While technology evolves at a rapid pace, the journalism and digital media fields have never been more exciting! It's more important now than ever to be able to communicate quickly and effectively on multiple media platforms. As a journalism/digital media major, you will gain a well-rounded skill set that will allow you to work in a variety of settings.
The journalism/digital media program at the University of Findlay is designed to prepare students to become successful reporters, writers, content developers, storytellers and overall strong communicators. You can earn a bachelor's degree in journalism/digital media or add a minor in digital media. With a strong focus on experiential learning, our program will provide you with a variety skills and experiences in
As a journalism/digital media major, you will be able to explore career opportunities in journalism, digital media, public relations, organizational communication, marketing or the rapidly growing field of health communication. Whether you develop content for newspapers, magazines, television, radio, websites or social media, it all starts with core skills that you will gain in our program. Some examples of these skills are:
- Gathering fair and accurate information
- Effectively conducting interviews
- Researching/Observing
- Managing time to meet deadlines
- Making ethical decisions
- Developing purposeful and impactful content
What classes will I be taking?
Click here to view the curriculum for the journalism/digital media major.
To meet your interests and career goals, you will have opportunities to double major or minor in other areas of study. Your academic adviser will help you select the right classes, major(s) or minor(s) that will lead you to a successful career after college. Many of our students have chosen to combine a journalism/digital media degree with areas such as
theatre,
political science,
marketing and
Spanish.
"I was encouraged to write for the campus newspaper. Reporting, writing and editing are all things that I took directly into my career. I could do things that a lot of graduates couldn't do because of my hands-on experience with the Pulse."
Abbey Nickel '15, Journalism Graduate
Communications & Outreach Manager, Conservation Technology Information Center
Experiential Learning
You will learn-by-doing inside and outside of the classroom as soon as your first semester on campus! Throughout our program you will benefit from a number of opportunities including internships and projects with real clients that will give you hands-on experience and allow you to build a strong resume and portfolio.
Have a specific type of career in mind? Let your professors know and they will help you get connected with opportunities on or off campus. You can
click here to view some of the projects our students have worked on in our program. Below are just a couple examples of ways our students are gaining real-world experience in our program:
Capstone Project
In your final year as a journalism/digital media major, you will get to work with a real client to complete a project utilizing the skills you've learned throughout our program. Not only is this great practice of skills learned, it is a valuable piece for your portfolio upon graduation. We encourage our students to find a client and/or project relative to their career goals.
Watch the video below to see what Sarah Stubbs '17 worked on for her capstone project:
UF DIGITAL MEDIA CLUB (UFDM)
Whether you want to do broadcasting, reporting or producing, you will have a number of opportunities to practice your skills as part of the UF Digital Media Club. UFDM includes the University's newspaper, The Pulse; radio station WLFC 88.3, and television station UFTV. Click here to learn more.
UFTV (University of Findlay Television)
As the professional communication landscape changes, UFTV is transforming along with it. Our goal is convergent media where your stories play across all of our media platforms. While content is still king, UFTV provides students with useful skills to adapt to the evolving creative content development trends in the marketplace. As you prepare to enter the media job market, you will be prepared to become an exceptional content creator with the necessary skills to produce and distribute information across all media platforms, including television, print, radio, social media and other online outlets.
As a Communication major you will have the unique, hands-on opportunity to work behind the scenes on multi-camera live productions of UF's athletic events, theater programs, concerts, lectures, talk shows, political debates, the City of Findlay City Council meetings, among many others.
As an Assistant Student Producer, you will learn by doing. You will operate modern digital cameras, become a technical director, perform sideline reporting or play-by-play, or create your own audio or video podcast. You may also want to co-anchor our weekly news program, The Update. You will work with reporters from the Pulse and WLFC radio to write stories, record audio, shoot video, and edit for publishing.
UFTV produces over 600 hours of programming annually. We distribute our content on our web page (uftv.findlay.edu), YouTube channel (UFTV Productions), Presto Sports (for athletics), and locally on Spectrum cable channel 1022.
UFTV Studio and Oiler Productions
While you are deep into learning about media and journalism practices to become a professional, UF provides students with state-of-the-art equipment for hands-on training. With real-world experience in the studio and in the field with our Production Trailer, you will be positioned to hit the ground running at your new job after graduation. Not only will you receive experiential experience, but in most cases, you will be paid to work events for Oiler Productions as an Assistant Student Producer.
Equipment
UFTV uses a wide range of media industry production equipment and software solutions to produce content, including Adobe Creative Cloud software and Panasonic Cameras, to VMIX streaming software. Our aim is to be agile and mobile for the modern content producer from corporate to the home studio.
The Communication faculty and staff come from a range of media and academic backgrounds, including documentary filmmakers, broadcasting executives, journalists, scriptwriters, technical practitioners, and media historians with regional and national reputations.
Contact
Andrew J. du Fresne, Ed.D., CIP
General Manager, UFTV
[email protected]
419.434.5909
Center for Digital Storytelling and Participatory Media
The University of Findlay and Hancock Historical Museum have a collaboration that provides enhanced digital storytelling experiences. Part of this initiative is the Center for Digital Storytelling and Participatory Media which provides our students with opportunities to practice their digital storytelling skills while benefitting the museum's effort to gather stories from the community for historical preservation.
Click here to learn more about this initiative.
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