Are you interested in speaking truth to power, shedding light on wrongdoing and giving voice to the ideas that can change the world? If so, you are in the right place.
The UMass Journalism Department takes pride in providing a high-quality, student-centered undergraduate education in journalism and public relations. We have award-winning faculty that cumulatively bring decades of both professional and academic experience, giving you a well-rounded education in both the practice of journalism and the theories of journalism studies.
Tour UMass Journalism
The Journalism Department is located in the Integrative Learning Center, one of the newest buildings on the UMass Amherst campus. You can take a virtual tour of our facilities or sign up for an in-person tour of our department (or Zoom call with an adviser).
Learn About Our Curriculum
Our curriculum is designed to provide an educational experience that emphasizes professional development while layering a conceptual understanding of how journalism and public relations work and their role in society. You will thus complete a sequence of classes that will introduce you to the practices of journalism and public relations; provide you with opportunities to develop your reporting and writing skills; help you develop new multimedia skills through audio, photography, and video courses; instill a strong sense of professional ethics and an understanding of media-related law; and allow you to showcase your talent through the production of high-quality journalism and development of public relations campaigns.
You can see a complete list of our courses here.
Meet Our Faculty
You will work with faculty who have won several prestigious teaching, research and community outreach awards, and who bring professional experience from their time at places like Fidelity Investments, the Voice Media Group, The Washington Post and WMC-TV. Our faculty care about undergraduate education and are fully committed to helping our students attain their dreams.
See Your Opportunities
The Journalism Department is regularly rated by undergraduate students as one of the best departments at UMass Amherst. Not only do students feel like they’re getting a high-quality learning experience but we are routinely able to guide students into excellent media jobs, or help them see how a journalism education can be translated into meaningful work in other industries.
This begins in the classroom but is realized through the many opportunities we offer, from the internship opportunities we help coordinate to our active campus media environment. We also offer multiple scholarships thanks to the generous support of our alumni to help students complete their UMass education, as well as opportunities to complete your Honors education and to study abroad. If you would like to specialize in an area, we offer a Public Relations Concentration, a Sports Journalism Concentration and a robust set of classes in broadcast journalism, in addition to our general Journalism track.