M.A. in Engagement Journalism

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Engagement journalism is all about finding new ways to serve communities, including those that are often left out of traditional mainstream news. It prioritizes filling unmet information needs and facilitating community participation in the news process. 

As with more traditional journalism graduate programs, students learn reporting, writing, research and multimedia skills. But the engagement journalism program (previously known as the social journalism program)  has special emphasis on learning how to build less transactional and more trusting relationships with the people we serve and producing tangible impact in communities. (Read this Medium piece, Lessons and hopes six years post-launch of the first MA in engagement journalism, by program director Carrie Brown.)

Students will learn skills that prepare them for the wide range of engagement-related jobs in newsrooms today, including crowdsourcing for investigative reporting projects, conducting information needs assessments, using social media to grow audience and interact with people where they are, developing community listening strategies, and finding creative ways to disseminate information that can go beyond storytelling.

Students choose a community to serve throughout the program, broadly defined and not limited by geography. For example, students have worked with formerly incarcerated people, immigrant survivors of domestic violence, street musicians, and more.  

For more information about this unique degree, contact Carrie Brown, director of the Engagement Journalism MA program at carrie.brown@journalism.cuny.edu. For information about the admissions process, please contact admissions@journalism.cuny.edu. You can also follow our Medium publication for some of the latest news and updates about the program or our resource page that includes videos, articles and syllabi. 

how to apply

FAQs

Engagement Journalism = Community + Conversation + Collaboration
Play VideoEngagement Journalism = Community + Conversation + Collaboration

The 40-credit degree requires 16 months to complete, including the summer.

Our Faculty

Sample Semester Schedules

Students have the flexibility to enroll in the number of credits that suits their personal situation. Below are three models based on credits of coursework per semester. Each of these models would qualify students as full-time in the program. However, students are not limited by these models. They may take fewer than nine credits per semester, spreading the program out beyond four semesters. Students who register for at least six credits are still eligible for federal student loans. International students cannot go below full-time status (9 credits) and maintain their student visa. Students may also increase the number of credits planned for future semesters. They will be required to discuss their plans with their academic advisor before each subsequent semester in order to ensure continued progress in the program.

Three-semester Timeline

Semester 1  (Fall)

  • Reporting for Engagement Journalism (3cr)

  • Community Development (3cr)

  • Legal & Ethical Issues (2cr)

  • Audio (2cr)

  • Video (2.5cr)

  • Intro to Data Journalism (3cr)

Winter Session

  • Non-credit Workshops (January Academy)

Semester 2  (Spring)

  • Advanced Reporting for Engagement Journalism (3cr)

  • Advanced Research (1cr)

  • Metrics & Outcomes (3cr)

  • Social Media Tools (3cr)

  • Electives (3cr)

Summer

  • Summer Internship

Semester 3 (Fall)

  • Community Practicum (3cr)
  • Design & Development (3cr)
  • Entrepreneurial Journalism (3cr)

Winter Session

  • Non-credit Workshops (January Academy)

Three-semester Timeline (modified)

Semester 1  (Fall)

  • Reporting for Engagement Journalism (3cr)
  • Community Development (3cr)
  • Audio (2cr)
  • Video (2.5cr)

Winter Session

  • Legal and Ethics (2cr)
  • Non-credit Workshops (January Academy)

Semester 2  (Spring)

  • Advanced Reporting for Engagement Journalism (3cr)
  • Metrics & Outcomes (3cr)
  • Social Media Tools (3cr)
  • Electives (3cr)

Summer

  • Advanced Research (1cr)
  • Summer Internship

Semester 3 (Fall)

  • Community Practicum (3cr)
  • Design & Development (3cr)
  • Entrepreneurial Journalism (3cr)
  • Intro to Data Journalism (3cr)

Winter Session

  • Non-credit Workshops (January Academy)

Four-semester Timeline

Semester 1  (Fall)

  • Reporting for Engagement Journalism (3cr)
  • Community Development (3cr)
  • Video (2.5cr)

Winter Session

  • Legal and Ethics (2cr)
  • Non-credit Workshops (January Academy)

Semester 2  (Spring)

  • Advanced Reporting for Engagement Journalism (3cr)
  • Metrics & Outcomes (3cr)
  • Social Media Tools (3cr)

Summer

  • Advanced Research (1cr)
  • Summer Internship

Semester 3 (Fall)

  • Community Practicum (3cr)
  • Design & Development (3cr)
  • Entrepreneurial Journalism (3cr)

Winter Session

  • Non-credit Workshops (January Academy)

Semester 4 (Spring)

  • Intro to Data Journalism (3cr)
  • Audio (2cr)
  • Electives (3cr)
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Student Work

Engagement journalism students participate in collaborative projects that emphasize the depth of community engagement at the core of the program.

  • Simi Kadirgamar, ’20 is the founder of the Palmyra Zine, an engagement project that asks journalists to reflect on their sourcing process by highlighting stories from Kashmir. 
  • Terrence Fraser, ’20, worked with VICE producing videos on how to film cops and Brooklyn’s illegal firework scene. He also worked with tenants at risk of eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic, raising awareness using art posters. 
  • Allison Dikanovic, ’20 worked with East New York tenants, engaging with and sending them regular updates via THE CITY’s Open Newsroom project and Rent Update newsletter. Her reporting on rent relief, eviction moratoriums and more can be found on THE CITY. 
  • Jake Wasserman, ’20, worked on an investigative project on the census and COVID-19 for Quartz. During his fellowship with Mountain Spotlight, he created a texting bot for West Virginia residents to use to inquire about mail-in ballots.
  • John Philp, ’20, created Gun Country, a multimedia platform that seeks to introduce a new kind of conversation about guns in the U.S.  
  • Diara Townes, ’19, is an investigative researcher and the community engagement lead for First Draft’s US bureau.

Graduates of the engagement journalism program have moved on to positions at Univision, ProPublica, Sports Illustrated, Meetup, and NowThis News, among others.

Contact Us

Contact us if you have any questions about the M.A. in Engagement Journalism program or its application process.

Carrie Brown
Director of M.A. in Engagement Journalism
carrie.brown@journalism.cuny.edu

Office of Admissions
admissions@journalism.cuny.edu