Are you interested in gaining the professional training to become a newspaper reporter? Or a podcast storyteller? Or a long-form magazine writer? Or a news editor? Or a broadcast journalist? Or an investigative reporter? Or a documentary filmmaker? Or a business journalist? Or an international correspondent? Or a photojournalist? Or an arts critic? Or a data journalist? Or a radio reporter? Or a science journalist? Or a book author? As a student in Columbia Journalism School's
Master of Science Program, you will enjoy a flexible curriculum that provides a world-class education in the areas of journalism that matter to you, all while you receive essential training in reporting, storytelling, and ethics.
With our 2022-23
application for admission now open, we are excited today to spotlight the
Master of Science Program's
Audio Journalism opportunities. With the growing popularity of podcasts and the continued reach of terrestrial radio, there has never been a better time to pursue a career in audio. Columbia Journalism School prepares its students to work in any of the finest public radio newsrooms or on the most successful shows and podcasts. Students do
not need to apply specifically to an audio specialization at Columbia, as all Master of Science Program students will have the freedom to focus as much - or as little - on audio storytelling as they prefer.
In the fall semester, Master of Science Program students will go through a brief audio training as part of their introduction to multimedia reporting. Even in those early classes, students receive technical instruction, one-on-one editing and constructive in-class feedback on their work. Also in the fall, students interested in audio will have the opportunity to take "Writing for the Ear" as their Written Word class and/or "Audio" as their Image & Sound class.
In the spring semester, Master of Science Program students will have the chance to take 15-week Seminar & Production classes that can provide them with in-depth audio training, such as:
- Radio Workshop, which provides real-world training that ensures students interested in pursuing a career in radio have the skills to quickly make themselves valuable in any work environment. Radio Workshop has been a staple of the spring schedule for nearly two decades. Students in the class produce a weekly Uptown Radio broadcast, which is modeled after NPR’s All Things Considered. Its network of graduates work in many of the best public and commercial radio and podcast companies in the United States and beyond.
- Telling True Stories in Sound, which teaches the skills of long-form audio journalism, and the techniques of nonfiction storytelling used in established shows like This American Life, Radiolab or Invisibilia, as well as newer podcasts like Reply All, or 99% Invisible. The style of storytelling used in the public radio style podcasts is a combination of in-depth reporting and long-form storytelling. This course will prepare students to tell complex stories using strong character-driven narrative.
- Shoe Leather: Multi-Casting Investigative Stories, which is designed for students who want to take their long-form journalism beyond print. In the class, students will work in small teams to produce episodes for an original podcast — SHOE LEATHER — and create a corresponding web page with text, photos, primary source documents and short videos. Students will take a deep dive into a specific news event from New York City, and explore how it was covered at the time, and its impact decades later. Using online resources and old fashioned shoe leather reporting, the goal of each podcast episode will be to find the main newsmakers of the past event and reveal how the news coverage influenced their lives.
Students who are passionate about audio who meet the prerequisites can also submit proposals to create audio Master’s Projects.
To learn more about audio opportunities in Columbia's M.S. Program, please watch our 2020 webinar with Professors Daniel Alarcón, Joanne Faryon, and Sally Herships: