Studying Journalism in the USA (Semester-to a year) HELP

Hi all,

In September I’ll be starting an NCTJ accredited degree in either News or Magazine Journalism (we get to do a little of both and choose what suits us better) and in the second year, I really want to study abroad in North America. A few of the reasons for this include wanting to move there in a few years (this will be the perfect opportunity to see if I like it there) as well as the Media industry being much bigger across the pond.

I just wanted to know if others had studied in North America and what their experiences/ advice is.

I’ve done my research and found I can do this on my course for either a semester (4 months) - up to a year, but picking a Uni is harder than it looks…

These are the Universities I found that I could potentially study at: (yes, I know there is quite a few)

• Northern Arizona University
• San Diego State University
• University of Northern Colorado
• Western Connecticut State University
• Southern Connecticut State University
• Berry College, Georgia
• Mercer University, Georgia
• University of Idaho, Pacific North-West
• Roosevelt University (Chicago, Illinois)
• Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
• Western Illinois University
• Butler University, (Indianapolis, Indiana)
• University of Southern Indiana
• Iowa State University
• University of Iowa
• Fort Hays State University (Kansas)
• Kansas State University
• University of Kansas
• Louisiana State University
• North-western State University of Louisiana
• Saint Joseph’s College (Maine)
• Central Michigan University
• Hamline University (Minnesota)
• University of Mississippi
• Missouri State University
• Northwest Missouri State University
• Creighton University, Nebraska
• Appalachian State University North Carolina
• North Dakota State University
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania
• Mansfield University Pennsylvania
• South Dakota State University
• Middle Tennessee State University
• University of Memphis
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• University of North Texas
• Marshall University, West Virginia
• West Virginia University
• University of Wyoming

I’ve been having a look, and I like the look of Western Washington University, as it seems reputable, fairly cheap and is in a great location (on the coast and an hour away from Seattle and Vancouver!).

Thanks for reading, I know it’s long!! :smile:

Reply 1

~ Shannon ~

Hi! I'm glad I stumbled on this thread because I just graduated from Western Washington and want to plug it :smile:

When I originally applied to university, I was dead-set on being a journalism major (although that changed pretty quickly), so I know a little bit about the journalism program here too. As far as the university as a whole goes, I think it would be a great option for study abroad. Western is located in Bellingham, which is a smallish town of about 70k between Seattle and Vancouver. It's about 50 miles from Vancouver (20 miles from Canada, which is nice if you're under 21) and 90 miles from Seattle, although Bellingham itself sometimes feels a little isolated, at least it does to me. If you like outdoorsy stuff, Western has tons of opportunities to get out and hike, ski, rock climb, kayak, bike, camp, etc., and there are some fantastic views of Bellingham Bay and the San Juans from a lot of the campus, including a couple of the residence halls. The campus culture is pretty liberal, at least for the US, and there's a bit of a granola-y vibe to it, although it's a large enough school that anyone can find a crowd they fit in.

As far as its journalism program goes, I don't have any personal experience, but from what I can tell it's a pretty small but challenging program. Journalism majors are required to work on the Western Front (student newspaper, link here), which I hear is very intensive (and at times frustrating) but will get you a lot of hands-on experience. There is also a magazine called Klipsun if you're more interested in magazine journalism and a student-run radio station (KUGS). There are a couple other publications as well. All in all, the impression I get is that it's a pretty solid journalism school; if you're interested, here's the department website: WWU journalism.

If you have any more questions about Western, feel free to PM me. Good luck in your studies! :smile:

Studying Journalism in the USA (Semester-to a year) HELP

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