Welcome to the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism's Health and Medicine Reporting Concentration. We are delighted that you are considering specializing in this critical and exciting field of journalism. Health care will be the number one domestic issue over the next few years, and learning how to cover it in depth will give you important skills that will make you valuable in any newsroom.

You don't need to be a whiz at science, or an MD, or know anything about biochemistry to become a great health reporter. If you have an interest in health, a curiosity to learn about the health of diverse populations, and want to know how to connect the dots in our medical system, this concentration is for you.

Our focus is translating and interpreting health in the urban environment. You will learn the journalists' tools to reach urban communities so they can improve their own health. And if you want to be a science reporter, the skills you learn here will easily transfer to other topics.

More than half of the world's population will live in cities by 2008, with much of the future growth projected for cities with fewer than 500,000 people. Journalists will find a treasure trove of stories about the health and well-being of those who live in them. Where else can you learn to cover urban health but in the most exciting urban setting in the world?

You will spend a lot of time out in the community, not only interviewing people for your stories, but participating in projects that help make our concentration special.