The Bilingual Journalism Program (formerly the Spanish-language Journalism Program) is a unique initiative to train bilingual students interested in covering Latino communities in the United States.
With the U.S. growing more diverse and Latinos surging in population growth and political and cultural influence, but still largely ignored or misunderstood by much of the mainstream media coverage, the need for this program is clear and urgent. Our students learn to use their bilingual skills to produce rigorous reporting, on deadline, in both languages, while nurturing a deep understanding of the complexity of the Latinx experience.
Since it started in 2016, the Bilingual Journalism Program has prepared new generations of journalists to thrive in an ever-changing media landscape. The program sees students’ ability to navigate both languages as their cultural asset as they delve into bustling New York City to cover its deeply-rooted Latinx community.
The Bilingual Journalism Program is cohort-based, and along with this learning community, students take five courses in Spanish, including the first and second semester core reporting and writing classes on Latino communities, an advanced research course, and two subject courses on investigative journalism and reporting on identity.
Besides their Spanish-language classes, students benefit from all the Newmark J-School offers since they follow the standard M.A. in Journalism curriculum, strengthening their specialty with additional courses in English from other subject concentrations and media specialties. They also do a required paid summer internship at a Latino-focused Spanish or English-language news outlet in the U.S. or a Spanish-language outlet abroad.
It’s important to note that there is a separate application process for the Bilingual program. The subject concentration director is Carmen Graciela Díaz, a journalist, author, and teacher, and the program’s professors and writing coach are journalists, editors, photographers, researchers, and writers.
Our students contribute nuance, sensibility, and depth to any newsroom, creating stories that reflect the multi-layered experiences of the communities they serve.
That is why the program’s students land coveted positions in leading media outlets, including The New York Times, Telemundo, Univision, NY1 Noticias, The City, The Philadelphia Inquirer, NPR, NBCNews, ABC, LatinFinance, The Marshall Project, HBO-Axios, Centro de Periodismo Investigativo de Puerto Rico, Bloomberg, and Nieman Lab, among others.
Applicants must be fluent in English and Spanish, have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution comparable in standards to a CUNY college, and pass the TOEFL or IELTS language tests if from a country outside the U.S.
Director of the Bilingual Subject Concentration
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The Bilingual Journalism Program powers El Deadline, a news outlet centered around Latino stories produced by our students
These are a few of the stories generated by our bilingual students and alumni:
(Photo: Santiago Flórez)
Do you have a question about the Bilingual Journalism Program or application process that we haven’t addressed? If so, please contact us.
Office of Admissions
admissions@journalism.cuny.edu
Carmen Graciela Díaz
Director of Bilingual Journalism Subject Concentration
carmen.diaz@journalism.cuny.edu
