not to complete the MSJ, but have completed all of the BSJ requirements, you can apply to be awarded the BSJ in any semester per the Registrar’s guidelines.

For more information, contact:

Steve Urbanski, Ph.D
Director of Graduate Studies
Steve.Urbanski@mail.wvu.edu

Graduate Faculty

Joel Beeson, Ph.D.
Bob Britten, Ph.D.
Dana Coester, M.A.
Rita Colistra, Ph.D.
Jasper Fessman, Ph.D.
Julia Daisy Fraustino, Ph.D.
Joseph Jones, Ph.D.
Diana Knott Martinelli, Ph.D.
Geah Pressgrove, Ph.D.
John Temple, M.F.A.
Steve Urbanski, Ph.D.

Associate Graduate Faculty

Rick Bebout, M.S.J.
Heather Cole, M.F.A.
Emily Hughes Corio, M.S.J.
Gina Martino Dahlia, M.S.J.
Ashton Marra, M.S.
Mary Kay McFarland, M.A.
Catherine Mezera, M.S.J.
Chad Mezera, M.S.J.
Elizabeth Oppe, Ph.D.
David Smith, M.A.
Lois Raimondo, M.A.

Members of the graduate faculty play a central role in graduate education. They are responsible for program content, they serve on graduate student committees, they foster University-wide research, scholarship, and creative endeavors, and they assure the quality of preparation of the University’s graduates. Application to and appointment as graduate faculty occur at the college/school level. Each college/school establishes and publishes application, evaluation, and appointment/re-appointment processes and criteria for graduate faculty membership. College/school criteria may be more, but not less, stringent than the University-wide criteria described in this document. College/school processes and criteria must be approved by the Graduate Council.

Requirements for Membership

Regular Membership

Individuals who hold appointments at West Virginia University in tenure-track faculty positions or in full-time non-tenure-track faculty or faculty-equivalent positions and who are engaged in scholarly research or creative activity may be considered for regular membership.
Regular members must present evidence of continuing scholarly research or creative activity. Criteria usually include one or more of the following: publication in major peer-reviewed journals, publication of books and book chapters, invited and/or competitively selected presentations of scholarly work at national and international meetings, and presentations and performance of artistic work at professionally recognized events.

Associate Membership

Individuals with ongoing involvement in graduate education at WVU may be considered for associate membership. These individuals may include WVU faculty members who do not meet the criteria for regular membership, non-faculty professionals with terminal degrees or equivalent expertise, and faculty members at other institutions.
Associate members must present evidence of continuing scholarly or creative expertise or involvement in graduate education. Criteria usually include one or more of the following: research activity, scholarly publications, artistic performances or presentations, graduate-level teaching, and service on graduate committees.

Exceptions

Graduate faculty members who leave WVU may continue to serve on student committees with their same graduate faculty status established prior to their departure.
Normally, no candidate for a degree at WVU may be a regular or associate member of the graduate faculty.
Emeritus faculty members may remain on the graduate faculty.
New faculty members may be appointed as regular or associate graduate faculty members.
Individual exceptions to membership criteria may be approved by the Associate Provost for Graduate Academic Affairs.

Functions of Graduate Faculty Members

Regular graduate faculty members may serve on and chair students’ thesis and dissertation committees.
Associate graduate faculty members may serve on students’ thesis and dissertation committees, but may not chair them.
Graduate faculty members serve other functions, such as chairing or serving on other types of graduate committees and graduate program committees, and teaching graduate courses, as determined by their college/school.

Appointment and Evaluation of Graduate Faculty Members

Appointment to the graduate faculty for WVU faculty members must be through the college/school in which they hold their primary faculty appointment. Faculty members may request appointment to the graduate faculty in other colleges/schools, but may not be designated a regular graduate faculty member in any college/school if that status is not held in the primary college/school.
Colleges/schools establish an appropriate time schedule for evaluating individuals for initial appointment to the graduate faculty and for upgrading or downgrading graduate faculty status. At least once every three years, a decision must be made to continue, discontinue, or change an individual’s current level of membership. An individual whose graduate faculty membership is discontinued or changed from regular to associate status will be permitted to complete current responsibilities, but may only assume additional responsibilities that are consistent with the new status.

Appeals

Appeals regarding graduate faculty membership classification shall be handled through grievance procedures identified in section 5.8.2 of the West Virginia University Faculty Handbook.

Courses

To graduate from WVU and the Reed College of Media with an Master of Science in Journalism (MSJ) degree, the student must complete a minimum of 30 semester hours of acceptable course credit.

The full-time course load for MSJ students is nine credit hours per semester. Typically, students complete their degrees in two years or less.

Students in the MSJ program are expected to maintain satisfactory progress toward their degree. A student’s graduate record begins with the first course attempted as a graduate student and includes all subsequent courses. Students must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0. Any student who fails to meet this standard can be put on academic probation and may eventually be dropped from the program if their grades do not improve.

Of the minimum 30 credit hours, 24 hours must be relevant course credits. Students may also take up to six credit hours toward their thesis or professional project.

All MSJ students must successfully complete the following courses in this sequence:

JRL 600 Introduction to Graduate Studies (1 hr)
JRL 604 Mass Media and Society (3 hrs)
JRL 620 Advanced Journalistic Writing and Research (3 hrs)
JRL 689 Graduate Ethics Seminar (3 hrs)

Nine additional credit hours should be taken in the College of Media. All remaining credit hours should be taken outside of the College. Students should note that the majority of credits submitted for the degree must be in courses numbered 500 or above.

Course work must be completed with a minimum grade-point average of 3.0. The thesis and professional project are graded as S or U (satisfactory or unsatisfactory).

Except for thesis, professional project and internship credit hours, no student will be permitted to take a course on a pass-fail or satisfactory-unsatisfactory grade basis without prior approval of the director of graduate studies.

View the full list of M.S. Journalism courses

Graduation

Students in the MSJ program should apply for graduation during the first two weeks of the term in which they wish to graduate.

To apply for graduation, complete the following steps:

Log into your MIX account (http://mix.wvu.edu)
Go back to STAR homepage in MIX
Click on “Click here to enter STAR”
Click on “Student Services and Housing”
Click on “Student Records”
Click on “Apply to Graduate for Doctoral, Professional, Masters Students, and Selected Undergraduates” and complete the application

Questions about MSJ graduation requirements should be directed to Dr. Steve Urbanski at Steve.Urbanski@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-6797.

Thesis / Professional Project

All students in the Master of Science in Journalism (MSJ) degree program must complete a thesis or professional project involving original work in the student’s area of interest.

Students in the teaching-research track normally take research and theory courses both inside and outside of the Reed College of Media, statistics and social science courses. The student’s program culminates in a thesis, which is a scholarly study of an important aspect of mass communication.

Students in the professional track typically take communication and outside area courses that will help them become better practitioners. Students eventually research and write a professional project, which helps a student expand his or her knowledge about a given aspect of mass communication and is a large-scale project on which the student might work as a professional.

There are many steps to writing a thesis or producing a professional project. Students should review the Thesis/Professional Project Process documentation for complete details. Each student must select a Graduate Committee Chair, who will provide guidance on developing the initial idea into a preliminary thesis or professional project proposal. Once the proposal is complete, each student must assemble a Graduate Committee, the governing body of the student’s thesis or project.

Early in the program, students begin to formulate ideas for the thesis or professional project and assess College of Media faculty interests and areas of expertise. Each student must select a Graduate Committee Chair, who will provide guidance on developing the initial idea into a preliminary thesis or project proposal.

Once the proposal is complete, each student must assemble a Graduate Committee, the governing body of the student’s thesis or project. Students should review the specific details regarding Graduate Committee Composition.

The Graduate Committee reviews the proposal and provides feedback for revisions. The student works with the Chair to prepare the proposal for formal defense before the Committee. Once the student’s proposal is approved by the Graduate Committee, the student may begin further research on the formal thesis or project.

Typically during the second year of the program, the student works toward a final draft of the thesis or project with the Chair and his or her Committee. The student then defends the thesis or project before the Committee.

After the final thesis or project is approved, the Committee signs the Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) signature form. The student then uploads the final thesis or project to the ETD site. Directions and information are available on WVU’s thesis website.

Review the Thesis/Professional Project Process

View Thesis Details View Professional Project Details

Admission

Admission to the WVU Reed College of Media’s Master of Science in Journalism (MSJ) program is limited to holders of baccalaureate or equivalent degrees from institutions of higher learning.

Applicants should have at least 153 (Verbal) and 144 (Quantitative) scores on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and overall grade-point averages (GPA) of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Applicants who have two or more years of professional work experience — or at least two professionally oriented internships — or applicants with a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.2 or higher are exempt from submitting GRE scores. All other applicants are required to submit GRE scores (taken within the past five years). If applicants are unsure if their work/internship experience qualifies for a GRE exemption, they should contact the Director of Graduate Studies.

MSJ cohorts generally begin in the fall semester. To receive top consideration for graduate assistantships, applicants should strive to submit their application materials by Feb. 1. Applications will be considered after this date.

How to Apply

Applicants must begin the graduate application process through the WVU Office of Admissions and Records, which requires an online application form, official transcripts and a non-refundable application fee. See the WVU Graduate Admissions website for specific instructions.

All applicants are encouraged to take the GRE and include their scores in the application process. (The following codes should be used: WVU is 5904 and Journalism/Mass Communications is 4503.) GRE scores should be directed to the WVU Office of Admissions and Records at:

West Virginia University
Admissions and Records Graduate Admissions
PO Box 6510
Morgantown, WV 26506-6510

In addition, each applicant must submit to the College of Media director of graduate studies:

A statement of purpose (500 words maximum) explaining his or her interest in a graduate journalism degree, possible areas of research interest and professional goals
At least two letters of recommendation
A resume
Three to five examples of published work (print, broadcast, photography or multimedia). All applicants are encouraged to include at least one research paper as one of their writing samples.
International students, for whom English is not their official language, must include TOEFL scores. The minimum TOEFL scores needed for admission to WVU are 550 (paper test), 213 (computer test), 79 (Internet test) or 6.5 IELTS.

Mailing address:
Steve Urbanski, Ph.D.
Director of Graduate Studies
Reed College of Media
West Virginia University
PO Box 6010
1511 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506-6010

For more information about the MSJ program, applicants should contact:
Dr. Steve Urbanski
Steve.Urbanski@mail.wvu.edu
(304) 293-6797

What is it?

MSJ → PhD:

What You’ll Learn

Tracks

Areas of Emphasis

Advocacy and Public Interest Communication

Digital Publishing

Media Solutions and Innovation

Reporting and Writing

Television

Visual Journalism

4+1 Program

Who is eligible?

What courses would I take my senior year?

What course work is left after my senior year?

When will I earn my BSJ?

For more information, contact:

Graduate Faculty

Associate Graduate Faculty

Requirements for Membership

Regular Membership

Associate Membership

Exceptions

Functions of Graduate Faculty Members

Appointment and Evaluation of Graduate Faculty Members

Appeals

Courses

Graduation

Thesis / Professional Project

Admission

How to Apply

Assistantships and Financial Aid

Find your Niche

Steve Urbanski, Ph.D.

M.S. in Journalism

What is it?

MSJ → PhD:

Thesis / Professional Project

Assistantships and Financial Aid

Find your Niche

Steve Urbanski, Ph.D.

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