Enrollment and Curriculum

Students may take online journalism and public relations courses at UMass Amherst year-round, and may thus make progress toward their Certificate of Journalism on their own schedule. Admission to all classes is open, and anyone can enroll. You do not have to be a UMass Amherst student and there is no admission procedure.

The availability of the courses depends on the availability of our award-winning faculty. You can find all the upcoming courses by going to the “Explore Classes” page on the University+ website and selecting “Journalism” from the “Subject” drop-down menu. Students may register for courses up until the course begins, but we strongly suggest you enroll at least two weeks before the class starts.

Below are some of the courses that have been taught through the online Certificate of Journalism program and that you can expect to find over the course of the academic year:

  • JOURNAL 201: Introduction to Journalism
  • JOURNAL 235: Introduction to Public Relations
  • JOURNAL 250: News Literacy
  • JOURNAL 300: Newswriting and Reporting
  • JOURNAL 310: International Journalism
  • JOURNAL 333: Introduction to Visual Storytelling
  • JOURNAL 336: Writing for Public Relations
  • JOURNAL 391J: Food Writing
  • JOURNAL 391PR: Social Media & Public Relations
  • JOURNAL 392S: Opinion Writing: Columns
  • JOURNAL 397U: Interviewing Essentials
  • JOURNAL 445: Journalism and Law
  • JOURNAL 460: Journalism Ethics
  • JOURNAL 492M: Magazine Writing
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