The Department of Journalism prepares students to produce journalism in a digital and ever-changing world.
Our curriculum provides a foundation in journalism concepts and skills and the ability to specialize in key areas including broadcast, sports and business journalism.
Classes in the Department of Journalism include intensive instruction on reporting and the use of state-of-the-art communication technology, while also allowing students to think critically about journalism’s role in society.
MISSION STATEMENT
To educate students to think and act as responsible professionals and ethical citizens in a global community; to help students develop competencies necessary to prepare them for professional employment or advanced studies; and to develop skilled professional communicators who understand their social, legal and ethical responsibilities, and their career opportunities in a technological society.
ACCREDITATION
Founded in 1927, the Department of Journalism is one of the oldest journalism departments in the country. The Department is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, which means it meets the highest academic standards among journalism programs. TCU was the first private institution in Texas to receive accreditation in journalism.
All of our professors have professional experience in addition to their academic credentials. Full-time faculty teach nearly all of our courses and spend significant one-on-one time with students. Graduate students don’t teach any of our undergraduate courses. Our student-teacher ratio is 14 to 1. See our retention and graduation rates.
IN THE CLASSROOM
After completing journalism classes that teach essential skills and promote critical thinking, students may receive certificates in broadcast, news-editorial, online, business or sports journalism.
All journalism majors complete the Multi-Platform Capstone as seniors, a semester-long individually tailored news project that involves major under-covered news issues or ongoing news stories on or off campus.
ON THE JOB
Experiential learning has top priority at the Department of Journalism. Reporting classes have assignments in TCU student media. We also often partner with local professional media. We focus on internships as well, the top program being full-time internships and courses of study in Washington, D.C.
All students leave with the ability to succeed in a deadline-driven environment. Our teacher-scholar model places emphasis on student instruction and learning. TCU is located in the fifth largest media market in the country, perfect for hands-on study and exposure to major news operations.
STUDENT MEDIA
TCU 360 is the digital-first nerve center of TCU Student Media, available online via computer, smartphone and tablet. All students involved with campus news coverage are part of the TCU 360 staff. Student leaders decide what stories to cover and publish, with the assistance and advice of faculty mentors. Students also produce:
- The Skiff, our award-winning weekly newspaper, the longest printed paper in Tarrant County, since 1902.
- TCU News Now, the campus broadcast news operations that produce newscasts from our state-of-the-art digital newsroom.
- The Leap and Unscripted, weekly broadcast shows covering pop culture and sports.
- Image, our national award-winning, long-form journalism magazine that covers the TCU community.
- PolitiFrog, which focuses on politics from a Gen Z perspective in innovative digital ways.
JUST FOR YOU
All these opportunities in and outside of class lead students toward rewarding careers in journalism and other communication-related fields. Students build portfolios, make contacts, pursue their craft with a foundation in ethics, and also may distinguish themselves with more specialized skills and knowledge of the subjects they cover.