History of the Journalism School

In the beginning. . .
It took Columbia ten years to act on Joseph Pulitzer's pitch for a journalism school. Classes began on September 30,1912 with a student body of about a hundred undergraduate and graduate students, hailing from twenty-one countries. The building was still under construction at the time.

1935 - a defining moment
In 1935, Dean Carl W. Ackerman led the school's transition to become the first graduate school of journalism in the United States. Devoted to intensive, hands-on instruction, classes of sixty students lived the lives of journalists, racing around the city on subways to find stories during the day, and drafting articles in a single, large newsroom in the Journalism School well into the night.

The journalism school first opened its doors to students on September 30, 1912.

A reputation for excellence
Columbia gained the reputation of a place of serious instruction and study and applications soared, increasing dramatically in the years following World War II. In 1961, Columbia Journalism Review, a bimonthly paper covering trends and developments in the industry, was established.

The tradition continues
Innovation with an eye towards tradition continues to guide the Journalism School. The 1960s and 70s saw the codification of Reporting and Writing 1(RW1) as the cornerstone of the Master of Science experience and the formation of the school's basic curriculum. The creation of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship to enrich business journalism in 1975, the 1984 creation of the Delacorte Center for Magazine Journalism, the addition of a Ph.D. Program in 2001, a Master of Arts degree in 2005, and the opening of the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism in 2006, stand as distinct examples of the school's continued
commitment to innovation.

Combining tradition and new technology
As the Journalism School moves forward embracing the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century and the information technology revolution, it continues to educate ethical journalists, ensures they are equipped to serve the public good, and it upholds the standards of excellence of the profession as a whole.

"Our Republic and its press will rise or fall together. An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a sham and a mockery. … The power to mould the future of the Republic will be in the hands of the journalists of future generations."

James Boylan '51 has written a history of the Journalism School titled Pulitzer's School.