M.S. Part-Time Program
A Flexible Program for Working Professionals
The Part-time Program is a more flexible (but no less rigorous) version of our 10-month degree program. The curriculum is the same as that taught to full-time students, and classes are taught by the same professors. In most cases, full-time and part-time students take the courses together.
The Part-time Program is completed in two years, beginning the summer after students are admitted. Students are required to take 6 points each semester to finish the required courses in the M.S. program within this time frame. The order and combination of classes students must take to finish the program looks like this:
Summer I
Reporting & Writing I (6 points)
Fall I
*The Law & Society or Critical Issues in Journalism (2 points each)
Elective (3 points)
Skills class (1 point)
Spring I
Seminar or Workshop (6 points)
Summer II
Master's Project (6 points)
Fall II
Critical Issues or Law (2 points)
Elective (3 points)
**Skills class (1 point)
Spring II
Seminar or Workshop (6 points)
________________________________________________________________________
*The Law class and the Critcal Issues class are each offered at night in the fall on separate days. However, students can opt instead to take the Journalism Essentials classes (Law, Business, History and Ethics) on Friday mornings and afternoons, along with the full-time students if this alternative works with their schedules.
**A second Skills class is not required to graduate, but may be necessary in order to reach 6 points, the number of points needed to qualify for federal loans and financial aid.
If a student finds it necessary to deviate from this program for any reason (whether it is to take fewer or more than 6 points in a semester), he or she must request permission before beginning the program from Elena Cabral, Director of the Part-time Program. The student will be required to map out in advance the number of points and types of classes he or she will be taking each semester.
Time and Scheduling Considerations
Ideally part-time students should have one weekday available to prepare class work or to attend class. Having a free week day is required for the first class, Reporting & Writing I (RWI).
Broadcast or Digital Media concentrators should expect that workshops in those categories require significant in-school time commitments. This means you should be prepared during a workshop semester (spring) to spend at least one full weekday at the school or on assignment. The one-day requirement usually occurs on a Friday, but schedules can vary from one academic year to another.
Print-media workshops require significant time commitments as well, but generally are somewhat more flexible. Part-time students also have the option of taking two seminars instead of a seminar and a workshop to satisfy those two 6-point requirements.
A note about RWI
When students are admitted to the Part-time Program, they begin their first class in May. This class is called Reporting & Writing I (RWI). The school offers two sections of this class: One section meets for five hours on Saturdays; the other section meets for the same length of time on a weekday afternoon, usually on a Wednesday.
You will be asked to rank your preferences on the enrollment form, but we cannot absolutely guarantee your first choice.
In addition to this class time, RWI also includes multiple mandatory sessions of digital media training that will extend through several weeks during the summer. One section of this training is offered for six hours on Sundays. The other section meets for three hours each on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Again, you will be asked to rank your preferences on the enrollment form and your first choice is not guaranteed. Students are required to attend the digital sessions in order to pass RWI.
Students in the part-time program come from a variety of backgrounds. They include doctors, lawyers, freelancers, police officers, teachers, scientists, publicists, bankers, civil servants and more.
Read about M.S. specializations.
More...
Watch Video about the Part-Time Program
M.S. Required Courses
Master's Project
In its scope and duration, the Master's Project is the student's major effort of the year. In terms of relative importance, credits and priority, however, it should be kept in proper perspective with the rest of the curriculum. Part-time students do the Master's Project during their second summer of enrollment.
The project is not a master's thesis in the traditional academic sense, but rather an in-depth exploration of a topic as a journalist would pursue it. Master's Projects may be executed in either print, digital media or broadcast (radio or television) forms. Students work on radio and print projects individually; video projects are generally done in teams of three, and digital media projects are done in teams of two. Non-print projects are subject to approval by the Dean's office (approval depends on student's skill level and nature of topic).
Typical length is dependent on the medium:
- Print: 4,500-6,000 words
- TV/Radio: 20-30 minutes
- Digital Media: 20-30 minute "experience" (i.e., time to read all text or listen to all audio and view all pictures and video)
The student receives guidance from an assigned instructor who offers advice in selecting a topic, fixing its focus and working through an approach, conducting the research and doing the reporting and interviewing, and organizing, writing, rewriting (and recording and re-recording, where appropriate) and polishing the various versions.
Completed Master's Projects
Recent projects (1996-05) are available in the Journalism Library (lobby level). Lehman Library in SIPA has projects from 1957-1995, plus selected older ones.
Read more...
Index of Master's Projects & Theses
Radio Projects (Columbia Journalist - student work)
Digital Media Projects
Watch Video about Master's Projects
Advisers
Advisors are assigned by the Dean's Office.
Contact
Administrator of the Part-Time Program
Elena Cabral
(212) 854-1124
mec9@columbia.edu