PaigeTurner

Hello! I am trying to decide between Columbia and Northwestern for a master's in journalism. To give you some background, I am interested in pursing international reporting after graduation and want to attend the school that provides the best opportunities/connections to make this possible! At Columbia, I have no specialization whereas at Northwestern I picked Social Justice and Investigative Journalism. I have also included a pro/con list about the two schools below. Any insight about either or both schools would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! Columbia’s Pros: At Columbia, I would not have a specialization, so my education would cover multiple platforms (audio, video, broadcast, print, online, etc.) (this may be beneficial since i have limited experience) Great international reporting department with a lot of connections. There are some great postgraduate fellowships Columbia Journalism Investigations, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Longform Narrative, funding for investigative reporting A lot of post-graduate internships that accept many Columbia grads; in particular, companies like: ABC News Broadcasting in London; Al Jazeera in Qatar, The Marshall Project (Investigative Reporting in NYC), The Reuters Institute at Oxford. Spring Career Expo (where you can have scheduled/walk-up interviews) Year long master’s project supervised by an advisor (to work on long form narrative) There is a required module on investigative journalism Students Associations: Society of Professional Journalists, Women in Journalism Ivy League Located in NYC (good for networking) A lot of students are encouraged to get published Columbia’s Cons: Slightly larger classes (15-20) and larger seminars Fewer opportunities to travel abroad while completing the degree (no established programs) No scholarship Northwestern’s Pros: Medill Explores Program: a week-long trip spent reporting on international issues and networking with local experts Global Residency Program: a 10 week program abroad with an international news organization (Time Magazine in the UK) Medill Justice Project: the opportunity to work on criminal justice cases and writing investigative stories Social Justice News Nexus: works with local Chicago news outlets to report on social justice issues Knight-Lab: focuses on emerging technology and new forms of journalism A 2 quarter class where you are trained in media technology (however, I will not be able to enroll if I do the practicum in DC) Benefits of Investigative & Social Justice Specialization: Will have stories published in Medill News Service (partners with news outlets to publish your work) There are still core courses that cover the fundamentals of reporting Practicum: a 10 week internship (instead of a thesis) in which you work with a local media outlet of your choice. It can be completed in DC or Chicago. Medill Friday events (speakers, workshops, etc) Medill Career Services Partial Scholarship Only 130 students in the program Small class size (about 10 students) Northwestern’s Cons: I had to apply to a specialization, but as I do not have a lot of journalistic experience, I am not sure if this is the field I want to stay in. Fewer media outlets in Chicago