The Department of Journalism and Media Studies (JMS) helps undergraduate students learn the craft of finding and reporting the news, as well as making other types of media, using cutting-edge tools and technology. The department’s courses also aid students in learning to evaluate and understand the wide variety of media forms that permeate their lives. Students gain a grounding in the history, ethics and values of journalism that can prepare them to be media producers during an exciting time of innovation while learning to analyze media systems and power in ways that help them become better-equipped citizens and community members.
The undergraduate curriculum of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies is made up of skills courses that focus on the practice of journalism and media production and conceptual courses that teach students to analyze media and media institutions in a democratic society. We stand out among other journalism programs in our emphasis on both theory and practice.
At the undergraduate level, our students learn state-of-the-art writing and production techniques for digital, broadcast and print journalism and media production. Skills courses such as Digital Newswriting and Reporting, Broadcast News Writing and Reporting, Design and Digital Editing, Magazine Writing, Multimedia Sports Reporting and Digital Media Production give students a chance for hands-on expression. Conceptual courses such as Consumer Media Culture, Media and Popular Culture, Media and Politics, Media and Social Change, and Gender, Race and Class in the Media help students understand and critique the role of media in modern life. Students also have the chance earn specializations in sports media and global media and to experience the world outside the United States in JMS courses that offer a study-abroad component.
Full-time faculty in JMS have both practical experience in journalism and research expertise in a variety of areas of media studies. Faculty members have reported, edited and done production work for top media outlets in the tri-state area, across the country and around the world and have produced research published in leading scholarly journals and books. They conduct research in the areas of public culture and digital democracy; social movement media; global, local, and regional cultural production; media history and journalistic production; nationalism, citizenship and identity; media and public policy; and media diversity. The research of our faculty not only broadens the scholarship in the field, but also acts upon our society in transformative ways.
Full-time faculty members also bring their research interests to teaching in the Digital Media track of the Master in Communication and Media program and the School of Communication and Information Ph.D. program. They advise doctoral dissertations and have helped produce new generations of media scholars and professors.
Additionally, the department draws upon a number of highly talented media practitioners, who work in the New York/New Jersey area, as part-time lecturers. The combination of full-time faculty and part-time professional instructors gives students an opportunity to keep up with new practical developments in the field as well as cutting-edge research.
Students seeking employment as practitioners find the many internship opportunities in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to be stepping stones to media careers. Additionally, our theoretical courses prepare students to go on to graduate programs.
The department offers an undergraduate major leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree, a specialization in Digital Media within the Master of Communication and Media program and provides instruction in Media Studies in the School of Communication and Information doctoral program.
JMS graduates are prepared for professional careers in digital media, television and radio, magazines, newspapers, entertainment media, social media, publishing, public relations and public information in a variety of commercial and non-profit settings. They also learn the writing and information-evaluation skills to find success in a variety of graduate and professional programs and non-media fields.
Our faculty members are engaged teachers and researchers who provide students with a broad spectrum of courses in the theory and practice of journalism and media. Their knowledge, foresight, and practical experience produce a dynamic learning environment. Faculty directory
Faculty in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies examine the role of media—of all types and on all platforms—in culture, society, politics and history. Faculty members are trained in a variety of disciplines (communication, media studies, history, anthropology, and journalism and mass communication) and use a range of research methods, interpretive, qualitative, quantitative, and historical.
Broadly, our faculty members work in the fields that include cultural studies, political economy, media history, journalism studies, technology and digital innovation, media and politics, promotional culture, and science communication. Seeking to be engaged scholars whose work connects with real-world issues, our faculty members examine the roles of media in understandings of race, gender, religion, ethnicity, class, and ideology; local, national, and international social movements, politics, and networks; and development and transmission of political and cultural ideas, including through journalism and popular culture. They also consider media law, regulation, and policy; media activism; and technological developments and emerging media forms.
Award-winning author David Greenberg says his new book about the civil rights leader offers hope for uniting a divided nation.
From the assassination attempt on former President Trump to Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race, elevating Kamala Harris to the top of the Democratic ticket, this election season has already been filled with many shocking moments. As the clock ticks toward Election Day, should we brace for another bombshell news story – an October Surprise as it has become known in the election lexicon – that could change the trajectory of the presidential campaign?
A Rutgers expert explains how media can influence voter perception and behavior.
The grant will support the news service in its mission to collaborate with New Jersey’s colleges and universities to mentor and train promising student journalists, including Rutgers SC&I JMS students, through reporting on state government, the Legislature, and politics for local media partners across the state.
“A lot of college graduates always talk about how they hardly use the skills they learned from their college courses, where I feel like I apply the skills I learned from Rutgers every day,” Boone said.
