For students interested in Journalism and Communications at Washington University

What are the fields of Journalism and Communications?

Written, verbal, and electronic communication between individuals and groups is a vital part of everyday life. Journalism circulates and interprets information, while encouraging dialogue and helping individuals to make informed decisions. The fields of Journalism and Communications include opportunities in print, broadcast, and other media, as well as communications important to all sectors of society, such as advertising, art, business, law, and medicine.

Why consider the fields of Journalism and Communications?

Develop Important Skills
Effective verbal and written communication skills are a necessity in today’s society. The fields of Journalism and Communications prepare students well for taking a leadership role in society.

A Global Influence
With modern technology, communication efforts now span the globe. Individuals and groups can easily gather and disseminate information to all areas of the world.

An Intriguing, Fast-paced, Multidisciplinary Field
The world is continually changing, and students of Journalism and Communications must stay abreast of current issues. Whether speaking or writing about art, politics, or medicine, students of Journalism and Communications stay informed of the newest developments in many areas.

Career Opportunities in Journalism and Communications

Opportunities in print media include newspaper and magazine, and opportunities in broadcast media include television and radio. The fields of advertising, marketing, public relations, and media relations are other options within the Journalism and Communications areas. Journalism and Communications students may also want to pursue careers in writing or the business, government, or non-profit sectors. However, individuals with good written and verbal communication skills can become effective leaders in any and all fields and areas of society.

Journalism and Communications at Washington University

Through a broad liberal arts education at Washington University, students develop the critical thinking and investigative skills that are vital in the fields of Journalism and Communications. Students gain thorough bases of knowledge in many areas, enabling them to communicate effectively about many different subject matters. For instance, a student with a double major in Political Science and German might cover German politics for a national paper because of his or her background in the subject matter. A student interested in photojournalism might study both Photography and History at Washington University, enabling him or her to learn the technical and art aspects of photography along with the history behind his or her subjects. The flexibility of education at Washington University is extremely beneficial to aspiring Journalism and Communications professionals.

Develop Important Writing and Communication Skills
Writing and communication skills are necessary in all aspects of life. At Washington University, students have the opportunity to take a variety of English Composition classes, including Expository Writing, Composition and Rhetoric, and Argumentation, as well as creative writing classes such as Fiction Writing, Poetry Writing, Playwriting, and Screenwriting. Various Topics in Composition classes are also offered; a recent Topics class, for instance, covered creative non-fiction, memoirs, and travel writing. In addition, students at Washington University have the resources of The Writing Center available, which offers individual tutorials and workshops such as Writing about Literature: How to Write a Critical Analysis; Improving Style: Writing for Clarity and Grace; Writing the Research Paper; and Writing a Resume.

For students interested in developing their writing and communication skills, the Praxis Program, offered through Arts & Sciences, includes courses such as Communication That Works, Leaders in Context, Exposition, Argumentation, and Persuasive Writing. Students and faculty work together to formulate a course load for a specific career path. The Praxis Program culminates in an internship that allows students to synthesize the tools and theories they have learned while in an actual professional environment.

Taking Advantage of Opportunities In and Out of the Classroom
Washington University students can choose from many Journalism and Communications classes, as well as classes in related fields. In the College of Arts & Sciences, for instance, students may take classes in public speaking and complete a Communications/Journalism internship for credit in English Composition. Within the Olin Business School, students may choose to major in Marketing and take classes such as Advertising Management. Within the College of Art, students can study Communication Design and concentrate on Advertising Design. Students may also take classes through University College at Washington University.

University College classes include:

• Writing for Business Communication
• Web Site Design & Development
• Principles of Reporting and Interviewing
• Introduction to Broadcast Journalism
• Marketing Communications
• History of American Journalism
• Sports, Media, and Society
• The God Beat: Reporting and Writing Religious News
• The Future of the Media
• Technology in Our Changing Society
• Blogs to Wikis: Building Community in a Virtual Environment
• Photojournalism
• Writing Opinions to Change Minds
• Copy Editing: Basic Editorial Skills
• Investigative Reporting
• Public Relations
• Advertising
• Communication Across Gender and Culture
• The American Media and Foreign Policy
  Journalism Ethics

University College offers special topics in Journalism each semester. Past topics have included: The American Media and Foreign Policy, The Media at War, and The Media and Social Policy in Contemporary America. Academic credit is available for a wide range of internships in communications fields, providing students with real-world, hands-on experience at area television and radio stations, newspapers, magazines, public relations firms, and advertising agencies. The Washington University Career Center maintains a list of 200 to 300 internships, both in St. Louis and throughout the country. Washington University also offers a competitive internship program with CBS in New York City. In the Advertising Campaign competition, students work together as an advertising agency to create and present an actual campaign as part of the National Student Advertising Competition, sponsored by the American Advertising Federation (AAF). Fifteen teams from colleges across the country compete. Judges are advertising professionals at the district level; the national judges represent the client and/or the client’s advertising agency. Past clients have included American Airlines, Visa USA, Saturn, Coca-Cola, Levis, and Burger King.

For students specifically interested in writing, we encourage the pursuit of the Writing Minor. Although the English Department does not offer a Writing Major, it provides a full range of courses in the writing of poetry, fiction, drama, and various forms of non-fiction, as well as advanced courses in expository writing.

Learn from Top Communications, Writing, and Journalism Professionals
Washington University is home to the International Writers Center, which serves as a directory for writers at the University and all over the world. During the summer, University College sponsors the Summer Writers Institute, where some of St. Louis’s best writers come to Washington University for two weeks of workshops, readings, and personal conferences.

Faculty teaching classes at Washington University include:

• Reporters for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other national newspapers
• Television managers, anchors, and producers, including a winner of over 15 Emmys
• Radio talk show hosts
• Attorneys who specializes in mass media law
• The editorial director for the book ESPN’s SportsCentury
• A Pulitzer Prize judge and a Pulitzer Prize recipient
• Both well-known and up-and-coming fiction writers and poets
• Magazine journalists who have published in Reader’s Digest, McCall’s, and Cosmopolitan
• Advertising agency account executives and international marketing consultants who advise Fortune 500 and association executives
• Freelance journalists who publish in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Chicago Tribune

Participate in Journalism and Communications Student Activities

Print Journalism:
Students interested in print journalism often write for Student Life, the University’s student-run independent newspaper, or one of the University’s political newspapers. The Eliot Review is our literary and arts review, and students also run Spires literary magazine and Eleven Magazine, a music journal. Other popular campus publications include the non-partisan WU Political Review, and WUnderground, a humor publication, and Bearings, a guidebook designed to familiarize students with St. Louis and the Washington University community. Another exciting opportunity for students to publish original work is Apex, an entirely student-run endeavor conceived by members if the ArtSci Council. Its mission is to showcase outstanding works by undergraduate students that juxtapose the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and creative and performing arts. Their journal publishes original essays, poems, research papers, editorials, photographs, and more. For students interested in in-depth and investigative research, Washington University’s Office of Undergraduate Research publishes their Undergraduate Research Digest. This publication compiles student-written articles, essays, and reports on a variety of subjects that is targeted for a broad audience.

Broadcast Journalism:
Students interested in broadcast journalism may choose to work for WUTV, the University’s television station, or KWUR, the campus radio station. Other opportunities include The Amateur Radio Club, Filmboard, which is the student-run cinema on campus, and the Anime Exploration Team, which explores Japanese animation.

Speech and Communications:
The Speech and Debate Team provides students with opportunities to compete at regional and national competitions, and Washington University’s Model UN plans UN conferences around the country. Our nationally-recognized Mock Trial team provides students opportunities to prepare and present case trials with the aid of St. Louis attorneys. Various groups are dedicated to promoting dialogue on campus, such as Black Men/White Men: Breaking Down Barriers, Muslim-Jewish Dialogue, and Students Taking on Multicultural Pursuits. Students interested in performing often choose to take part in All Student Theatre, the completely student-run annual production, the Black Anthology theatrical production, Mama’s Pot Roast comedy troupe, or the Cast ‘n’ Crew theater group. Various music groups at the University include many co-ed and single-sex a cappella groups, show choirs, and specialty choirs.

Advertising, Public Relations, and Event Planning:
Students interested in Advertising Design may choose to participate in the American Institute of Graphic Arts, which helps to establish communication between students and professional graphic designers. The Campus Programming Council sponsors campus-wide entertainment events, such as the comedy series and social events Fusion and Eclipse, and Team31 Productions serves as the concert production board for the University. The Gargoyle Committee produces the Thursday Night Concert Series, and the Women’s Programming Council encourages communication among the University’s women’s groups. Both The Gallery Group and Washington University’s Society for the Arts promote the arts on and off campus.

Our students and graduates have held internships and full-time positions in many companies including those at:

• 20th Century Fox
• A&E Television Network
• ABC
• AOL Time Warner
• Associated Press
• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• The Boston Globe
• Busch Creative Services
• Busch Entertainment
• BusinessWeek Magazine
• Cablevision
• Casey-Warner
• CBS News/CBS Radio
• Chicago Tribune
• Children’s Television Workshop
• CNN
• Dateline NBC/NBC News
• Discovery Channel
• Disney Motion Pictures
• Dow Jones & Co.
• ESPN
• Fleischman-Hillard
• FORTUNE Magazine
• Fox News, Fox Sports, Fox TV
• Good Morning America
• Harper-Collins
• HBO Sports & HBO
• Houston Chronicle
• Hughes Advertising
• The Institute on Political Journalism
• Interactive Gaming News
• Investors Business Daily
• J. Walter Thompson
• Jersey Productions/Sony Studios
• The Kansas City Star
• Knight-Ridder
• KSDK-TV
• Leo Burnett Company
• Los Angeles Times
• McCann Erickson
• McGraw-Hill Inc.
• MGM Television
• Minneapolis Star Tribune
• MSNBC
• MTV Networks
• NASCAR
• National Geographic
• National Public Radio
• New Jersey Jewish News
• The New York Times
• Newsday
• Newsweek
• Nickelodeon
• Ocean Pictures
• Ogilvy & Mather
• The Oregonian
• Oxford University Press
• Parade Magazine
• Paramount Pictures
• Philadelphia Inquirer
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• Reuters News
• Rolling Stone
• Safe Energy Communications Council
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• TBWA Worldwide
• Time Magazine
• The Times-Picayune
• TNT
• Universal Studios
• U.S. News & World Report
• VH1
• The Wall Street Journal
• Walt Disney Co.
• Warner Brothers
• The Washington Post
• Wolf Films
• William Morris Agency

For additional information contact:

Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Washington University
Campus Box 1089
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130-4899
Telephone: (800) 638-0700 or (314) 935-6000
E-mail: admissions@wustl.edu