Curriculum & Courses

This class is designed to teach students practical skills in visualizing and analyzing cultural and social datasets. Students will be also introduced to other popular tools for creating interactive web-based visualizations.

Life-saving medical discoveries. Terrifying disease outbreaks. Hotly debated national health policies. Rapid changes in both the media industry and healthcare itself are redefining what it takes to be a successful health journalist in the digital era. This course will emphasize the importance of thinking critically about studies, health policies and the practice of medicine. You will glean these skills by understanding how researchers, patient advocacy groups, and government agencies use – and sometimes misuse – data to make a point or prove a hypothesis. You will learn to apply critical thinking to produce stories that provide scientifically sound, accurate, and effective reporting in clearly written prose. Ethical issues will also be addressed, including the importance of looking for financial conflicts in study funding, medical associations that write clinical guidelines, and non-profit advocacy organizations that promote patient interests or healthcare reform. You will learn best practices in health journalism, including how to navigate public databases of medical studies, how and where to find credible health information, and how to use social media and other strategies to reach out to sources and find anecdotes. This course will also focus on service journalism, providing your audience with accurate information about the medical and health stories of the day with an emphasis on finding a fresh, compelling angle with input from trustworthy experts.

Students must have completed MPJO 501/5001 Reporting and News Writing.

The Master of Professional Studies Journalism degree program culminates in the Capstone. Each student produces a substantive and original reporting project on a timely issue that showcases his/her talents as a prospective journalist. It should be a major work of professional quality that requires extensive legwork, interviewing and research and will become the centerpiece of your portfolio. The Capstone experience is intended to provide students an opportunity to demonstrate that they have the journalistic skills, ethics and initiative necessary to be a professional journalist. The Capstone project is an independent reporting endeavor. Class sessions provide feedback and structure. Group instructors will give you guidance throughout the semester, and your small groups will serve as mini-newsrooms where you will be expected to give each other feedback and support. Successful completion of the MPSJ degree also requires submitting an ethics essay that reflects on your firsthand experience as a journalist. The essay will be graded as one of the assignments in the Capstone class. This is a core course of the MPS Journalism program, and students must earn a “B” (83) or higher to pass the course. Please see the Graduate Student Handbook for more details. Students with at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA who receive a final grade of a B- or below may receive one opportunity to retake the course, if approved by the dean.

Registration requires department approval and a manual add by your Program Director. Students must have completed MPJO 500/5000 Ethics, MPJO 501/5001 Reporting, and News Writing, MPJO 505/5003 Digital Essentials, and MPJO 508/5008 Photo and Video Storytelling. This course must be taken in the student's final semester.

Students may take this 1-credit course alongside an independently-acquired internship to reflect on how their experience relates to program knowledge and skills. Deliverables include regular writing assignments in which students discuss how program curriculum and methodologies inform their approach to internship responsibilities. Students are expected to complete a minimum of 50 hours of work (total) for the internship organization. NOTE: Enrollment requires program permission. Students may take this class only after taking Internship I 7951. This 1-credit course does not satisfy an elective requirement alone; however, students may complete (3) internships along with all (3) internship classes (Internship I 7951, Internship II 7952, and Internship III 7953) to cumulatively fulfill an elective requirement.

Registration requires department approval and a manual add by your Program Director. This course is cross-listed with MPPR-7951-01 and MPMC 7951-01.

Students may take this 1-credit course alongside an independently-acquired internship to reflect on how their experience relates to program knowledge and skills. Deliverables include regular writing assignments in which students discuss how program curriculum and methodologies inform their approach to internship responsibilities. Students are expected to complete a minimum of 50 hours of work (total) for the internship organization. NOTE: Enrollment requires program permission. Students may take this class only after taking Internship I 7951. This 1-credit course does not satisfy an elective requirement alone; however, students may complete (3) internships along with all (3) internship classes (Internship I 7951, Internship II 7952, and Internship III 7953) to cumulatively fulfill an elective requirement.

Registration requires department approval and a manual add by your Program Director. This course is cross-listed with MPPR-7952-01 and MPMC-7952-01. The prerequisite for this course is MPJO 7951 internship two class.

Students may take this 1-credit course alongside an independently-acquired internship to reflect on how their experience relates to program knowledge and skills. Deliverables include regular writing assignments in which students discuss how program curriculum and methodologies inform their approach to internship responsibilities. Students are expected to complete a minimum of 50 hours of work (total) for the internship organization. NOTE: Enrollment requires program permission. Students may take this class only after taking Internship I 7951 and Internship II 7952. This 1-credit course does not satisfy an elective requirement alone; however, students may complete (3) internships along with all (3) internship classes (Internship I 7951, Internship II 7952, and Internship III 7953) to cumulatively fulfill an elective requirement.

Registration requires department approval and a manual add by your Program Director. This course is cross-listed with MPPR-7953-01 and MPMC 7953-01. The prerequisites for this course are MPJO 860/7951 internship one and MPJO 861/7952 internship two.

Foundation requirement for Journalism majors. This course requires a grade of "B" or better to pass. Additional 150 minute distance learning component required. Course Description: This course is designed to give the student the ability to communicate in the Video Age--whether for television or the web. We call it storytelling to emphasize the communication of ideas, rather than simply the technical knowledge of shooting and editing video. Students will begin by learning how shots work together, how to write compelling scripts, and how to use audio for best effect. Then students will work with professional camera equipment to develop shooting, lighting, and audio skills. The class will also have hands-on instruction in editing techniques using Final Cut Pro. By the end of the course, students should be comfortable in the video storytelling process--from the flash of an idea, to the finished product on the screen, in the field, and in the studio. Students who entered the MPS Journalism program in Summer 2010 and thereafter must complete this class and receive a grade of solid "B" (3.00) or higher in order to graduate.

Foundation requirement for the Journalism Program. This course requires a grade of "B" or better.

This course is intended to introduce students to data journalism through hands-on work and a survey of techniques used in reporting. Students will learn how to acquire, evaluate and analyze data from a variety of sources, with an emphasis on using freely available tools. The goal is to develop a comfort level for working with different kinds of data and for different purposes, which include creating visualizations or maps to aid in the reporting process. This is a skills-based course, so students will need to be comfortable with learning to use computer software beyond word processors. Prior experience is not required or assumed, but a basic comfort level and willingness to experiment are vital.

Students must have completed MPJO 501/5001 Reporting, and News Writing and MPJO 505/5003 Digital Essentials.

This course examines the processes for gathering, interpreting, and presenting compelling digital data. Students will learn to use digital public opinion polling, specialized reports, social media platforms, digital analysis tools, and news aggregators to explain market research, audience trends, and social conversations. Students will also create data visualization tools to streamline data presentation into succinct, engaging formats.

Students must have completed MPJO 500/5000 Ethics, MPJO 501/5001 Reporting, and News Writing, MPJO 505/5003 Digital Essentials, and MPJO 508/5008 Photo and Video Storytelling.

Ethics in journalism is not a list of DOs and DON’Ts tacked above your desk that you refer to when someone hands you stolen documents. Ethics in journalism is a series of decisions you make constantly, every day, in the routine exercise of you work. How many sources are enough for this story? What are the implications of referring to “campaign cash” instead of “campaign donations”? How much of the defendant’s quote should I use? This class is therefore intended to explore the myriad grey areas that dominate the way journalists work and live, the blurry lines that divide right from wrong, or, more accurately, divide “probably should” from “probably shouldn’t.” The goal of the class is to help you understand the ethical implications of the choices journalists make, to empower you to navigate the ethical minefield of attempting every day to explain to the world the activities of other people. This course is required for all MPS Journalism students, and must be completed by the second semester in the program. Students must earn a B (3.00) or higher in order to satisfy graduation requirements.

Core requirement for the Journalism Program. This course requires a grade of "B" or better.

The Master of Professional Studies Journalism degree program culminates in the Capstone. Each student produces a substantive and original reporting project on a timely issue that showcases his/her talents as a prospective journalist. It should be a major work of professional quality that requires extensive legwork, interviewing and research and will become the centerpiece of your portfolio. The Capstone experience is intended to provide students an opportunity to demonstrate that they have the journalistic skills, ethics and initiative necessary to be a professional journalist. The Capstone project is an independent reporting endeavor. Class sessions provide feedback and structure. Group instructors will give you guidance throughout the semester, and your small groups will serve as mini-newsrooms where you will be expected to give each other feedback and support. Successful completion of the MPSJ degree also requires submitting an ethics essay that reflects on your firsthand experience as a journalist. The essay will be graded as one of the assignments in the Capstone class. This is a core course of the MPS Journalism program, and students must earn a “B” (83) or higher to pass the course. Please see the Graduate Student Handbook for more details. Students with at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA who receive a final grade of a B- or below may receive one opportunity to retake the course, if approved by the dean.

Students may take this 1-credit course alongside an independently-acquired internship to reflect on how their experience relates to program knowledge and skills. Deliverables include regular writing assignments in which students discuss how program curriculum and methodologies inform their approach to internship responsibilities. Students are expected to complete a minimum of 50 hours of work (total) for the internship organization. NOTE: Enrollment requires program permission. Students may take this class only after taking Internship I 7951. This 1-credit course does not satisfy an elective requirement alone; however, students may complete (3) internships along with all (3) internship classes (Internship I 7951, Internship II 7952, and Internship III 7953) to cumulatively fulfill an elective requirement.

Requires approval of the MPS Journalism program and a manual add by the Program Advisor. This course is cross-listed with MPPR-7951-01 and MPMC 7951-01. Extensive, documented academic activity and experiential learning outside of classrom (min. 3-4 hours per week) is required.v

Students may take this 1-credit course alongside an independently-acquired internship to reflect on how their experience relates to program knowledge and skills. Deliverables include regular writing assignments in which students discuss how program curriculum and methodologies inform their approach to internship responsibilities. Students are expected to complete a minimum of 50 hours of work (total) for the internship organization. NOTE: Enrollment requires program permission. Students may take this class only after taking Internship I 7951. This 1-credit course does not satisfy an elective requirement alone; however, students may complete (3) internships along with all (3) internship classes (Internship I 7951, Internship II 7952, and Internship III 7953) to cumulatively fulfill an elective requirement.

Registration requires department approval and a manual add by your Program Director. This course is cross-listed with MPPR-7952-01 and MPMC 7952-01. The prerequisite for this course is MPJO 7951 internship one class.

Students may take this 1-credit course alongside an independently-acquired internship to reflect on how their experience relates to program knowledge and skills. Deliverables include regular writing assignments in which students discuss how program curriculum and methodologies inform their approach to internship responsibilities. Students are expected to complete a minimum of 50 hours of work (total) for the internship organization. NOTE: Enrollment requires program permission. Students may take this class only after taking Internship I 7951 and Internship II 7952. This 1-credit course does not satisfy an elective requirement alone; however, students may complete (3) internships along with all (3) internship classes (Internship I 7951, Internship II 7952, and Internship III 7953) to cumulatively fulfill an elective requirement.

Registration requires department approval and a manual add by your Program Director. This course is cross-listed with MPPR-7953-01 and MPMC 7953-01. The prerequisites for this course are MPJO 860/7951 internship one and MPJO 861/7952 internship two.

Foundation requirement for Journalism majors. This course requires a grade of "B" or better to pass. Additional 150 minute distance learning component required. Course Description: This course is designed to give the student the ability to communicate in the Video Age--whether for television or the web. We call it storytelling to emphasize the communication of ideas, rather than simply the technical knowledge of shooting and editing video. Students will begin by learning how shots work together, how to write compelling scripts, and how to use audio for best effect. Then students will work with professional camera equipment to develop shooting, lighting, and audio skills. The class will also have hands-on instruction in editing techniques using Final Cut Pro. By the end of the course, students should be comfortable in the video storytelling process--from the flash of an idea, to the finished product on the screen, in the field, and in the studio. Students who entered the MPS Journalism program in Summer 2010 and thereafter must complete this class and receive a grade of solid "B" (3.00) or higher in order to graduate.

Foundation requirement for the Journalism Program. This course requires a grade of "B" or better.

In this course, students will learn the principles of how to report and produce non-fiction audio stories that may be featured in a Georgetown SCS podcast about Washington, D.C. The course includes fundamentals of how to record and conduct effective interviews, record scenes on location, how to edit audio, write for the ear and use a digital audio editor to assemble audio stories for the podcast series.

It is preferred that JO Students have taken MPJO 501/5001 Reporting and News Writing and MPJO 508/5008 Photo and Video Storytelling to enroll.

Students will learn the techniques of reporting on political candidates, events, and issues. Through hands-on writing and reporting assignments as well as the analysis of the day's print, broadcast, and digital political journalism, students will learn how to craft informative, contextual, and balanced stories on politics. At the end of this course, students will be able to: *Understand the techniques of reporting on political candidates, events, and issues *Find and develop sources in politics and in Congress *Craft informative, contextual, and balanced political stories *Fact-check politicians' statements and campaign ads *Read and understand federal campaign finance reports

JO Students must have the prerequisites of MPJO 501/5001 Reporting and News Writing and MPJO 500/5000 Ethics in Journalism to enroll.

Journalism begins with basic reporting. This class focuses on the basics of beat reporting, one of the building blocks of any newsroom and journalism career. The class will also take a closer look at the reporting and writing process, from finding an idea to researching it, pitching it and executing it into a publishable article. Students will strive to become experts on the neighborhood they cover through old-school shoe leather reporting and will keep abreast of spot news while learning how to identify and pursue longer-form enterprise stories. The class will also have a Twitter handle and Facebook page — DChoods — where students will publish routinely and practice writing for social media and cultivating sources and finding story ideas using these new tools. The updates on Twitter and Facebook will not just be news stories, but also tidbits collected during visits to the neighborhood, which should be visited weekly at minimum. This is a core course of the MPS Journalism program, and students must earn a “B” (83) or higher to pass the course. Please see the Graduate Student Handbook for more details.

Foundation requirement for the Journalism Program. This course requires a grade of "B" or better. This course serves as a pre-requisite for many elective courses.