About the Department

“We want our students to be able to experiment and be capable of working in an ever-changing media environment. We want them to think about what journalism can be, not just what it is now.”

Andrew Mendelson, Chair, Dept. of Journalism

Why study journalism at Temple?

1. Location

Temple’s Department of Journalism offers students the opportunity to learn multimedia journalism with top faculty in a vibrant urban environment. Our curriculum is also enriched by our location in nation’s fourth largest media market. Our internship program takes advantage of our location, offering year-round opportunities to gain professional experience.

2. Curriculum

At Temple, all journalism students take a core of courses, which emphasizes solid reporting, writing, editing and research across online, print and broadcast news platforms; audio and video newsgathering skills; and introductory and advanced approaches to Web/multimedia storytelling. Then students will be able to create their own areas of specialization such as entrepreneurial journalism and international reporting. They can also choose to concentrate in more traditional news media tracks such as broadcast journalism, magazine reporting or photojournalism. The journalism courses build upon a solid foundation in liberal arts and sciences. We also offer a Master of Journalism degree.

The cornerstone of our program is the award-winning PhiladelphiaNeighborhoods.com, located at our Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab at Temple’s Center City campus across from Philadelphia’s City Hall. Here, our students experience 21st century journalism in a mutlimedia newsroom emphasizing neighborhood reporting. It is an exciting venture that’s redefining Temple Journalism.

We are just one of two Pennsylvania programs meeting professional standards of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. Accredited status means that a national team of reviewers has recognized that our classes are of appropriate size, our faculty includes accomplished practitioners and scholars in the field, and our curriculum (and the technology that supports it) is up to date, with attention to diversity and commitment to a strong liberal arts foundation.

3. People

Our full-time faculty members are leaders in journalism education, research and practice.

Complementing our full-time faculty are a number of adjunct faculty who are professional journalists working in one of the top media markets in the country.

The Department of Journalism is one of the nation’s oldest communications programs. We have nearly 6,000 alumni since 1966 in all aspects of journalism and mass communications. Our graduates have long dominated the region’s media market, but many have high-level positions across the nation. We boast of three Pulitzer Prize winners – Clarence Williams for photojournalism, Joby Warrick for investigative reporting and John Dotson for Public Service Reporting.

4. Opportunity

The department offers students many opportunities for developing as journalists. There are several on-campus media outlets, including the award-winning Temple News. There are also five student journalism organizations, which provide professional development and engagement.

Why study journalism at Temple? Why would you study journalism anywhere else.

Multimedia Journalism in an Urban Setting

Mission Statement

Temple University’s Department of Journalism seeks to develop critical-thinking journalists who can communicate creatively in a multimedia environment and remain sensitive to the diversity of perspectives within urban, underrepresented communities of our increasingly multicultural world. This requires an appreciation for the practice of journalism in all its forms, as well as its foundation in the First Amendment. We hope to empower practitioners, analysts, scholars and media consumers to understand journalism’s societal role and to value its ethical responsibilities.

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