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COLLEGE OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Department of Communication

Certificate of Journalism (offered Online)

Online news and information sites are transforming the field of journalism. Get the skills you need to break into this up-and-coming field through our innovative, nationally recognized Certificate in Journalism. Named a Program of Excellence by the University Continuing Education Association — the most prestigious award in the field of distance learning — this exclusively online program lets you study with award-winning instructors and professional journalists at the top of their field, many of whom offer specialized coursework not available through on-campus programs. Whether your background is in journalism or a completely different field, you’ll complete this five-course program prepared to work in travel writing, sports writing, photojournalism, war reporting, science writing, arts criticism, citizen journalism and a host of other dynamic fields.

Program Details

Admission: Open to students from all disciplines. No application necessary.

Format: All courses are offered online through Continuing & Professional Education (regular semester courses taken on campus can also be applied toward the certificate).

Fees: This certificate requires students to take a total of 15 credits in five courses. The fee per credit is $320. There is an additional registration fee of $45 each term. The registration fee is paid only once each term, regardless of how many courses a student enrolls in. Total cost for a 3-credit course is $1,005.

Curriculum: (subject to change):
Required — JOURNAL 300 Newswriting and Reporting
Plus at least four of the following, for a total of 15 credit hours:

  • JOURNAL 201 Introduction to Journalism
  • JOURNAL 225 Readings in Journalism
  • JOURNAL 293V Citizen Journalism and the Web
  • JOURNAL 295B Online Case Studies in Global Media Issues
  • JOURNAL 295C Readings in Science Journalism
  • JOURNAL 295D Digital Photojournalism in Practice
  • JOURNAL 295E Reporting Disasters and Natural Catastrophes
  • JOURNAL 295F Rediscovering and Updating Radio News
  • JOURNAL 295G Readings in Global Energy Issues
  • JOURNAL 360 Journalism Ethics
  • JOURNAL 391A Writing about Sports
  • JOURNAL 391T Travel Writing
  • JOURNAL 392C Online Reviewing: New Perspectives in Criticism
  • JOURNAL 392G Online Reviewing: New Perspectives in Criticism
  • JOURNAL 393J New Markets in Online Publications
  • JOURNAL 393 Online Research: Using the Internet to Bring the Story Home
  • JOURNAL 395B Non-profit PR in a New Age
  • JOURNAL 395D Public Relations for Government and Non-Profits
  • JOURNAL 395E War Reporting
  • JOURNAL 395F Reviewing Music and Movies
  • JOURNAL 395G Photojournalism in the Digital Age
  • JOURNAL 395I Mapping the News
  • JOURNAL 395J The Writing Life
  • JOURNAL 396C Covering Science and Technology
  • JOURNAL 397A Writing About the Arts
  • JOURNAL 397JJ International Perspectives in Journalism
  • JOURNAL 397U Interviewing Skills for Journalists
  • JOURNAL 397W Introduction to Online Journalism
  • JOURNAL 491S Sports Stories

Class list

Summer 2008

Enrollment begins: April 1. All courses are offered online except where noted.

Fall 2008

Enrollment begins: July 23. All courses are offered online except where noted.

Faculty

All our instructors are UMass Amherst professors or professional journalists. We do not use teaching assistants.

Ben Barnhart (JOURNAL 295D: Digital Photojournalism in Practice/Summer08 and Fall08) is a freelance commercial and editorial photographer based in New England. His photographs have appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Yankee magazine, Boston magazine and many other publications, books, websites and annual reports. Among his commercial clients are colleges and universities in the Pioneer Valley including UMass Amherst. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University. Ben began photographing assignments digitally in 2001 and, while he still occasionally uses film for special projects, has been liberated by the digital revolution. Visit www.bbimages.com to see his work and learn more. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Art Clifford (JOURNAL 295G: Readings in Global Energy Issues/Summer08 and JOURNAL 395D: Public Relations for Government and Non-Profit Organizations/Fall08), one of the designers of the Certificate of Online Journalism, has also served as an Air Force officer and has taught at the Defense Department's Journalism School (DINFOS) or Defense Information School. His graduate work was at the University of Oklahoma, New York University, and UMass Amherst, where he earned an MA in Mass Communication (1977). For many years he did science public relations for UMass Amherst. He is currently enrolled in a Master's in Library Science program as a distance-learning student. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dr. Frank Faulkner (JOURNAL 300: Newswriting and Reporting/Summer08 and Fall08) was in the 101st Airborne Div. from 1962 to 1966, and later covered the Vietnam War for UPI from 1966-68, and was an international photographer from 1972-76. Faulkner completed a Ph.D. in communication at UMass Amherst in 1981 and wrote his dissertation on American news media coverage of Vietnam. He worked as an investigative reporter and city editor at the Springfield Daily News and was a stringer for the New York Times. He has taught journalism and communications at UMass and at Holyoke Community College since 1974. He was executive officer at Westover AFB from 1986-93. He moved to Ireland in 1999 and teaches online from Dingle, County Kerry. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

George Forcier (JOURNAL 375: News Editing/Summer08 and Fall08) is the managing editor of The Recorder, an award-winning small daily newspaper in Greenfield, MA, and has written for newspapers and magazies for more than three decades. Since the 1980s he has taught journalism courses at the University of Massachusetts, including newswriting and editing classes. In his spare time he builds custom furniture, bakes bread and brews beer on a former dairy farm in rural Western Massachusetts. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Jill Lang (JOURNAL 293V: Citizen Journalism and the Web/Summer08 and Fall08) has more than 20 years’ experience in community journalism. A 1986 graduate of the UMass Amherst journalism program, she also holds a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where she was a member of the class of 1989. She has covered community life, local government and schools for the Gloucester (Mass.) Daily Times, the Portland (Maine) Press Herald, the Maine Sunday Telegram, and the Rockland (Maine) Courier-Gazette. She has also done extensive PR work for nonprofits in communities based in Camden, Maine. Lang spent the past seven years building VillageSoup’s unique community journalism model, which merges a community online with a local weekly newspaper. The VillageSoup Times, which Jill launched, was named best in Maine (Maine Press Association) and best in New England (New England Newspaper Association) its first year out of the gate. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Carol Cruzan Morton (JOURNAL 396C: Covering Science and Technology/Fall08) writes about health, fitness, medicine, basic research, environment, public health, public policy, business, technology, and travel for newspapers, magazines, and research institutions. In her 20-plus years as a journalist, she has worked as a magazine editor, investigative reporter, community journalist, freelance writer, and university science writer. Morton has been a staff writer with Harvard Medical School since 2001. E-mail: carol_morton.hms.harvard.edu

Keith Paul (JOURNAL 397W: Introduction to Online Journalism/Summer08 and Fall08) has over 12 years experience in web development, information design and usability studies--keeping content the focus of his approach. A 1998 graduate of UMass Amherst, Paul spent much of his time since developing web sites and publications for the campus, most recently as Associate Art Director for University Advancement. He has also done notable work helping small businesses market themselves through their web sites and now works as a User Experience Specialist in interactive marketing at MassMutual. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Stephen J. Simurda is a lecturer in the UMass Journalism Program and a freelance magazine writer. Simurda earned a bachelor's degree from Hampshire College and a master's degree from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University (1983). He has worked for newspapers in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and California. He also worked in the San Francisco bureau of the Associated Press from 1984 to 1986. Since then he has worked as a freelance journalist for dozens of newspapers and magazines, including The Washington Post, Boston Globe and Globe Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer, Columbia Journalism Review, Lingua Franca, Mother Jones, Worldbusiness, and Yankee. He served as a Fulbright scholar in the Slovak Republic. He has been teaching at UMass since 1993. Simurda also teaches magazine article writing, media criticism and courses on the literature of journalism.

Karen Skolfield (JOURNAL 391T: Travel Writing/Summer08 and Fall08) served as a photojournalist in the Army for seven years, including a stint as a travel writer in northern Italy. She earned her MFA in writing from UMass Amherst. She has taught seven different courses for UMass Amherst, including Travel Writing & Photojournalism for five years. In her spare time she writes freelance magazine articles and tries to combine her love of backpacking with her love of writing. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Carl Vigeland (JOURNAL 395F: Reviewing Music and Movies/Summer08 and JOURNAL 395J: The Writing Life/Fall08) is the author of five books on music and golf, including Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life (2001) in collaboration with trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis. Vigeland has written for many magazines, including The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, and DoubleTake. A graduate of Harvard, Vigeland earned his masters degree from UMass Amherst, where he has taught in sports study and journalism since 1996. See his web site for more info: www.carlvigeland.com. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

For more information:
Norman Sims
108 Bartlett Hall, UMass, Amherst, MA 01003
413-545-1376
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