In our recent article on Fordham University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, we highlighted 18 GSAS programs actively recruiting students on our platform.
In Fall 2016, Fordham University is introducing it’s newest graduate program, a Master’s Degree in Public Media.
Learn more about this exciting new graduate program, and how you can get a jump-start on applying for acceptance into the inaugural class of 2017.
What is the new Masters in Public Media at Fordham?
The M.A. in Public Media is a one-year professional master’s degree in collaboration with Fordham’s award-winning radio station WFUV, with the cooperation of WNET, New York’s public media network, designed to advance a new generation of multi-platform communication professionals. Students can choose between two tracks:
- Multi-platform journalism, including audio, video, and interactive web content
- Strategic communication for the nonprofit sector, including social media marketing, public relations, corporate under-writing, and development.
What makes this program so exciting for students interested in this field?
The MA in Public Media was created to help prepare students to tell stories through a variety of different media platforms. It is more than public broadcasting; this program engages students within the realms of journalism and strategic communication to tell stories for the public good. Public Media is focused on impact through social change and civic engagement. That impact correlates with what happens after a story is shared –centered around follow up and engagement with the audience.
In a crazy, fast-paced world, students can take a year off to study, contemplate, and disseminate what their role is in media in the 21st century. It is not about being the first to get to the story, but being the best at covering a story responsibly, morally, and ethically.
What will the program curriculum look like?
The MA in Public Media’s curriculum combines theory and practice – students will have the tools to understand and contextualize the profession as well as the practical tools to enact core principles. Courses will be taught by a balance of scholars and practitioners from Fordham’s Communication and Media Studies Department, WFUV and WNET.
The curriculum is divided into six parts:
- Two practical multimedia 10-day intensive courses
- Two core courses on public media and strategic communication
- Two required fundamentals courses, taken in the fall semester
- Two specialized, practical courses in either the journalism concentration or the strategic communication concentration (spring semester)
- Two elective courses or internships, one per fall and one per spring semester
- A special master’s project
What types of career opportunities will students be exposed to in the program?
Students in both specialization tracks will have the opportunity to work closely with WFUV, WNET and other civic organizations to gain hands-on experience inside and outside the classroom. Whether pursuing careers in established media operations, social entrepreneurial start-ups, or in outreach, marketing, and development, the MA in Public Media is designed to produce a new type of professional who is ethically educated, and both creatively and practically equipped to advance their missions. Also to further assist in preparing students, every student will be assigned a Fordham Career Services counselor to help identify and achieve professional goals throughout the year.
What does the path to application look like, and what are some of the program requirements?
- The GRE exam is required for those wanting to be considered for financial aid
- The successful candidate for admission should have a 3.0 GPA or better
- Written personal statement
- Official college transcript
- Three letters of recommendation (either academic, professional, or a mix of both)
- Non-native English speaking applications will be required to submit TOEFEL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) results, issued within the past two years. We will expect our most competitive applicants to have scores above 100 on the TOEFL and 7.5 or above on the IELTS
- A maximum of three work samples may be submitted electronically. These may take the form of written work (either analytical or journalistic), the articulation of internship experience(s), or some type of digital production (e.g., a website, short film, or video, piece of multimedia journalism, audio piece or podcast, a data visualization or motion graphic)
Highly qualified applicants may qualify for partial scholarships of $10,000 and paid internships at WFUV. All applicants are automatically considered for this funding and will be notified if they have been awarded merit funding.
Fordham’s new Public Media master’s program will welcome its first cohort in Fall 2016.
Applications must be submitted online: https://gradadmissions.fordham.edu/apply/
Bookmark the Public Media program on Gradschoolmatch, where you can stay in touch with Fordham GSAS for more updates.
You can also contact Jackie Reich, Chair and Graduate Director, directly at jreich8@fordham.edu.
