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Theory and practice, teaching and research, science and journalism
The German media personalities Henning Sußebach, Jörg Schönenborn
and Professor Petra Werner each have something in common.
They all studied at Dortmund University's Institute of Journalism.
Each exemplifies a specific form of achievement our programmes seek to
promote. The first is a well-known TV presenter, the second a knowledgeable
editor-in-chief, and the third a dedicated professor of media studies.
Since the institute was founded over 30 years ago, almost 1000 students have
graduated. Of course, not all of these have been able to match the exceptional
achievements of our best-known graduates. Nonetheless, surveys of
our alumni reveal their appreciation of their alma mater. They believe that
the Dortmund curriculum with its integrated and supervised internships has
paved the way for success in the media or the academic world.
The institute’s tradition of consistently combining theory with a hands-on approach
is the key to its success. Eight full professorships (see inset), four
newsrooms designed to simulate real-world editorial processes, and the affiliated
Erich Brost Institute for International Journalism help to breathe life into
this vision. The research of the institute is not just restricted to academic
theories of communication, but has relevance to the daily realities of editorial
life, to the training of journalists, and to the scholarly study of journalism.
This approach involves the institute in looking for answers to topical questions
which are relevant in theory and practice. Some examples: How can media
formats be used to integrate minorities? How can teenagers be encouraged
to read newspapers? How best can innovative technologies be integrated
into university teaching?
A unique spectrum of journalism scholarship:
The institute’s professorships
Chair for journalistic
production and research |
Chair for social and historical
foundation of journalism |
Chair for crossmedia
and media convergence |
Professorship for
communication science
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Chair for
law and media law |
Chair for economy and
media economy |
Chair for
international journalism
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Chair for
science journalism
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A well-established approach to journalism:
Studying journalism in Dortmund
A solid start for your first job
and future career
The Dortmund journalistic curriculum has a unique advantage in
that it integrates a one-year media internship into the course. Students
earn a journalism degree and simultaneously acquire the professional
status of editor. Thus, the "Dortmund model" fuses two
stages in the education of journalists into one and has proved to be
a solid basis for starting and continuing a career in journalism. This
model is the result of three decades of development during which
the institute has focused on a consistent strategy of integrating skills
and knowledge, theory and practice, and professional activities on
the basis of systematically taught principles.
The highlight:
The integrated internship
The institute arranges internships for all of its students with well-reputed
media partners (see table). The one-year internship is integrated
as a module into the bachelor studies. This is why the BA takes
eight terms instead of the more common six. Most of the media
partners have a long-standing relationship with the institute and a
tradition of hiring Dortmund alumni as editors, frequently for senior
positions.
Print media / news agencies
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Bonner General-Anzeiger • dpa-afx • epd • Focus • Fuldaer Zeitung • Hersfelder
Zeitung • Hessisch Niedersächsische Allgemeine • Kieler Nachrichten •
Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger • Main Post • Mindener Tageblatt • Neue Ruhr Zeitung
• Neue Westfälische • Nordsee-Zeitung • Pforzheimer Zeitung • Remscheider
General-Anzeiger • Rheinische Post • Ruhr Nachrichten • Saarbrücker
Zeitung • Schwäbische Zeitung • Solinger Tageblatt • Thüringer Allgemeine •
Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung • Westdeutsche Zeitung • Westfälische
Rundschau • Westfalenpost • Wetzlaer Neue Zeitung • Westfälischer Anzeiger/
Soester Anzeiger |
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Multimedia training |
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Deutsche Welle • Westdeutscher Rundfunk • Nordwest Zeitung |
Online
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Spiegel Online, ZEIT Online |
| TV |
| N24 • Nordwest-Zeitung • ntv-telebörse • Pro7-Galileo • WestCom XXP • ZDF |
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Radio |
92.9 Radio Mülheim/106.2Radio Oberhausen • Antenne Münster • Radio Erft
• Radio MK • Radio WAF • Radio 91,2 • Radio 98,5
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Practical experience before
and after the internship
Both before and after the internship, hands-on experience is an integral
part of the degree. "Learning by doing" is the focus. The students
work on an almost daily basis with media in the institute's
four professional, multi-media training newsrooms. The institute
provides state-of-the-art working conditions and its television and
radio studios are equipped with the most recent technologies. The
relationship between supervisors and students is one of mutual respect
and trust.
„All inclusive“:
A wide range of courses
The Bachelor of Arts in journalism is an "all-inclusive" degree. The
courses cover all the areas that a modern journalist needs to master.
The comprehensive curriculum is taught in 17 modules and offers
the following choices (among others): professional ethics, media
law, media genre, research and data analysis, specific types of journalism
(culture, sports, local news, science, environment, economics),
media economics and management, basic journalistic
knowledge (politics, laws, economy, society), the scientific principles
of research into journalism and international journalism.
(As from WS 10/11 it will be possible to graduate with an MA)
Double your knowledge – BA science journalism:
developing a critical competence
...and, of course, bird flu! These buzz words show
how science, technology and medicine have become
an integral part of everyday life – and of our
media diet. Readers, listeners and viewers depend
on competent and critical reporters. The public
expects journalists to cover the news from the lab
or clinic in an understandable and entertaining
way. The institute encourages them to do that,
but also to avoid exaggeration and scaremongering.
Not every lab report heralds a medical
breakthrough, new technologies may have drawbacks
as well as advantages, and a one-off heat
wave is not necessarily directly correlated with
climate change.
A highly-regarded programme
The Institute for Journalism is currently the only
German university with a full professorship for
science journalism to offer a BA in science journalism.
The programme has two parallel components:
on the one hand, journalism and, on the other,
science subjects such as physics, life sciences/
medicine, mechanical or electrical engineering,
and statistics. The Bertelsmann and Volkswagen
foundations have recognised its quality
with an award. In June 2006 the accreditation
procedure was completed with excellent results.
Journalism, science and an internship
The journalism part of the eight-term course includes
specialised courses in science journalism as
well as the essential aspects of the regular journalism
course work: media law, ethics, communication,
the economy, research and style exercises, as
well as participation in the hands-on newsroom
training and an integrated one-year internship with
one of the institute's media partners. In contrast to
many other, only postgraduate courses, the second
subject plays a real role in journalism classes. The
result is a truly interdisciplinary programme.
In-depth knowledge of two worlds:
MA science journalism
Weighing the choices:
science or media?
Is it possible to graduate with an MA in one year – is this a viable
proposition? The answer to this question is that students
who have already achieved a great deal can achieve even more
at our institute. It is true that the barriers for entry are high.
You will need to have successfully completed the Dortmund
BA in science journalism or an equivalent programme together
with an internship to be admitted to the two-term MA. Our
programme is of special interest to science journalists with
managerial ambitions or to those wanting to extend and deepen
their scientific knowledge.
In accordance with these aims, seminars focusing on empirical
social research are available, as are seminars on hands-on editorial
management and on leadership in the media. In the
scientific or
technical second subject, the classes can be chosen
freely,
but should be closely related to the topic of the MA thesis.
An example: If the student is going to cover the reporting
of
the stem cell research issue in the USA and Europe, seminars
on cell and molecular biology will be the order of the day.
The end result is that the programme stays focused and the
workload manageable.
Contact and informations:
Dipl.-Journ. Angelika Mikus
Tel.: +49 (0)231/755 6534
Fax: +49 (0)231/755 6539
Mail:
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