Joint M.A.
In addition to the Statement of Academic Purpose instructions below, Journalism requires applicants to write a personal essay. The essay is an extremely important part of the application, so treat it accordingly. The essay should be 1,000 to 1,500 words in length. In addition, all applicants must submit at least three samples of their work, whether published or not.
The goal of the essay is to give the Admissions Committee a concrete sense of who you are as someone who aspires to a career as a professional journalist, writing and reporting for print, online or broadcast media. It should address the following questions: What do you expect to get from the program? What aspects of your experience are most relevant to your interest in journalism? Tell us about your background--your academic degree, intellectual interests, work experience, life experience, and other sources of inspiration--and explain how this background informs what you want to do as a journalist.
Applicants should also describe their existing "body of work" as a journalist, critic or just someone who writes. We are mostly interested in published work, but if you have yet to break into print, then tell us what kind of writing you have done. What have been your major themes? What issues and phenomena most engage you? What publications do you read regularly and why? Which journalists do you admire, which do you dislike, and which have influenced you?
Please append to your essay a brief statement of your plans for financing your graduate work. This statement must be included, whether or not you are applying for financial aid.