Most graduate programs limit student travel to trips home or an occasional spring break trip with friends. Not so at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., just outside of Chicago, where Medill journalism students often venture thousands of miles in pursuit of an important story.

Medill is one of the top-ranking journalism schools the US, offering a mix of undergraduate and graduate programs that consistently produce some of the most qualified and competitive journalists in the world. In less than a century of operation, the school has produced nearly 40 Pulitzer Prize winners, and current students are encouraged to pursue the same level of excellence.

The university’s full-time faculty are seasoned professionals with extensive industry experience and contacts. Medill also draws on Chicago’s journalism community for accomplished adjuncts who have specialized in reporting, photography, videography, non-fiction narrative, magazine editing, web design and more.

Medill operates news services in Chicago and Washington D.C., and as a student, you’ll be reporting on real events in real time. Some 40 graduate students are assigned to the Chicago service each quarter, with others opting to be stationed in the capital. Coverage spans all major facets of modern journalism, and your work will be delivered to websites, newspapers, television stations and other broadcast media.

Your time at Medill will be formative. You’ll be shaped for success in journalism and sent out to refine your craft in two of the nation’s most important cities. Above all, you’ll be encouraged to take risks where appropriate, reject conformity and think uniquely.

Pic: Medill.

Academics
Medill Northwestern University, a leader in education since 1921, offers a master’s degree in journalism that combines the enduring skills and values of journalism with new techniques and knowledge that are essential to thrive in today’s digital world. This is the school’s most celebrated offering, but it’s joined by a pantheon of other highly regarded degree programs.

In Medill’s Washington program, students focus on watchdog journalism in the city where people eat and breathe politics. They learn how to report on public policy issues in ways that make important news interesting and relevant. As a Washington reporter, students work in a multimedia newsroom that publishes the Medill Reports Washington website and distributes journalism to print, online and broadcast clients. They also enroll in seminars to study how the nation’s business gets done, how federal policy is made and, most importantly, how it impacts real people in real communities.

There are two major divisions of coursework at Medill:

Journalism
The university’s journalism program provides students with a suite of foundational courses that leave them fully prepared for a high-powered career in reporting. From the freshman year, there’s an emphasis on storytelling, ethics and multimedia presentation. The sophomore year is spent reporting in the Chicago area, while upperclassmen dedicate a quarter to the Journalism Residency program. This involves working with a real newspaper, magazine or television station.

Graduate students in the journalism program are stationed either in Chicago or Washington D.C., where they file stories on tight deadlines. These are delivered to magazines, newspapers, online clients and broadcast agencies.

Integrated Marketing Communications
Medill also offers a degree in interactive marketing communications (IMC), which equips students with advanced marketing and branding tools and prepares them for highly competitive careers in corporate communications.

Graduate students invest 15 months in learning how to get to know a customer base, so that this can be leveraged to generate sales and brand loyalty. The process begins with core coursework in market research, statistics, communication and consumer insights, and then segues into specialized fields like interactive marketing, brand advertising strategy and public relations.

There is also an undergraduate certificate program in IMC that introduces students to IMC fundamentals and a consumer insights course. This is rounded out with three electives.

Global Journalism
Students in Medill’s National Security Journalism Initiative were given the opportunity to travel the globe for their quarter-long project. However, all Medill graduate students have the chance to practice journalism abroad as part of the Global Journalism Residency, which is available as a fifth-quarter option as part of the journalism master’s program.

Some of the most exciting journalism opportunities are outside the United States, and Medill’s global residencies are established and coordinated by Medill faculty at primarily English-language news organizations throughout the world including Time, the Associated Press, Financial Times and Bloomberg News. Students complete a range of assignments similar in quality and quantity to those of an entry-level professional staff member. Medill global students have a record of reporting and writing high-profile stories with widespread international play. Increasingly, these stories are produced in multiple formats and are prominently displayed on major websites worldwide.

Good journalism, in any medium, is rooted in finding, getting and telling the story. Medill trains students in this essential skill set by immersing them in real-world situations. In the first quarter, students practice their reporting skills in Chicago’s diverse, news-rich communities. In the second and third quarters, they work in Medill’s downtown Chicago newsroom, distributing multimedia stories through Medill Reports Chicago. In the fourth quarter some choose to study and report from our Washington, D.C. newsroom where their work is published through Medill Reports Washington in national and regional outlets. Others spend time working in Evanston or Chicago to create a news and information product with a media client. After a year at Medill, students are ready to hit the ground running.

Technological prowess
Medill is one of the only schools of journalism out that places such a high priority on building technological savvy, but none of this comes at the expense of the fundamentals of reporting. In fact, a Time magazine article pointed to the school’s reputation for mixing “high-tech savvy with hard-nosed reporting skills.”

Through a grant from the Knight Foundation, Medill opened the Knight News Innovation Laboratory last year. This is an innovative joint project between Medill and the McCormick School of Engineering, wedding elements of journalism and computer science in a single, cutting-edge facility.

The lab hosts the annual Knight News Challenge, a contest backed with US$25 million that has helped to build a vast foundation of open-source software that can be used in the lab. Initiatives like this are changing the way 21st-century reporters gather, analyze and disseminate information.

Pic: Medill Northwestern University.

Campus life
Medill’s relentless commitment to academics and real-world journalism creates a demanding atmosphere for students, but there is still life outside of class. Northwestern University operates extensive recreational and leisure facilities and maintains a thorough roster of student-led organizations.

In all, more than 400 clubs are on offer at Northwestern, covering everything from hobbies and civic engagement to stage performance and intramural sports. The university is also a member of the Big Ten conference, with major Division I sporting events staged throughout the year.

There are more than 8,000 undergraduate students on campus at Northwestern. This is a world away from the dull commuter college, with two out of every three undergrads living right on campus. A total of 31 residences are in operation, including large halls and more intimate campus-administered houses.

Diversity is a major component of the Northwestern University experience. Students hail from all 50 states and as many countries outside the US. The Multicultural Student Affairs committee works hard to integrate international students into campus life.

Life after Medill Northwestern University
Media companies are looking for journalistic innovators—people who can find new ways to tell stories, as well as produce original content, create publications, experiment with technologies and discover what audiences need. Graduate students can participate in innovation projects, working in an immersive team setting to solve real problems for and with media organizations. By the end of the quarter, Medill students have experienced the 360-degree view of media product development. They conduct original consumer research, draft a business plan, recommend potential advertisers and create a social media strategy. Then, they present this project to industry leaders who look to Medill for both innovative ideas and entrepreneurial students.

Pic: Medill Northwestern University.

Medill graduates are not just able practitioners, but also future leaders. They are the people who will shape the journalism of the future. They will discover new ways to tell stories and to connect audiences with the information needed to make better decisions. Medill professors will teach how to practice today’s journalism and how to understand the forces that are shaping the industry. It is vital to learn how individuals consume information, what audiences demand and how media organizations operate. Medill, through its close relationships with other schools at Northwestern University (the Media Management Center, Kellogg School of Management and McCormick School of Engineering) is uniquely qualified to deliver on its promises.

Medill journalism students go further and faster in a rapidly changing profession where there is a growing range of opportunities in new and traditional media. Employers look to Medill as the pre-eminent source for media professionals who are well-educated in fundamentals, skilled in new techniques and willing and able to take on tough challenges. For information about the master’s program and to find out where Medill graduates are working now, please visit the Careers page on the Medill website.

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