Online Courses, Winter and Spring Terms

This course introduces students to public relations as a strategic communication management process in the private, public and non-profit sectors. Students will explore the history and modern development of the field, as well as relevant theory, law, ethics and practices targeting various publics and stakeholders. The course also will address career opportunities and skills necessary for successful professional practice. 

In this course, students will become more discerning consumers of news. Students will use critical-thinking skills to determine what news sources are reliable in the digital world. Through readings, class discussions, and written assignments, students will deconstruct stories to determine those that are well-sourced and can be considered real news. Students will also discuss concepts such as objectivity, opinion, bias and fairness, and how all contribute to the mix of news reports in today's digital landscape.

This course introduces students to the basic requirements of news writing and reporting, including interviewing, covering news events, speeches and press conferences, public records, and more. Students will complete a variety of in-class and outside reporting assignments in a journalistic style.

Prerequisite for matriculated UMass Amherst students: EngWrit 112. If you are not a regular UMass Amherst student and you would like to enroll in Journ 300, please contact the UMass CPE Records & Registration Office (413-545-3653 or regoff@uww.umass.edu) as soon as possible. 

This is a required course to earn the Certificate of Journalism.

This course focuses on ethical journalism — no matter the medium—and its pivotal role in a democratic society. It aims to help those who plan to become journalists make ethical decisions and to help those who are consumers of the news recognize responsible journalism at a time when it is more important than ever to give voice to the voiceless and hold the powerful accountable. Students will develop an ability to understand and evaluate the ethical decisions that journalists make every day and the consequences of those decisions. As journalism's role in society, its values, and its best practices are all undergoing radical transformations, students will become familiar with traditional codes of ethics in areas such as accuracy, fairness, diversity, sources, conflicts of interest and privacy. But the course also will emphasize the need for students to create their own systems of ethics – principles students have thought through and are always ready to apply, explain and defend.

This four-credit writing course introduces students to the different forms of magazine writing, including short features and essays, longer-form pieces, first-person narratives, profiles, and human-interest feature stories. Students will generate story ideas, develop research strategies, cultivate sources, research markets, and submit queries for publication in print and online formats. Students will read and discuss articles from a range of popular, literary, and trade magazines, and, in a community of peer writers, they will write, review and revise several works of their own.