The Journalism program at the University of Delaware is entering an exciting new phase. Since the late 1970s, we have offered a Journalism Concentration for English, History, and Political Science majors. Well over a thousand students have graduated from the program; almost all of them were at one time writers or editors for the campus newspaper, The Review. Today they work at the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, CBS News and allhiphop.com; they write books about Barry Bonds and Charlemagne; they are lawyers and teachers; they work in communications for Vanguard Mutual Funds, Disneyland, and Del. Sen. Tom Carper. (You can find information about hundreds of UD Journalism graduates at our Alumni Information Page.)

For a variety of reasons, including the expanding and changing nature of journalism in the 21st century, the faculty has decided to replace the concentration with a Journalism Minor, open to students in any major. The goal, as always, will be to teach writing, editing and analytical skills that will help some graduates pursue journalism as a profession, will assist others in a variety of different careers, and will prepare all of them to be sophisticated and lifelong consumers of the news.

Journalism minors are required to take the course Journalism 301: Introduction to Journalism, to be offered for the first time in Spring 2008, and an additional five courses. (More details can be found here.) As of September 2007, students no longer can declare a Journalism Concentration. However, any student already in the concentration will be able to complete it.

If you have any questions about the journalism at the University of Delaware, please email me or one of the other department faculty members.

Ben Yagoda
Professor of English
Director of Journalism