Program Overview
The Journalism at Ball State University is a MA programme in Communications & Media over 24 months, delivered On-campus. This programme equips graduates with advanced knowledge and practical skills for professional and academic careers in the field.
Students gain a rigorous grounding in both the theoretical foundations and applied dimensions of communications & media. The programme combines coursework, research components, and practical projects that develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and specialist expertise relevant to industry and research needs.
Graduates of the Journalism programme are well-prepared for careers in academia, industry, government, and the private sector across United States and internationally. The programme provides an internationally recognised qualification within the Bologna higher education framework.
Key Program Features
- Duration: 24 months
- Language of instruction: English
- Study mode: On-campus
- English requirement: IELTS 6.5
- Tuition: USD 19,404 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; USD 7,092 (Tuition (Year)) — National students
- Location: Muncie, United States, United States
Career Opportunities
Graduates of the Journalism programme are prepared for diverse careers in communications & media:
- Journalist
- PR Manager
- Content Strategist
- Media Producer
- Digital Marketing Manager
- Communications Officer
Program Curriculum
Course Structure
- digital storytelling
- literary journalism (long-form journalism)
- journalism graphics
- news and magazine writing
- advanced reporting techniques and research methods
- communication theory
- visual reporting
- JOUR 603 Introduction to Visual Reporting: This course focuses on data visualization and information graphics reporting for print and online media.
- JOUR 611 Digital Media Boot Camp: You will learn to apply basic reporting and storytelling techniques through the use of video, audio, and design software programs.
- JOUR 623 Visual Storytelling: This course explores the theoretical and practical aspects of journalistic information gathering and storytelling.
- JOUR 643 Emerging Technologies: This project-oriented course is a collaborative interdisciplinary effort to research, design, develop, and study interactive content for emerging technologies.
- JOUR 655 Social + Cross-Media Storytelling: You will focus on building a complex narrative with many voices gathered and presented across multiple media forms.
- JOUR 601 Studies in Journalism and Communication Theory:You will explore the nature and purposes of graduate scholarly inquiry, major journalism traditions and literature, and communications theories and their applications to the study of journalism and mass communications.
- JOUR 613 Seminar in Literary Journalism: This course is an introduction to long-form journalistic storytelling through an intensive, critical study of the genre\x92s history, theories, topical issues, and techniques of 20th- and 21st-century authors of narrative nonfiction.
- JOUR 614 Writing Literary Journalism: This advanced narrative nonfiction writing workshop emphasizes specialized journalistic research, including saturation and immersion reporting, and exposition, description, characterization, and dramatization.
- JOUR 615 Reporting and Research Methods: This course introduces to in-depth reporting and research methods with emphasis on both traditional scholarly approaches (quantitative and qualitative) and the application of social science techniques to the journalistic production of news.
Admission Requirements
Academic Requirements
You need the following GPA score:
Applicants for graduate programs must have the equivalent of a bachelor\xe2\x80\x99s degree with a minimum GPA equivalent to 3 on a US 4.0 grading scale. Admitted applicants typically have an undergraduate GPA of or better on a 4.0 scale. No exam grade should be lower than 4.5 (European grade scale) or D (American grade scale).
Your GPA (Grade Point Average) is calculated using the grades that you received in each course, and is determined by the points assigned to each grade (e.g. for the US grading scale from A-F).
- a bachelor\xc2\x92s degree from an institution that is accredited by its regional accrediting association. Review transcript submitting guidelines before applying.
- either a cumulative baccalaureate grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.75 on a 4.0 scale or a cumulative GPA of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in the latter half of your baccalaureate
- to meet departmental admissions criteria
English Proficiency: IELTS 6.5 or equivalent.
Tuition & Financial Information
Tuition Fee
USD 19,404 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; USD 7,092 (Tuition (Year)) — National students
Tuition fees: USD 19,404 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; USD 7,092 (Tuition (Year)) — National students
IELTS requirement: 6.5
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Contact Ball State University directly for scholarship, grant, and financial aid information for this programme. Many European universities offer merit-based and need-based funding for international and domestic students.
About Ball State University
Ball State University
Muncie, United States
Ball State University is a distinguished institution of higher education committed to academic excellence, innovative research, and preparing students for leadership in their chosen fields. The...
University Profile- Start Date 2017-11-01
- Language English
- Duration 24 months
