School of Journalism

A journalism school is a school or department, usually part of an established university, where journalists are trained. An increasingly used term for a journalism department, school or college is 'J-School'. Many of the most famous and respected journalists of the past and present had no formal training in journalism, but learned their craft on the job, often starting out as copy boys/copy girls. Today, in many parts of the world it is usual for journalists to first complete university-level training which incorporates both technical skills such as research skills, interviewing technique and shorthand and academic studies in media theory, cultural studies and ethics.

Historically, in the United Kingdom entrants used first to complete a non media-studies related degree course, giving maximum educational breadth, prior to taking a specialist postgraduate pre-entry course. However, this has changed over the last ten years with journalism training and education moving to higher educational institutions. There are now over 60 universities in the UK offering BA honours degrees in journalism. Postgraduate courses are more well-established, some of which are either recognised by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) or the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ).

Several universities claim to have established the world's first journalism school. Contenders include the University of Wisconsin-Madison,University of Missouri,Columbia University,Washington and Lee University and the Ecole Superieure de Journalisme in Paris, France founded in 1899. A Diploma of Journalism was established at London University in 1919, but university journalism education in Britain did not become a significant endeavour until the 1970s, with establishment of the University of Wales postgraduate program. Most training from the mid-20th Century was run by the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

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