Journalism; Focus on

It is often said that journalism is a vocation rather than a career, but in common with most other professions, media employers are increasingly looking for a relevant qualification.

Editors often welcome applications from postgraduates because they tend to have a more rounded knowledge of current affairs and/or the areas they hope to specialise in. It also helps to have some practical experience.

Write to local newspaper editors or specialist publications, explain why you think you would make a good reporter and ask if they will allow you to join their team for a few days or write an article. Try to avoid approaching them when demand for work experience is at its highest or close to deadline as this always causes frustration!

You should always try to be the applicant who stands out as the most committed to journalism and the most able. Do not be put off if you receive some rejections - editors appreciate and respect determination and persistence.

Whether you opt for the direct entry route or the postgraduate approach, you should be aware that those who study the media and demonstrate knowledge of the areas they wish to write about will have an advantage.

The DIT MA in Journalism is a one year, full time programme covering the practice and theory of journalism from the basics of the craft to consideration of the part that journalists play in society. Applicants who have no journalistic record can be considered for the course if they have good academic achievement and/or relevant experience, can write well and demonstrate serious commitment to working in journalism by means of relevant work experience, articles published or written for publication and evidence of purposefulness about working as a journalist.

Another highly regarded course is the MA in Journalism from DCU. This one-year programme is designed to provide in-depth and wide-ranging training and education for prospective entrants to the profession. It balances practical, theoretical, technical and analytical elements to reflect the changing media environment and the new (and increasingly diverse) demands being made on entrants to journalism.

The programme consists of taught courses for two semesters, with a project or dissertation and a trainee placement over the summer period and runs for just under a calendar year, from September to September. The project/dissertation is expected to be a major piece of academic media research or a major journalistic project. All students receive training in both print and broadcast journalism.

For those with strong creative inclinations, NUI Galway’s MA in Writing is a one year, full time course that covers fiction and poetry as well as other forms of writing. It synchronises with the university’s English Department postgraduate offerings (MA in Literature & Publishing and MA in Drama & Theatre Studies) to build on existing strengths in the diverse arts of writing for page and stage, screen and daily papers.

In each semester, all students take a writers' seminar, which meets once a week for three hours through the semester. Its scope includes fiction and non-fiction, poetry and prose, dramatic and non-dramatic writing, journals and journalism. Normally, there will be a different visiting writer at each seminar meeting. Only students from the MA in Writing may enrol for credit in this seminar.

Assessment is based on weekly journal writings and students must take six modules in total.  The writers' seminar is compulsory - students may then take any five of the remaining modules, two from one semester and three from the other.

The MA Journalism and Media Communications (HETAC) from Griffith College, Dublin allows students with an existing undergraduate degree in a non-journalism or media discipline to acquire the skills of journalistic writing, production and communication. Students can choose to complete this course in full-time or part-time modes. During the course students are challenged in real journalistic situations, in both print and broadcasting, to give them a taste of a real working environment. Postgraduate students are awarded a Masters in Journalism and
Media Communications at HETAC Level 9. Griffith College Cork's Masters in Journalism (HETAC) is also offered full time for one academic year or for 1.5 years as a part-time course. Both courses are recognised by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Students from outside Ireland should pay particular attention to the DIT’s MA in International Journalism, a full time three semester programme covering the practice and theory of journalism in an international context. It is particularly suited to international students as, in contrast to the MA in Journalism, it does not assume knowledge of the Irish context and prepares students to work on international new stories.

It is particularly suited to international students who find it difficult to accommodate to the demands of the MA in Journalism, although applicants should be aware that it is not geared for those who wish to work in Ireland.

More specialised courses include University of Limerick’s Graduate Diploma/Master's Degree in Technical Communication, which was developed to meet the growing need for technical authors.

UL also recently announced the launch of the first full suite of journalism postgraduate and undergraduate degree programmes outside of Dublin. Starting in 2008 the postgraduate options will include a Graduate Diploma and a Taught Masters in Journalism.

Another good reason for obtaining a journalism qualification is that it opens up a range of other career options. A sizeable percentage of graduates do not end up working as journalists long term, instead finding positions as researchers, presenters, producers, technical writers in media-related positions, or in other forms of communication in public relations.

In addition to traditional journalism, graduating students may be eligible to take up employment in areas where visual media or multimedia skills are in demand.