• What is journalism?

• Why study journalism at SDSU?
• Careers in journalism

What is journalism?

Are you curious? Are you good with words and can you spell and punctuate? Can you construct an argument and convey information and emotion with words? Are you flexible and adaptable? Can you write on almost anything? Is it important to you to keep up with current events? Are you interested in other people’s lives? Are you persistent and willing to dig for information?

You may be interested in a career in journalism — reporting events at the local, regional, national and international levels. Journalists gather information through interviewing and research to create a variety of stories for publication in newspapers, television or radio broadcasts, or distribution through digital media.

Why study journalism at SDSU?

The journalism program emphasizes the training of writers, reporters and editors for the news media — newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and digital media. The program also seeks to prepare and guide students interested in pursuing careers in a wide range of informational and interpretive multimedia environments. The courses offered in the journalism major are designed to give students a working knowledge of the skills, concepts, values and ethics needed to succeed as professional communicators. Classes focus on factual and analytical writing, editing, producing and designing content; history; communication law, theory and responsibility; and ethics in the news media.

Careers in journalism

Career opportunities for journalism graduates are diverse, including news agencies, newspapers, magazines, radio, television, digital and social media, book editing and publishing, freelance writing, industrial journalism, teaching and communication research.

On this page: Diana Crofts-Pelayo capped her career at San Diego State as the convergence intern in the newsroom of KPBS, which allowed her to produce content for radio, television and the web. Crofts-Pelayo was the 2012 Outstanding Graduate for both the School of Journalism & Media Studies and the College of Professional and Fine Arts. Photo by Sam Hodgson.