certificate

The Policy Journalism and Media Studies Certificate

The study of communications, mass media and journalism is increasingly relevant in today's globalized, interconnected world. For this reason, the DeWitt Wallace Center for Communications and Journalism, part of Duke University's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, utilizes an approach to education in this field, which emphasizes the analysis and understanding of public policy, and the complex relationships between media and public policy making, supported by courses in effective media writing and production.

This certificate meets the needs of students preparing for careers in media policy, journalism, or any and the associated professions, as global communications enters into a period of rapid and profound change.

Courses in the certificate address three interrelated goals:

• to investigate the machinery of contemporary media policy-making and its impact on the practice of journalism, and to understand the broad political dynamics which have conditioned both U.S. and International media policy, past and present
• to familiarize students with the institutional, economic, social and political complexities of media policies worldwide through the study of the interaction between the key players in media policy making, journalism, media-related non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and academics specializing in media studies
• to explore the cultural and ideological underpinnings of contemporary conceptions of media, media policy, and journalism in a global market, as well as the current educational challenges facing journalists whose knowledge need to be increasingly specialized in order to explain increasingly complex global situations to their audiences

The certificate draws upon established courses relating to media policy, journalism, global culture, and communications; it also recognizes the inspired contributions to media studies originating in the disciplines of history, law, literature, economics and sociology.

Certificate Requirements

The Policy Journalism and Media Studies Certificate is open to all Duke undergraduates.

• Successful candidates must complete the prescribed combination of 6 courses: one core course on journalism ethics, one practical course, three elective courses and a capstone/internship course.
• No more than four courses may be in a single department (3 of these are the core courses in PPS, which means that student may take only ONE more PPS course that will count toward the certificate; the other 2 electives must be outside PPS and they cannot be cross-listed with PPS).
• At least four courses must be 100-level or above
• A progress requirement: a minimum of 3 courses must be taken by the end of the junior year
• Students must complete an internship with a media-related organization. Students should complete the internship before the capstone course. Students will make a presentation on their internship experience during the capstone course and should keep this in mind while doing the internship. Students should return to Duke with print, audio or video clips resulting from the internship. These do not have to have the student's name on them, but should represent work the student has done.
• Students must take PPS 202S, the certificate capstone course. This course cannot be taken pass/fail. The capstone course will consist of a major research paper that integrates ideas and concepts learned in all previous coursework with the hands-on experience from the internship that the students have already done.

Core courses may be chosen from the list below. (New courses, special topics courses and independent study courses may be approved as well.)

Core Course:
PPS 125S.01 News As Moral Battleground (Journalistic Ethics)

Journalism Practical Core Course Cluster (students must take one of the following):
PPS 118S.01 Television Journalism
PPS 119S.01 Magazine Journalism
PPS 120S.01 News Writing and Reporting

Capstone Course (students must take the following):
PPS 202.01 Policy Journalism and Media Studies Capstone Course (NOTE: not offered Spring 2007)

Elective Courses offered Fall 2008:

Others may be offered (if you find one that you think could count as an elective, please contact Ken Rogerson rogerson@duke.edu)

AALL 250S Chinese Media & Pop Culture
COMPSCI 82 Tech/Soc Analysis of Info & Internet
CULANTH 116S Advertising and Masculinity
CULANTH 143 Cyborgs

ENGLISH 101A Introduction to Film
POLSCI 114S Public Opinion
PUBPOL 121S Reporting Public Policy
PUBPOL 142S Intellectual Property

PUBPOL 195.06 Communication and Public Policy

PUBPOL 221 Media and Democracy
PUBPOL 268 Media Policy and Economics
SOCIOL 114 Cybernetworks and the Global Village

All Elective Courses: This page lists all elective courses that might be taught. Not all are taught every semester.

Journalism Jobs: This page lists some links to web sites that have journalism job postings.

Public Relations Opportunity

Duke students interested in Public Relations have been invited to join the UNC-Chapel Hill Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. Students would need to join the national organization and could then participate in the activities of the local student chapter. If you have any questions or for more information, please contact the chapter's faculty advisor: Larry Lamb at llamb@email.unc.edu or 919-843-5851. Meetings are held the second Wednesday of every month in room 33 of Carroll Hall at 7 pm.