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, award-winning Certificate in Journalism. Named a Program of Excellence by the national University Continuing Education Association — the most prestigious award in the field of distance learning — this exclusively online program lets you study with professors 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, 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. Students must register early, at least two weeks before classes begin, or many classes will be cancelled.

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 $380. There is an additional non-refundable 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 $1,185. You are also welcome to take any of our courses without pursuing the Certificate.

Curriculum: (subject to change):
Required — JOURNAL 300 Newswriting and Reporting
Plus one "foundation course" (topics vary and are listed each session), plus additional online Journalism classes from 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 Responding to Disasters and Natural Catastrophes
• JOURNAL 295G Readings in Global Energy Issues
• JOURNAL 360 Journalism Ethics
• JOURNAL 391A Writing about Sports
• JOURNAL 391T Travel Writing
• JOURNAL 391G Journalism in an Age of Terror
• JOURNAL 391J Writing About Food
• JOURNAL 391T Travel Writing
• JOURNAL 392G Online Reviewing: New Perspectives in Criticism
• JOURNAL 392L Public Opinion
• JOURNAL 393J New Markets in Online Publications
• JOURNAL 393TK The Journalist's Toolkit: A Nuts and Bolts Guide to Online Searching
• JOURNAL 395B Non-profit PR in a New Age
• JOURNAL 395D Public Relations for Government and Non-Profits
• JOURNAL 395F Reviewing Music and Movies
• JOURNAL 395G Photojournalism in the Digital Age
• JOURNAL 395J The Writing Life
• JOURNAL 395K Redefining Public Relations
• JOURNAL 395R Community Public Relations
• 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

Class list

Spring 2012 Classes By Program

• JOURNAL 295D
  S-Digital Photojournalism in Practice | Enroll
• JOURNAL 300
  Newswriting and Reporting | Full
• JOURNAL 395J
  S-The Writing Life | Full
• JOURNAL 397FW
  ST-International Freelance Writing | Enroll
• JOURNAL 397U
  Interviewing Skills for Journalists | Enroll
• JOURNAL 397W
  ST-Introduction to Online Journalism | Enroll
• JOURNAL 492M
  S-Magazine Writing | Enroll

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) 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 295E: Responding to Catastrophes and Natural Disasters, and JOURNAL 395D: Public Relations for Government and Non-Profit Organizations, and JOURNAL 391G: Journalism in an Age of Terror), 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 201: Introduction to Journalism, JOURNAL 300: Newswriting and Reporting, JOURNAL 391G: Journalism in an Age of Terror, and JOURNAL 397U, Interviewing Skills for Journalists) 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) is the managing editor of The Recorder, an award-winning small daily newspaper in Greenfield, MA, and has written for newspapers and magazines 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 .

Todd Gilman (JOURNAL 393TK: Journalist Toolkit: Online Searching) holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Toronto and an M.S. in Library and Information Science from Simmons College. He has taught for the University of Toronto, Boston University, and MIT. He is Librarian for Literature in English at Yale University where he is a subject specialist and reference and instruction generalist. He also teaches part-time for San Jose State University's School of Library and Information Science and for the online Library and Information Science Program at Wayne State University. 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 and JOURNAL 395PR: S: Community Public Relations) has more than 25 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 worked for the Gloucester (Mass.) Daily Times, the Portland (Maine) Press Herald, the Maine Sunday Telegram, and the Rockland (Maine) Courier-Gazette. From 1998 to 2005, Lang helped to build VillageSoup’s unique community journalism model, which merged a community online with a local weekly newspaper. Today, she's basesd in Midcoast Maine, merging journalism with public relations and working with local businesses and non-profits on their marketing and communications needs. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Karen List (JOURNAL 360: Journalism Ethics) is a professor at UMass Amherst and Director of the University's Journalism Program. She has won the UMass Distinguished Teaching Award and the national Freedom Forum Journalism Teacher of the Year Award. Through the Center for Teaching, she has been a Lily Teaching Fellow, a Hewlett Teaching Fellow and a participant in the Teaching and Learning in the Diverse Classroom program. She teaches History of American Journalism, Journalism and Law, Journalism Ethics and Journalists in the Movies, among other courses. Her work has been published in Journalism History, Journalism Monographs, Journalism Quarterly, Journalism Ethics, Journalism Educator, Critical Studies in Mass Communication and a variety of other publications.

Keith Paul (JOURNAL 397W: Introduction to Online Journalism) 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

Razvan Sibii (JOURNAL 392L: Harnessing Public Opinion) holds a B.A. degree in Journalism from the American University in Bulgaria. He has received an M.A. degree in Communication from UMass Amherst in 2007, and he is currently working on his Ph.D. dissertation in the same department. His scholarly research focuses on issues of language and identity construction. He has worked as a full-time political reporter for two publications in his native Romania, and is currently contributing feature stories on international affairs to that country's biggest quality newspaper. He teaches communication and journalism courses, including newswriting and reporting, media ethics, and media criticism. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Karen Skolfield (JOURNAL 391T: Travel Writing) 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

Dennis C. Vandal (JOURNAL 395G: Photojournalism in the Digital Age) is a freelance photojournalist, lecturer, writer and commercial photographer based in Amherst, Mass. He has covered news events for the Boston Globe, the Associated Press, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and private clients. He maintains an avid interest in digital technology and its impact on newsgathering. He is a member of the adjunct journalism faculty at UMass Amherst and at Northeastern University. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Carl Vigeland (JOURNAL 391A: Writing About Sports, JOURNAL 392G: Online Reviewing: New Perspectives in Criticism, JOURNAL 395F: Reviewing Music and Movies and JOURNAL 395J: The Writing Life) is the author of seven books, including The Breathless Present: A Memoir in Four Movements (2011) and Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life, a 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 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:
Chief Undergraduate Advisor & Program Coordinator:  Razvan Sibii
108 Bartlett Hall, UMass, Amherst, MA 01003
413-545-1376
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Program Coordinator:  Brian McDermott
108 Bartlett Hall, UMass, Amherst, MA 01003
413-545-5931
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