Students at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism now have more choices in media courses throughout the curriculum than ever before. They still have the opportunity to concentrate in one media format — print, broadcast, or interactive — but they are no longer required to select a media track at the end of the first semester.

Instead, they are free to choose courses across media formats, depending on their interests and career goals.

They do have to pick a subject concentration before the start of the second semester in one of five specialties: arts & culture, business & economics, health & medicine, international, or urban reporting.

In general, all students follow the same curriculum in the first semester. In the second and third semesters, schedules will vary depending on subject concentration, media interests, and electives.

The ability to customize your schedule has particular relevance right now for students who will be starting their third semester in Fall 2009. Remember to consult your academic adviser to determine the best mix of media courses in your final semester for helping you meet your goals.

Note that some third-semester courses have second-semester prerequisites: Interactive III requires that you have taken Interactive II; Television News Magazine Production requires that you have taken Craft of Journalism II – Broadcast; Narrative Journalism requires that you have taken Feature Writing.

Within that stricture, you are now free to take any two media courses in the third semester. Here are the media course options:

- Narrative Journalism (Prerequisite: Feature Writing)
- Investigative Reporting
- Opinion Writing
- NYCity News Service
- Editing
- Journalism of Ideas
- Interactive Journalism III (Prerequisite: Interactive II)
- Entrepreneurial Journalism
- Television News Magazine Production (Prerequisite: Craft of Journalism II – Broadcast)
- Audio Podcasting
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Please keep in mind that you will have the opportunity to take additional instruction in various media specialties – from photography to Flash and others – in the January Academy following graduation and in workshops that may be offered throughout the year for students and graduates.

To help further your thinking, here are some sample scenarios for the third semester:

• Maximal interactive: You want to maximize your new-media and interactive skills and think there’s a good chance you’ll work in online journalism. A suggested third-semester media sequence would be:
- Interactive III (note the prerequisite of Interactive II)
- Entrepreneurial Journalism or NYCity News Service

• Maximal broadcast: You want to maximize your broadcast story-telling skills and think there’s a good chance you will work in radio or TV. Suggested for the third semester would be:
- Television News Magazine Production (note the prerequisite of Craft of Journalism II – Broadcast)
- Audio Podcasting or NYCity News Service

• Maximal core media (print): You want to work for a magazine, newspaper or other text-based publication and/or you want to strengthen your core reporting and writing skills. You may also believe you received sufficient training in other media in interactive and broadcast courses you took in the first two semesters. Suggested for the third semester would be:
- Narrative Journalism (note the prerequisite of Feature Writing)
- Any of the following: Opinion Writing, Investigative Reporting, NYCity News Service, Editing, or Journalism of Ideas

• Maximal electronic media: You want to max out on both interactive and broadcast. If you took both Craft of Journalism II – Broadcast and Interactive II in the second semester, you could take Interactive III and Television News Magazine Production in the final semester.

• Maximal variety: Because you come in with some media skills or because you want to get the greatest variety of instruction across media, you may choose to mix-and-match media courses, so long as you follow the prerequisites. For example, in the third semester, you could take Interactive III (if you’ve already taken Interactive II) and Opinion Writing. Or you could take Audio Podcasting and Editing; or Journalism of Ideas and Investigative Reporting.

Here are some sample full-program scenarios based on specific career objectives:

Sample Course Sequence: You want to work for a newspaper or magazine, specializing in urban affairs or politics.

Semester 1

• Jour71000 Craft of Journalism I
• Jour71001 Legal and Ethical Issues
• Jour71204 Broadcast News Writing and Production
• Jour71003 Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

Semester 2

• Jour72000 Craft of Journalism II
• Elective
• Jour72103 Feature Writing
• Jour72008 Urban Reporting I: Covering City Government and Politics

Summer

• Jour75000 Summer Internship

Semester 3

• Jour73100 Editing or Jour73103 Opinion Writing
• Jour73102 Investigative Reporting or Jour73101 Narrative Journalism
• Jour73003 Urban Reporting II: Covering NYC’s Economy and Business
• Jour73004 Urban Reporting III: Covering New York’s Immigrant Communities

Sample Course Sequence: You want to work for a broadcast station, specializing in business or economics.

Semester 1

• Jour71000 Craft of Journalism I
• Jour71001 Legal and Ethical Issues
• Jour71003 Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism
• Jour71204 Broadcast News Writing and Production

Semester 2

• Jour72201 Craft of Journalism II: Broadcast
• Elective
• Jour72205 Advanced Broadcast Production Workshop
• Jour72007 Business & Economics Reporting I: The Economy

Summer

• Jour75000 Summer Internship

Semester 3

• Jour73005 Business & Economics Reporting II: Covering Companies
• Jour73006 Business & Economics Reporting III: Covering Wall Street
• Jour73200 Audio Podcasting
• Jour73201 Television News Magazine Production

Sample Course Sequence: You’re interested in a career in interactive journalism, with a specialization in health care and medicine.

Semester 1

• Jour71000 Craft of Journalism I
• Jour71001 Legal and Ethical Issues
• Jour71204 Broadcast News Writing and Production
• Jour71003 Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

Semester 2

• Jour72000 Craft of Journalism II
• Elective
• Jour72304 Interactive Journalism I
• Jour72009 Health & Medicine Reporting I: Follow the Money in Health Care

Summer

• Jour75000 Summer Internship

Semester 3

• Jour73007 Health & Medicine Reporting II: Separating Hype from Reality
• Jour73008 Health & Medicine Reporting III: How the World Affects Our Health
• Jour73309 Interactive Journalism II
• Jour73311 Entrepreneurial Journalism or Jour73099 News Service Workshop

Sample Course Sequence: You want to work for a newspaper or magazine, specializing in arts/culture reporting.

Semester 1

• Jour71000 Craft of Journalism I
• Jour71001 Legal and Ethical Issues
• Jour71204 Broadcast News Writing and Production
• Jour71003 Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

Semester 2

• Jour72000 Craft of Journalism II
• Elective
• Jour73011 Cultural Reporting
• Jour71203 Feature Writing

Summer

• Jour75000 Summer Internship

Semester 3

• Jour72010 Criticism and the Arts
• Jour73012 Arts Journalism in the Age of Convergence or Jour73104 Journalism of Ideas
• Jour73100 Editing or Jour73102 Investigative Reporting
• Jour73103 Opinion Writing or Jour73101 Narrative Journalism

Sample Course Sequence: You want to be an international reporter who is adept at working across media platforms with no specialization in a particular format. You expect to get a job at an online operation.

Semester 1

• Jour71000 Craft of Journalism I
• Jour71001 Legal and Ethical Issues
• Jour71204 Broadcast News Writing and Production
• Jour71003 Fundamentals of Interactive Journalism

Semester 2

* Jour72000 Craft of Journalism II
* Jour72304 Interactive Journalism II
* Jour72205 Audio Storytelling
* Jour72013 Introduction to International Reporting

Summer

* Jour75000 Summer Internship

Semester 3

* Jour73309 Interactive Journalism III
* Jour73100 Editing or Jour73103 Opinion Writing
* Jour73000 Cross-Cultural Reporting
* Jour72011 Topics in International Reporting