The core of the print program is the development of professional-caliber skills in reporting, newswriting and editing, along with a solid knowledge of legal principles and an appreciation of ethical dimensions affecting the press.

Our print students spend their days poring over documents, attending rallies, reporting on crime and government and sports, and interviewing celebrities, international leaders, university presidents, and their fellow students.We teach the basics of reporting: getting the who, what, why, where, when and how questions answered. We also teach the finer points of writing and critical thinking.

Once our pre-journalism students apply and are admitted to our professional program (see: How the Undergraduate Program Works) in the print option, they take courses in a prescribed order: Public Affairs Reporting and News Editing in fall of their first year, News Editing (design) and Media Law in the spring.

After successfully completing Public Affairs Reporting, students must take either Feature Writing or Magazine Writing. In fall of their final year in the professional program, students must take our Senior Seminar.

The School of Journalism also offers students many electives, including such regular courses as reporting on Native American issues, opinion writing and environmental reporting, and a course that studies the literature of journalism.

The education and training pay off. Our print students have recently earned jobs or internships with the Associated Press, The Baltimore Sun, Rolling Stone magazine, The Portland Oregonian, The San Jose Mercury-News, The Spokane Spokesman-Review and many others. Our students sometimes also work in professions outside journalism that require writing, editing or design skills.

For more information about the print program, contact Carol Van Valkenburg, the chair of the print division.