News

J-School receives grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

October 20, 2008

The Graduate School of Journalism has received a $4.46 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the advancement of the study and teaching of health and science journalism.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant will fortify the Journalism School’s science concentration for its one-year Master of Arts in Journalism program, which was established in 2005. This rigorous program is designed for experienced journalists who wish to pursue a deeper understanding of the sciences to inform their work. Interdisciplinary study of the sciences and the methods of scientific inquiry are hallmarks of the M.A. Science program. Subject areas studied during the nine-month program include public health, the environment and the processes of innovation and discovery.

Under the terms of the grant, the science concentration will be known as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Program in Health and Science Journalism. Students accepted into the program will be recognized as Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Fellows in Health and Science Journalism, and will, during the course of the academic year, meet with the Foundation's staff and alumni, and have the opportunity to learn about the fields of health and health care.

“This generous gift from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reflects a deep commitment to the importance of health and science journalism; it is a recognition of the critical need for improved public understanding of science in all its forms, but particularly to pressing issues in public health,” said Nicholas Lemann, dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

To support the pursuit of health and science journalism and to attract the most promising journalists, the grant will provide at least half of the tuition costs for students in the M.A. science concentration, and funding research related to their thesis projects. Funds from the grant will also support a variety of curriculum-development measures and initiatives to recruit prospective students to the program.

Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation share the belief that complex issues of our time, including climate change, biotechnology and infectious disease, call for highly trained journalists with a keen understanding of health and science, who can translate this knowledge into first-rate reporting.

Read the full press release

Learn more about the Master of Arts in journalism

Learn more about the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation