The CUNY Graduate School of Journalism is rolling out a new curriculum in the Spring 2011 semester for students who want to specialize in health journalism.

The Health & Science Reporting Program will take students through the process of finding and reporting on health and medical news. The goal is to produce reporters who can cut through scientific jargon and hype and convey information that’s genuinely useful to the public.

“What’s exciting about this track is that you really are a translator,” said Emily Laber-Warren, a longtime science journalist who heads the health program. “You’re serving a public service role. Most people don’t have access to this really important information and your job is to explain it to them and make it relevant to their lives.”

Emily Laber-Warren explains the new Health & Science Reporting Program to the Class of 2011.

The Health & Science curriculum will consist of the following three courses:

Introduction to Health Journalism This survey class will introduce students to the variety of health journalism topics, focusing on a different one each week. Topics will include disease, wellness, environmental health, public health, mental health, food and nutrition, fitness, alternative health, neuroscience, and psychology.

In the Lab: Covering Medical Advances The second course in the sequence will focus on cutting-edge biomedical research—the scientists who are attempting feats such as growing brand-new organs from people’s own cells or making artificial blood. Students will learn to cover the most promising areas of laboratory R&D, such as genetics and stem cell research. They will also cover a beat within health journalism, such as vaccine development or addiction.

The Health Care System: Telling People’s Stories This course will help students understand the many powerful interests—government, academic and industry—that determine the cost, quality, and accessibility of health care for ordinary Americans. Students will learn to spot the inequities and contradictions that make for good stories. They will write a 2,500-word narrative (or create the equivalent in video or audio) about a system-related health issue, focusing on the experience of one patient, family, doctor, or clinic.

The new Health & Science concentration replaces a program that was discontinued a year ago, and it once again becomes the J-School’s fifth subject offering, joining Arts & Culture, Business & Economics, International, and Urban Reporting. All students working towards a Master of Arts in Journalism degree at CUNY must choose a subject specialty before the start of their second semester. “It provides a great foundation and gives a leg up to students for jobs in those areas,” Associate Dean Judith Watson said.

Tags: Health & Science Reporting Program, reporting concentrations