The Daily Plan-it / Dean of Students Blog, Columbia J-school

Dear Students:

A reminder about the Fall Academic Schedule.

Please be sure to check your schedules at least once a day on SSOL [ https://ssol.columbia.edu/ ] for a couple of weeks - days, rooms, times, etc., may have changed.

Highlights - when certain classes begin:

September 2 (week of):

• M.S. RWI staggered schedule: Those students whose classes meet on Mondays, will meet on Tuesday. Tuesday classes will meet on Wednesday and so forth.
• Section 1 of Critical Issues [Klatell and Tucher] begins on Wednesday night, September 3, at 6 p.m., in the Lecture Hall. The second class will meet on Friday, September 12, at 12:30 p.m., in the Lecture Hall (the regular class time).
• Skills: Sections 15 (Photo Skills with Smock) & 20 (Radio Skills with Welby/Karr) – see http://web.jrn.columbia.edu/students/Skills_web3.html
• Regular Schedule [as it appears in SSOL] for PT Intro to TV; M.A. classes (see alternate room list in the orientation folder you receive tomorrow); Broadcast for SIPA students; Knight Bagehot & PhD classes

September 8 (week of):

• RWII Electives (except in cases with direct communication from the professor about alternate date); The Literature of Non-Fiction; Friday Critical Issues [first regular day/time class]; Friday Law; Wednesday Law; Thursday Critical Issues; NY as a Foreign Country; Social Impact of Mass Media

September 12:

• Add/Drop Period ends: 7:00 a.m. [ http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2008/08/21/memo-adddrop-instructions/ ]

For Fall M.S. Master’s Projects: your advisers will be in touch about when classes meet. Many meet on Friday afternoons, but some don’t; the advisers will let you know.

For class times and locations for everything else, you need to go to http://www.columbia.edu/cu/bulletin/uwb/ and click on “J” and then on “Fall 2008.”

Questions to dos@jrn.columbia.edu

Please note, this memo is for PT students taking the Master’s Project during Summer 2008 only.

FROM: LynNell Hancock, Interim Dean of Academic Affairs
RE: Instructions on Submitting Your M.S. Master’s Projects, September 2008

The deadline for submitting your finished Master’s Project is Monday, September 8, at 10 a.m.

All projects must be submitted to Yahaira Alonzo, who will be stationed in the Stabile Student Center that morning.

Please submit one hard copy to the DOS office in a 9 ½ by 11-inch envelope. Label the envelope with your name, your class year, the title of your project and the name of your Master’s Project adviser.

You will be required to sign your name on the Master’s Project submission log when you turn in your final project. Only those students who received a formal extension from your faculty adviser and the Dean of Students Office have permission to miss this deadline.

Please e-mail one final copy of your project to your adviser. Ask your adviser if he or she also wants a hard copy.

This final version of your project will be available in the Columbia Library, so it must conform to the following requirements:

1. Formatting

• Margins and Numbers
  The print version, or a verbatim broadcast script, must be double-spaced on one side of white paper, leaving a 1½- inch margin on the left-hand side and a 1-inch margin on all other sides. Pages must be numbered. No binding, or staples, please.
• Title Page
  Include a separate title page with the following information: Your name, class year,
  the title of your project, the name of your master’s adviser, and, at the bottom of the
  page, add:

  Copyright
  (Name of Student)
  (Year)

2. Source List
Submit a complete source list for your project at the end of your project. If you are not certain about the best way to cite a source, consult with your adviser. Be aware that source lists and your entire project, including the “P.S.” portion, will be available for reading and copying by all Journalism School library visitors. If you have confidentiality concerns with sources (i.e. names, phone numbers, personal addresses, etc.), you are responsible for removing the source list from the library copy.

3. Post Script
At the end of your project, you must include a first-person narrative describing how you discovered, researched and reported your story. This will help future students see what goes into the making of a successful master’s project. This “P.S.” should be included with all copies of your project after the source list, and should run no longer than 1,000 words. Remember that this post script will be available along with your project in the library.

Students submitting a Radio or Television/Video Project should include:

• One copy of your script for DOS, email a second to the adviser, plus a hard copy to the adviser if he/she requests it. Include a Post Script and Source List as described above.
• For television, one copy of your project on DVD for DOS. Provide a second DVD directly to your adviser, plus a videotape copy if your adviser requests one
• For Radio, one copy of your project on audio CD for DOS, and a second for your adviser. In addition, provide your adviser a copy of the .wav file (i.e. the final mix “bounce,” on a data CD.

Label all your DVDs, CDs, tapes and accompanying materials with complete project information (author(s), title, adviser). Indicate whether CDs are data or audio. The Technical Staff can assist television projects in making the DVDs from the final, edited tape. Be sure to give them plenty of advance notice if you need their assistance.

Students submitting a New Media project should include:

• A printed cover page with your names, topic and URL, and a copyright statement. One hard copy to DOS, another emailed to your adviser.
• A printed source list and P.S. as described above. In most cases, your “about us” should suffice. Bring one copy to DOS; send a second by email to your adviser.

The library cannot store computer disks, and does not have the facilities for viewing their contents. A hyperlink will be made from the Masters Project Index web page to the project itself.

You will be expected to submit the materials above AND upload your final websites to the servers by 10 a.m. on Monday, September 8.

4. Your Copy
Keep a copy of your project for yourself. Neither the Journalism School nor the Journalism Library is able to provide on-demand copies of your work.

Congratulations!

From Dean Huff, Asst. Dean of Students

The Add/Drop period begins this coming Monday, August 25, at 7 a.m.

During this period, students may request a change of classes.

Please note that this is only a REQUEST and we cannot guarantee your request will be accommodated.

On each Add/Drop request form you may request to add one class AND drop one class.

It is possible for PT, KB and MA students [and MS looking to add a second skill] to simply fill out the “Add” or “Drop” portion if you are not looking to switch, but merely to add or drop a class.

The Add/Drop request form will be available as of 7 a.m. on Monday, August 25. Additional information on the Add/Drop request process is listed below. Please read it carefully before submitting a request form.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT ADD/DROP REQUESTS:

The Add/Drop period Monday, August 25, at 7 a.m. to September 12, at 7 a.m.

Add/Drop forms are processed on a first come, first served basis.

If your form is submitted correctly you will receive a request confirmation e-mail within 24 hours. Please remember to include the @columbia.edu after your UNI.

You will NOT receive an e-mail from our office saying that your request was granted or not granted.

To learn if your request was granted, you must keep checking your class schedule on the web using STUDENT SERVICES ONLINE. All requests remain on file during the add/drop period.

You do not need to submit multiple forms for the same Add/Drop request. If I am able to grant requests I do it as soon as possible but sometimes it takes days for a space to open in a class. Sometimes the space never opens up. In most cases, if you want to add a class I have to wait to see whether someone else wants to drop it.

Please remember that you are submitting an Add/Drop REQUEST.

There is no guarantee that I will be able to approve your request. Until you see a change reflected on your class schedule on STUDENT SERVICES ONLINE, your request has not been approved.

I will NOT drop you from a required course unless I can get you into the course you have requested. If you have more than one preference, you may for a given course, in the notes section of the Add/Drop form, indicate so. Simply complete the add portion of the form with your first preference and in the notes section give me the same info about your second, third, etc., choices. You must include the call and course numbers if you indicate other preferences in the notes section.

Also, please be certain that you are not requesting a class that conflicts with any of your other classes.

And finally, remember that if you are requesting to add a course, you are also probably planning to drop a course. DON’T forget to request to drop the course and please do it on the same form you use to request a class.

The only way I will be able to approve most requests is by knowing which courses will be dropped by students.

SAMPLE FORM BELOW (information is fictional)

Program/Contact Information (information below is fictional)

Your Name: SUSIE J-SCHOOLER

PID: C000213126

E-mail: sjs2009@columbia.edu

Phone: 917-123-4560

Program: FT Master of Science

Concentration: Newspaper (M.S. students only)

Stabile: No

Please enter the details of the course you would like to ADD: (information for completing this section is at the Directory of Classes - see instructions at the top of the add/drop form)
Class Number: J6000; Section Number: 20; Call Number: 81350
Title: Covering Fish

Please enter the details of the course you would like to DROP: (information for completing this section is at the Directory of Classes - see instructions at the top of the add/drop form)
Class Number: J6000; Section Number: 16; Call Number: 72241
Title: Reporting on Snails

* Please note that for days/dates and times of skills classes, you need to refer to
http://web.jrn.columbia.edu/students/Skills_web3.html

ADD/DROP FORM - http://fs8.formsite.com/cjdos/AddDrop

Dear Students:

We invite you to start filling out your Journalism School online student directory. This directory, which is accessible only by current students, faculty and staff, is a great networking tool - and is separate from the class Facebook group (which we hope you will continue to use).

The information you enter in this web directory will then be transferred to the print student/staff/faculty directory, which you will receive in the fall.

We ask that you complete filling out your profile by Aug. 1 - the entire process should take no more than five minutes.

The link to the directory is: http://cujs.photobooks.com

Once you have logged in successfully *both* times, you will be directed to the home page of the directory. On this page you will find the *edit my profile* link. Please click on that link to start filling out your profile.

You will have to upload a current, high-resolution, JPEG picture of yourself. We ask that you submit a basic headshot photo, similar to a passport photo.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Yahaira Alonzo,
Student Affairs Coordinator
Columbia Journalism School

Fall Ballots go live at 10 a.m., Monday, July 7.

Please carefully follow the instructions below.

First, M.S. students please read the Fall Curriculum thoroughly.

You may read students’ evaluations of many of the classes and professors at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/journalism/evaluations/. You will have to log in using your UNI and password.

Please select from the two options below the appropriate ballot for you.

To complete the ballot you will need your Columbia e-mail address and PID (If you have lost your PID, please refer to http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2005/11/14/faq-how-do-i-find-my-pid/)

The ballots are NOT handled on a first-come, first-served basis. As long as you make the deadline (Monday, July 14, 10 a.m.) you have equal standing with all other students.

NOTE: Ranking the same class as your first choice repeatedly DOES NOT increase your likelihood of getting into that class. Rather it means that we will randomly select your class (or adviser) if we are not able to give you your first choice.

Those who miss the ballot deadline will be placed in classes on a space available basis. If you made a mistake or changed your mind, please resubmit your ballot. Your most recently-submitted ballot as of the deadline (Monday, July 14, 10 a.m.) will be the one processed.

If you experience any problems using the ballot, please send e-mail to dos@jrn.columbia.edu Please note we cannot promise students they will gain a seat in any specific class.

The ballot for FT M.S. students is at http://fs8.formsite.com/cjdos/FT_MS_Ballots

The ballot for PT M.S. students and M.A. students is at http://fs8.formsite.com/cjdos/MA-PTBallot/

Please answer all questions carefully.

M.S. students: The Fall Curriculum Guide info is below. and we are hosting a webcast/discussion about it on Wednesday, July 2. The M.A. students have more of a set curriculum, and will be receiving their guide in a few days, with a webcast/discussion with Dean Evan Cornog set for Thursday, July 17, 1-2 p.m. Eastern Time.

YOU CAN LISTEN TO ALL OUR PREVIOUS WEBCASTS AND SEE ALL OUR RESOURCES AND FAQS FOR NEW STUDENTS at http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2008/04/18/prepping/

[Please read the guide carefully. It’s also available off the “Current Students” page of the website.]

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: Special info about your orientation, which begins Aug. 7, is at this link.

To: All M.S. students
From: LynNell Hancock, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Interim
Re: M.S. Instructional Program

Welcome!

The faculty, administrators and staff are glad that you have chosen to study with us at Columbia Journalism School. As students, you will be joining a community of teachers and learners who are dedicated to the highest ideals and aspirations of journalism. We believe that journalism is an integral part of a free, open and well-informed society. Everything we offer academically helps to promote that goal.

We have prepared some information to help you make appropriate academic decisions in the year to come.

It describes the instructional program for the Fall Semester for full-time M.S. candidates [LINK]
], and will help answer questions you might have
about the school [LINK].

This is an exciting moment in journalism, when technology is rapidly enhancing and altering the ways in which we tell the world’s stories. You will become familiar with the language and discipline of the changing modes of communication during the course of your time with us. At the same time, you will be reminded in every course that first-rate journalism education is far more than a mastery of skills. It’s all about learning context, analysis and habits of mind.

In mid-August, I will be returning to the faculty and you will have a chance to meet my successor as Dean of Academic Affairs, Bill Grueskin. He joins us from the Wall Street Journal, where he was one of the top editors and helped run the print and online newsrooms. Professor Grueskin will help lead the way in
bridging traditional journalism with the future of the industry.

Meanwhile, take special note of the impending deadlines (our favorite word) for balloting for Fall courses. And sample as many books as you can over the summer from the suggested reading list [LINK].

See you in August.

LynNell Hancock

Degrees are awarded in October, February and May. Every candidate, regardless of graduation date, is invited to participate in the May Commencement ceremony.

In order to be considered for a degree or certificate, you must file an application with the Journalism School.

IMPORTANT: This form CANNOT be submitted electronically. Please type in the required information, print, sign and bring it to the box outside of Dean Huff’s office [207C] marked “Diploma Applications.”

Alternately, you can mail it to:

Dean Huff
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
2950 Broadway
New York, NY 10027

Application Deadlines
Graduating in - Apply by
October - August 1
February - November 1
May - December 1

Please Note The Following:

When a deadline for application falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

Doctoral students must deposit their dissertation at least a week before the conferral date in order to graduate.

Message from LynNell Hancock, Interim Dean of Academic Affairs

Dear Students and Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce three major additions to our new media
efforts at the Journalism School.

The first is the appointment of one our most popular adjuncts, Duy
Linh Tu, to the full-time faculty. Duy (pronounced “Do” - see bio
below) joins us as new media coordinator and an assistant professor of
professional practice. As you know, he has been teaching here for
several years in the new media classrooms. He will intensify his
efforts to “webbify” our fall classes, and to integrate new and
compelling ideas in multimedia storytelling throughout the curriculum
in the years to come. Duy will continue to work with Dean Sree
Sreenivasan, who, as you know, has increased administrative
responsibilities at the school.

In addition, we have created two new post-graduate New Media
Fellowships starting this year. These July-June fellowships will
employ two students who will work closely with the technology staff to
help students and professors alike navigate the world of new media
journalism.

Our inaugural fellows are Kenan Davis and Dave Mayers (see bios
below). Part-teaching assistants, part-technologists, this year’s
fellows are both smart journalists with terrific reporting, writing,
editing and production skills. They will report to Duy.

Please join me in congratulating them. Kenan and Dave officially begin
their duties on July 1, but I am sure you will have other
opportunities to greet them before then.

(more…)

From: Larry Fried, Asst. Dean for Technology

Dear Students,

Please make note of the following technology items as we approach the end of the academic year:

Equipment and Fines:

All checked out equipment should be returned no later than May 15th.

Equipment fines must by paid by May 16th or you may have a hold placed
on your diploma. If you wish to dispute a fine, please email Craig at
ch2314[at]columbia.edu.
(more…)

End-of-Year Manual

May 2008
TO: All Students
FROM: Melanie Huff, Assistant Dean of Students

In order to help you plan for Graduation and beyond, we have prepared some documents for you - please make sure you read both carefully.

Journalism Day, the Journalism School graduation ceremony and the University graduation are covered in detail on the graduation page.

Post-graduation use of the building/equipment and alumni benefits/services are covered here.

Please keep in mind that this summer extensive construction work is taking place along with work to repair and prepare the building and equipment for the next academic year. Therefore, it is necessary to establish dates after which graduating students will no longer be able to access and use the facilities. Outlined below is the schedule for the coming summer.

Part of the reason for the tight deadlines is that the two new summer Part-time RWI classes begin on Friday, May 23.

Use of Journalism Building Facilities After May 21
Use of Building:
Members of the Class of 2008 will have access to the building and its facilities through June 30, 2008.

Exceptions include: any area under construction, and any classrooms and computer rooms being used for summer classes or special programs. If you are in one of these rooms when a class is scheduled to begin, please leave immediately. Refusal to cooperate may result in the termination of your access to the building.

Broadcast students may use the broadcast equipment, as available, until June 30. Please remember that scheduled summer school classes and members of the part-time class working on their master’s projects, as well as necessary equipment maintenance upgrades, have priority for equipment and editing rooms.

Please be aware that individual computer rooms will be closed at different times for maintenance and upgrading. Though it is likely, it is not guaranteed that there will always be a computer room or terminal available. Due to maintenance schedules, summer class schedules and the part-time students’ master’s projects, it is possible that you will be unable to use a computer at a specific time.

Student Lockers:
In order to get ready for the construction and the incoming part-time students, all May graduates must empty their lockers by noon, Friday, 23.

Continuing part-time students and News 21 fellows may keep their lockers. Graduates who will be working on a demo tape or other approved projects during the month of June may also keep their lockers. To request such a locker extension, please send e-mail to cc2964@columbia.edu with your name and the reason for your request.

Graduates’ lockers that have not been vacated by noon on Friday, May 23, will be have their locks removed and contents moved to a storage bin and eventually discarded. All locker questions should be directed to Melanie Huff.

Student Mailboxes:
The mailboxes of graduating students may be used until noon, Friday, May 23 as well. All items remaining in boxes after that date will be discarded. Continuing students (& News 21) will be able to access their mailboxes on the first floor hallway over the summer.

Computers:
Graduating students will retain access to computer resources through June 30, 2008. Afterwards you will be unable to use the computer labs, print, or access your network storage. Please be sure to backup all of your files to external media (CDs, DVDs, flash media, iPods, etc.) before your account is deactivated.

E-mail:
Please see the alumni services/benefits section below for full details.

University Services After May 21

Health Services
Access to Health Services at the University expires on August 31 for all graduating students. For those with major medical health insurance through Columbia (Chickering), coverage ends on July 31 for M.S. students. Coverage for all other students ends on August 31. You do have the option of purchasing an extention on this policy. Please see http://www.health.columbia.edu/index.html for details.

University Libraries
Recent alumni will retain full library privileges, including borrowing privileges and access to licensed electronic databases, for a period of three months beyond the degree conferral date. Access information can be found at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/services/lio/access/. Library Services for alumni can be found at http://www.alumni.libraries.columbia.edu/

Dodge Physical Fitness Center (aka the Gym)
You may use the gym over the summer with your current CUID. However, you will have to pay the $91 gym use fee. Beginning in September, you will be eligible for alumni gym use. Please see http://alumni.columbia.edu/visit/s5_1.html

Alumni Benefits and Services

A variety of benefits and services are available to Journalism School graduates. This page answers most of your most questions and concerns, from auditing a class at Columbia to updating your address information, from obtaining a transcript of your time here to using Columbia’s recreational facilities - http://snipurl.com/cugsj_alumni

Please note that you will automatically be subscribed to your class list serve using the real world e-mail address supplied in your graduation survey (more details en route from Career Services). Your Columbia e-mail will remain an actual e-mail account through the summer, but then you will have to convert it to an alias to which your e-mail is sent and then forwarded to your real world account. Instructions are available at http://alumni.columbia.edu/access/s2_2.html.

Dear Journalism Students,

The evaluation system (https://courseworks.columbia.edu/) for students to provide feedback about their classes will be live for the Spring 2008 semester on Thursday, May 1, 2008. PT January RWI, MA Seminar in Discipline, and MS Workshop and Seminar professors will be scheduling lab time for you to complete these. If you are not enrolled in any of these courses, please complete all your evaluations on your own. The deadline for completion is Tuesday, May 27 , 2008, at 9 p.m.

Your role in providing feedback via course evaluations is of vital importance to the Journalism School. The information is used by faculty to evaluate their syllabi and to refine their practices and by the administration to make curriculum decisions and assess professor performance.

Course evaluations are one element in tenure, promotion and contract decisions; they can affect professors’ careers at Columbia.

Future students also use the information to make informed balloting choices.

We ask that you take your time and seriously reflect on your learning experience as you provide an honest answer to each question. You do not have to complete all the forms in one sitting. However, once you begin working on the form for a given class you must complete and submit it before exiting the system. Partially completed forms are not stored.

Please be aware that professors won’t have access to your evaluations of them until after they have submitted their evaluations of your performance.

Please note, we have no control over the system once the deadline has passed. Every semester students contact us after the deadline asking to fill in the form or to make edits to their evaluations, and there is nothing we can about those situations. Please be certain to complete all evaluations by the, Tuesday, May 27, 9 p.m. deadline.

Between Thursday, May 1 and Tuesday, May 27, you will receive reminders every two days for each evaluation that you have yet to complete. These automatic reminders are generated by the CourseWorks system.

Thank you for your assistance.

Questions to dos@jrn.columbia.edu

FROM: Dean Cornog
RE: Master’s Thesis

Your completed Master’s Thesis is due in the Dean of Students office by 10 a.m. on Monday, April 28. You will be required to sign your name in the thesis submission log.

Your submitted thesis must conform to the following requirements, so follow these instructions carefully:

• 1. Print your manuscript, or broadcast (verbatim) script, double-spaced on one side of white paper, leaving an inch-and-a-half margin on the left-hand side and at least an inch on the other three margins. Photographic paper does not meet preservation guidelines for library materials, and theses on photo paper will be returned to the author in exchange for a plain-paper copy.
• 2. You should be aware that source lists (and your entire thesis, including the P.S. portion, described below in point number 6) will be available for all library users. If there are confidentiality issues with sources (i.e. phone numbers, personal addresses, etc.), students are responsible for removing the source list BEFORE submitting the library copy. If you are not certain about the best way to cite a source, consult with your advisor.
• 3. Do not put any sort of binding on the thesis, and do not staple the pages. The pages must be numbered.
• 4. Include a separate title page with the following information: Your name, class year, the title of your thesis, the name of the faculty member(s) who supervised it and, at the bottom of the page, add:
  Submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Arts in Journalism
  Copyright
  (Name of Student)
  (Year)
• 5. Hand in five copies–the original and three copies. One copy will be returned to you with your instructor’s reactions; another copy will be reserved for the library, the third and fourth will be kept by your inside and outside advisors, and the fifth copy will be used in judging the M.A. thesis prize. (Please put the outside adviser’s mailing address on the envelope you use to submit that copy.) Students submitting a broadcast thesis should hand in two copies of the script and two copies of the thesis on DVD for the library, plus videotape copies if your advisors request one. The school can assist you in making the DVDs from the final, edited tape. (See #9 for special broadcast thesis instructions.)
• 6. You will need to submit a short, first-person account of how you discovered, researched and reported your story. This “P.S.” should run no longer than 1,000 words. The narrative will help students in the future see what goes into the making of a successful Master’s Thesis. (Include a copy of the narrative with all copies.)
• 7. Put each copy in a new 9 x 12 envelope. Label the front of each envelope with your name, your class year, the title of your thesis and the name(s) of your advisor(s) for the Master’s Thesis. Please be certain to clearly label the library copy.
• 8. New media theses: the library cannot store computer disks, and does not have the facilities for viewing their contents. The paper copy of the thesis should include a printout of the media presentation (and any source code, if applicable) and also the way to access it (thesis URL). A hyperlink will be made from the Master’s Thesis Index web page to the thesis itself.
• 9. Theses on audio tape, CD or DVD: please make two copies, label the tapes, the covers and the cover spines with complete thesis information (author(s), title, advisor).
• 10. If you are submitting your Master’s Thesis earlier than the deadline, you still have to submit the copies to the Dean’s Office. You must also inform your advisor and the office of the Dean of Students of the date you submitted the thesis.
• 11. Keep a copy of your thesis for yourself. Neither the Journalism School nor the Journalism Library is able to provide on-demand copies of your work. You are expected to keep usable copies of your Master’s Thesis for future reference. For print theses and transcripts, a hard copy is the best option.

Attn: M.S. Students
From: Dean Huff
Re: Year-end Awards
April 22, 2008

Each year on Journalism Day the school confers awards on several top-performing students. Each prize winner will receive a certificate and some will receive additional cash prizes (this depends on how the awards were originally set up). Below you will find the descriptions of this year’s awards.

These awards are open to any M.S. students graduating in this cycle (May 2008, Feb. 2008 and Oct. 2007). M.A. students are eligible for a separate category, for outstanding thesis, and will receive information from Dean Cornog.

There are two broad categories of awards: those for which students can submit entries that are judged by faculty juries; and those decided by the professors teaching the course for which they are awarded - no submissions are accepted for these.

Please note: There are two awards run and judged by alumni - the Sander and Blood awards, which have already accepted submissions.

Another prize, the Harron Award, is decided by a faculty committee from nominations provided by the J-school community - see separate announcement). All M.S., M.A., Knight Bagehot, and Ph.D. students are eligible.

For juried awards, you may submit applications for no more than two categories (the Blood, Hechinger and Sander awards are not part of the limit), and each application can contain only one story, or segment of a Master’s Project no longer than 3,500 words (or 10-12 minutes of video or audio; for new media projects, submit specific URLs in addition to an overall URL, and printouts of the relevant pages).

The decisions of the faculty judges are final, and their deliberations are confidential.

If you are submitting an application for one of the juried awards, you must submit clean, hard copy (or broadcast materials, if applicable, WITH SCRIPTS, or for new media projects, submit specific URLs in addition to an overall URL, and printouts of the relevant pages) to the boxes in 2M07A (in the Career Services area)between Thursday, April 24, at 10 a.m. and Monday, May 5 at 10 a.m. If you are coming after business hours, please drop off the entries through the slot of the gray box outside of the DOS offices(Huff/Sreenivasan) PLEASE SUBMIT THREE COPIES OF EACH ITEM.
(more…)

FROM: Dean Cornog

RE: M.S. Master’s Projects, March 2008

The deadline for submitting your finished Master’s Project is Monday, March 24, at 10 a.m.

Only those who have received a formal extension from your faculty adviser and the Dean of Students Office have permission to miss this deadline. All projects must be submitted to the DOS Office team who will be stationed in the Stabile Student Center that morning. You will be required to sign your name on the Master’s Project submission log when you turn in your final project.

For those of you with an early deadline or who wish to submit your final project early, the DOS office will begin accepting final Master’s Project submissions as of 9 a.m., Monday, March 10 (with Yahaira Alonzo at the desk outside the offices of Deans Sreenivasan and Huff). Ms. Alonzo will be taking submissions during spring break ( 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., M-F).

Your submitted project must conform to the following requirements, so follow these instructions carefully:

1. You must write a first-person narrative of how you discovered, researched and reported your story. This will help future students see what goes into the making of a successful master’s project. This “P.S.” should be included with all copies of your Project, and should run no longer than 1,000 words. If confidentiality is a concern, before submitting the library copy, your narrative may be redacted or disguised to conceal specific, identifying information about individuals. For example, you may use “my main character” or “the protagonist” (or similar) instead of someone’s name. Include a copy of this narrative with all copies. If confidentiality is a concern and the above suggestion does not work, then withhold the “P.S.” from the library copy.
Note: the true identity and contact information for all of your sources must be disclosed to your adviser and included on the source list that you submit to your adviser.

2. Print three copies of your manuscript, or a verbatim broadcast script, double-spaced on one side of white paper, leaving a 1½- inch margin on the left-hand side and a 1-inch margin on all other sides. Do not use photographic paper as it does not meet preservation guidelines for library materials. Projects submitted on photo paper will be returned to the author in exchange for a plain-paper copy.

3. You should submit a complete source list for your project. If you are not certain about the best way to cite a source, consult with your adviser. Be aware that source lists and your entire project, including the “P.S.” portion, will be available for reading and copying by all Journalism School library visitors. (Columbia University Libraries does not provide copies of master’s projects or theses via its interlibrary loan service.) As noted above, if you have confidentiality concerns with sources (i.e. names, phone numbers, personal addresses, etc.), you are responsible for removing the source list from the library copy.

4. Pages must be numbered. Do not put any sort of binding on the project, and do not staple the pages.

5. Include a separate title page with the following information: Your name, class year, the title of your project, the name of your master’s adviser, and, at the bottom of the page, add:

Copyright
(Name of Student)
(Year)

6. Put each copy in a new 9 x 11 ½ envelope. Label the front of each envelope with your name, your class year, the title of your project and the name of your adviser for the Master’s Project. Please be certain to clearly label the library copy.

7. Submit all three copies to the DOS Office team in the Stabile Student Center on March 24. One copy will be returned to you with your instructor’s comments; another copy will be reserved for the library, and the third copy will be kept by your adviser.

* Students submitting a Radio or Television/Video Project should
include:

• Two copies of your script
• For Television, two copies of your project on DVD, plus a
  videotape copy if your adviser requests one
• For Radio, two copies of your project on audio CD. In addition,
  provide your adviser a copy of the .wav file (i.e. the final mix
  “bounce,” on a data CD.

For all projects, please make two copies, labeling all DVDs, CDs, tapes, and accompanying materials with complete project information (author(s), title, adviser). Indicate whether CDs are data or audio. The Technical Staff can assist television projects in making the DVDs from the final, edited tape. Be sure to give them plenty of advance notice if you need their assistance.

* Students submitting a New Media project should include:

• A cover page with your names, topic and URL, and a copyright statement.
• A printout of each of your individual pages (even if some go beyond the margins - and black-and-white only, please).
• A printed essay about how you approached your story, with tips for future students. In most cases, your “about us” should suffice (print it out separately if it does work as the “P.S.” described above).

The library cannot store computer disks, and does not have the facilities for viewing their contents. A hyperlink will be made from the Masters Project Index web page to the project itself.

You will be expected to submit the materials above AND upload your final websites to the servers by 10 a.m. on Monday, March 24.

8. If you are submitting your master’s project earlier than the deadline, you must submit all copies to the DOS Office (to Yahaira Alonzo at the desk outside the offices of Deans Sreenivasan and Huff). You must also inform your adviser of the date you submitted the project.

9. Keep a copy of your project for yourself. Neither the Journalism School nor the Journalism Library is able to provide on-demand copies of your work. You are expected to keep usable copies of your Master’s project for future reference. For print projects and transcripts, a hard copy is the best option.

Please note, the DOS Office is closed from Friday at 5 p.m. till Monday at 9 a.m. If you cannot come to the school during business hours, you may mail your three copies to: Melanie Huff, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, 2950 Broadway, Room 207C, New York, NY 10027. Please note that they must arrive by Monday, March 24.

M.S. MASTER’S PROJECTS: Small grants for reporting expenses

The Dean’s Office is pleased to offer a limited number of small grants for M.S. Master’s Projects starting in the Fall of 2007 and to be continued on a rolling basis in the semesters ahead.

These grants of up to $200 per project (individually for print or radio projects; in teams for TV or new media) are for a limited number of projects.

Grants are made for verifiable reporting expenses such as research trips in the Tri-state area, and, an occasional trip to, say, Washington, D.C. (remember, your primary reportage is supposed to be near the NYC area). Grants are not to be used for money to go home during Winter Break. These are not cash advances, but reimbursements for money spent with approval from the grants coordinator, Elizabeth Rogers.

At this time, students should apply for the grants, listing anticipated costs. Ms. Rogers, in consultation with Dean Huff, will make a determination of which applications to approve and for how much. She may ask for a separate note/recommendation from your Master’s Project adviser.

In the weeks ahead, after the approved expenses are spent, she will work with the finance office to provide reimbursements to students. Students will be required to submit receipts for their expenses. Reimbursements will be made via student financial accounts.

If an approved grantee ends up not using as much was originally approved, he/she will be reimbursed for actual expenditures and the remaining money will go back in the pool.

As this is a rolling amount of money, students can apply at any time during the Master’s Project process, but we cannot guarantee availability.

If you are interested, please fill in the online form available below.

Please designate a single person to submit the form on behalf of team projects.

If you have any questions, please put them into the comments/questions section. Only applications via this form will be considered.

PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to consider any projects that were completed before the Fall 2007 semester.

Master’s Project Grants Application Form

Dear Journalism Students,

The evaluation system (https://courseworks.columbia.edu/) for students to provide feedback about their classes will be live for the Fall 2007 semester on Monday, December 3, 2007. RWI and MA Seminar in Discipline professors will be scheduling lab time for you to complete these. If you are not enrolled in either of these courses, please complete all your evaluations on your own. The deadline for completion is Tuesday, January 22, 2008.

Your role in providing feedback via course evaluations is of vital importance to the Journalism School. The information is used not only by future students to make informed balloting choices but also by faculty to evaluate their syllabi and to refine their practices and by the administration to make curriculum decisions and assess professor performance.

PLEASE NOTE: We have added instructor evaluation questions submitted by members of SJP that they feel will give us and future students a more complete picture.

Course evaluations are one element in tenure, promotion and contract decisions; they can affect professors’ careers at Columbia.

We ask that you take your time and seriously reflect on your learning experience as you provide an honest answer to each question.

Please note, we have no control over the system once the deadline has passed. Every semester students contact us after the deadline asking to fill in the form or to make edits to their evaluations, and there is nothing we can about those situations. Please be certain to complete all evaluations by the, Tuesday, January 22 deadline.

You do not have to complete all the forms in one sitting. However, once you begin working on the form for a given class you must complete and submit it before exiting the system. Partially completed forms are not stored.

Please be aware that professors won’t have access to your evaluations of them until after they have submitted their grades and evaluations of your performance.

Between Monday, December 3 and Tuesday, January 22, you will receive reminders every day for each evaluation that you have yet to complete. These automatic reminders are generated by the CourseWorks system.

Thank you for your assistance.

Questions to dos@jrn.columbia.edu

Ballots go live at 7 a.m on Wednesday, November 21

Welcome to the Spring Ballots for M.S. and Knight Bagehot Students

Please carefully follow the instructions below.

• First, please read the Fall Curriculum thoroughly (http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2007/11/19/memo-spring-2008-curriculum/). Some information has been added and some changed since the document became available.
• You may read students’ evaluations of many of the classes and professors at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/journalism/evaluations/. You will have to log in using your UNI and password.
• To complete the ballot you will need your Columbia e-mail address and PID (If you have lost your PID, please refer to http://deanstudents.blogsome.com/2005/11/14/faq-how-do-i-find-my-pid/)
• The ballots are NOT handled on a first-come, first-served basis. As long as you make the deadline (Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 7 a.m. ) you have equal standing with all other students.
• If your ballot is received after the deadline, you will be placed in classes on a space available basis.
• If you made a mistake or changed your mind, please resubmit your ballot. Your most recently-submitted ballot as of the deadline (Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 7 a.m.) will be the one processed.
• If you experience any problems using the ballot, please send e-mail to dos@jrn.columbia.edu
• Please note we cannot promise students they will gain a seat in any specific class.

Spring 2008 Ballot

Please note that this document is updated regularly! Last updated 12/13, 2:48 p.m.

12/13/2007 Updates

• Producing a Magazine B with Jim Kelly will meet on Fridays, 2:30-5:30 pm

12/12/2007 Updates

• Second section of Business Reporting added - Prof. Paul Ingrassia

11/27/2007 Updates

• Literary Journalism will meet Fridays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

11/26/2007 Updates

• Christopher Lehmann-Haupt will teach the Literary Journalism workshop
• Elizabeth Pochoda will teach the Magazine Editing elective

M.S. Spring 2008 Curriculum Guide

TO: All M.S. Students
FROM: David A. Klatell, Vice Dean
RE: Spring Curriculum

Here is the program of instruction for the spring term. Full-time M.S. students are required to take a 6-credit Reporting and Writing Seminar, a 6-credit Media Workshop, the Master’s Project and fulfill the requirement for a 3-credit journalism elective or an approved 3-credit graduate course outside the school.

In addition, all full-time magazine concentrators will be automatically enrolled the Delacorte Evening Lecture Series (one-half credit). Part-time students concentrating in magazine may elect to take the lecture series in spring 2008 or 2009.

Students should read this material thoroughly and, after discussing the options with their advisers and the various instructors, rank their preferences on the online ballot (available as of November 21, 7:00 a.m. from the DOS Blog).

Enrollment in classes may be subject to the consent of instructors and most course enrollments are necessarily limited. As a result, some students may be assigned to classes that may not be among their top three picks. This is done as fairly and equitably as possible. If circumstances warrant, it may be possible to add a second section for certain classes, with different instructors. However, we cannot guarantee that we will add sections to any course, no matter the demand.

The curriculum reflects the best judgment of the faculty and administration, based on our many years of experience, and is not a popularity contest. We reserve the right to add, delete or move courses (though we try to keep this to a minimum) and sometimes have to change instructors if schedule conflicts become intractable. Students are required to rank their preferences for seminars, workshops, and electives.

Students should be aware that evaluations of courses by students in previous years are available for your perusal; they are available at www.columbia.edu/cu/journalism/evaluations/.

The on-line ballot will be activated at 7:00 a.m., November 21. Your completed ballot must be submitted on line no later than November 28, 7 a.m. All ballots received during this time will be considered equal – this is not a “first-come, first-served” process.

The Journalism School’s spring semester begins Tuesday, January 22, when the first draft of Master’s Projects must be submitted to your adviser by 10 a.m. Students completing broadcast or new media projects should consult with their advisers regarding the format of the first draft. Deadlines for subsequent master’s drafts have been set for February 25 and March 24, both days at 10 a.m. You will receive detailed instructions as those dates grow closer.

Please Note: Wednesday, January 23 there will be a full-day of mandatory programming for full-time M.S. students; all others are welcome. Workshops begin Thursday, January 24 or Friday, January 25. Seminars begin either Monday, January 28 or Tuesday, January 29. Journalism School electives start Wednesday, January 30.

Classes taught elsewhere in the University begin the week of January 22 (except for Law & Business School courses which may begin earlier). Be sure to check with your instructors for exact dates and times.

Required courses for full-time students:
1. Advanced Reporting and Writing Seminars (J6002y), 6 credits
2. Media Workshops (J6011y), 6 credits
3. Master’s Project II (J6041y), 3 credits
4. Spring term electives (J6010y), 3 credits

How a Week Looks in the Spring:

• Monday and Tuesday: Reporting and writing Seminars
• Wednesday: Most Electives and time for Master’s Projects
• Thursday and Friday: Most Workshops
• Saturday and Sunday: Some Electives and Workshops

Note: Many courses require special class meetings (field trips, editorial meetings, etc.) in addition to the listed class time. All students, particularly those in the part-time program, should check with the faculty to ascertain if their course has such additional requirements. Many faculty members have posted these on the school web site, linked to their name on the faculty page or to the course description in this document.

Advanced Reporting and Writing Seminars
J6002y (6 credits)
The disciplines of reporting and writing are structured around specialized subject areas or style techniques. These seminars usually require two full days each week on Monday and Tuesday - you should carefully check the schedule of each course by consulting the faculty or their class schedules posted on the web site.
They are listed below with the instructors (see later pages for fuller course descriptions). Because accommodating all first choices is unlikely, students must indicate six choices. In filling out the ballots, students should list specific seminars in order of their preferences.
Note: Admission to some seminars requires the instructor’s approval in advance (see course descriptions below). If you have been selected by Judith Crist, Sam Freedman, or Ari Goldman you will be asked to indicate so on your ballot. These classes will be filled prior to the ballot, so if you have not been pre-selected by the professor, you will not be able to submit a ballot requesting those classes.

All professors are allowed to select 10 of the students who ballot for their class as a first choice; the remaining seats are filled by the Dean of Students office in a manner that is intended to equalize students’ success in getting at least some of their first-choice classes.

The Seminars (J6002y):

• Book Writing – Sam Freedman
• Business & Economics Reporting – Cheryl Strauss Einhorn
• Covering Education – LynNell Hancock
• Covering Religion – Ari Goldman
• Writing About the Arts – Claudia Roth Pierpont
• The Deadline in Depth – Laura Muha
• Human Rights Reporting – Bill Berkeley
• Covering Race and Ethnicity With an Authentic Voice – Arlene Morgan and Alice Pifer
• International Affairs Reporting – Josh Friedman
• The Investigative Project – Walt Bogdanich
• The Journalism of Tomorrow – Stephen Isaacs
• National Affairs Reporting A – John Martin
• National Affairs Reporting B – Richard Wald
• Covering Conflict – Judith Matloff
• Personal & Professional Style – Judith Crist
• Science Reporting – Steve Hall
• Stabile Investigative Seminar – Sheila Coronel
• Business & Economics Reporting - Paul Ingrassia

Workshops
J6011y (6 credits):
Media workshops include a number of options: broadcast (TV — Nightly News, Documentary, Magazine Production, and Radio), newspaper (Bronx Beat, Columbia News Service), magazine (Producing a Magazine, Magazine Writing, Literary Journalism) and New Media. Students devote at least two days each week, usually Thursday and Friday, to the workshop. Note: schedules vary widely, so you should check with the faculty member for details or his/her posting on the web site.

All professors allowed to select 10 of the students who ballot for their class as a first choice; the remaining seats are filled by the Dean of Students office in a manner that is intended to equalize students’ success in getting at least some of their first-choice classes.

The Workshops (J6011y)

• Television Documentary – Jon Alpert
• Nightly News – William Wheatley
• Radio - John Dinges
• Television News Magazines – Betsy West
• Literary Journalism – Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
• Magazine Writing A - John Bennet
• Magazine Writing B – Stephen Fried
• Magazine Writing C – Cathleen McGuigan
• Producing a Magazine A - Victor Navasky
• Producing a Magazine B – Jim Kelly
• New Media A– Duy Linh Tu and Carla Baranauckas
• New Media B –Adam Glenn and Russell Chun
• Bronx Beat – Addie Rimmer
• Columbia News Service – Bruce Porter

Master’s Project II
J6041y (3 credits) — a continuation of Journalism J6040x

Master’s Project Deadlines:

• Jan. 22: First draft of all Master’s Projects (for audio/video projects, the “work cut”) will be handed in to your advisor by 10 a.m.
• Feb. 25: Second draft of all Projects (for video projects, a “rough cut”) will be handed in to your advisor by 10 a.m.
• Mar. 24: Final versions of all Projects handed to the Academic Dean’s office, in Room 701, by 10 a.m. No changes are allowed after this deadline. This copy is ultimately filed in the library.

Note: These deadlines are strict and must be met. Your adviser may require additional deadlines and drafts.

Electives
6014y (3 credits)
All full-time M.S. students are required to take an elective for at least three credits at the graduate level in the spring term — either inside or outside the school. Most Journalism electives meet once a week for lectures and/or seminar discussions, and require reading as well as written assignments. Outside electives must be approved by the Dean of Students office.

For outside course information, please see: http://snipurl.com/1tn6z

The Electives (6014y)

Advanced Computer Assisted Reporting – Tom Torok
• Advanced Photojournalism - Sara Barrett
• Broadcast News Management - David McCormick and Lloyd Siegel
• Feature Writing A - Alexandra Peers
• Feature Writing B – Hugh Eakin
• Graphics in the Newsroom - Hannah Fairfield Wallander
• The International Newsroom – Ann Cooper
• Magazine Editing – Elizabeth Pochoda
• Narrative Writing A - Kevin Coyne
• Narrative Writing B – Jacob Levenson
• New Media Elective – Jennifer Brown & Jennifer Johnson
• News Editing – Nancy Sharkey
• Opinion Writing – Gwenda Blair
• Politics and the Press in America - Evan Cornog
• Radio Documentary – Alex Blumberg
• Sports Journalism – Sandy Padwe
• Stabile Investigative Techniques - J. Robert Port
• Tough Choices: Decision-Making in Journalism – Michael Shapiro
• History of American Journalism – Andie Tucher
• Covering Ideas – Alexander Stille
• 20th Century Politics, Revolution and Literary Journalism – Michael Janeway

Delacorte Evening Lecture Series
J6050y (1/2 credit)
Thursday 7pm - 8:30 p.m.
FT magazine concentrators are automatically enrolled in the Delacorte Magazine Lectures, to be offered Thursday evenings 7-8:30 p.m. from February 7 through April 24. All other students are invited to attend. Part-time students concentrating in magazine may elect to take the Lecture Series in spring 2008 or 2009.

InternshipJ6099y (1/2 credit, optional)
Internships must be pre-approved by the Office of Career Services and the Dean of Students office. A student who undertakes an internship at a media organization can earn an additional academic one-half credit if the work consists of serious journalistic enterprise. At the conclusion of the internship, the student must submit a written description of what he or she has accomplished and learned in the internship, and an official of the media company must send a separate letter corroborating that and evaluating the student’s performance.

SEE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS AFTER THE JUMP.
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SPRING SEMESTER PREP (updated several times a week)
Here’s the schedule for Spring Semester Prep - events and dates to help you prepare for the Spring Semester. All the information will be available electronically, but you are encouraged to attend any events/briefing sessions you can. Please note we are offering events on a variety of dates and times. All this is subject to change, so please check back often. Most of this is aimed at M.S. students, but others are welcome to attend. M.A. students (who typically have more of a fixed set of courses) will receive their own, specialized briefings.

Deans Sreenivasan and Huff will be available throughout November to discuss your options and help you plan for the Spring, as are your RWI professors, who serve as your advisers the rest of your time here.

Dean Klatell’s in-depth Spring Curriculum Guide, with course details and timings will be available soon.

PLEASE NOTE: There will be other class- or format specific briefing sessions (including a joint one for broadcast and new media options)… They will be added here soon.

If you want to check out evaluations of past spring classes, go to http://www.columbia.edu/cu/journalism/evaluations/

To get a feeling for what we may be offering, you may refer to last year’s curriculum at
http://snurl.com/last_spring

[The photo below is from last year’s first briefing, on Oct. 30, 2006 - about 40 students stopped by.]

• Tues, Oct. 30, 12:30-2 p.m., room 601B: Brown Bag Lunch with the Deans - focus on Spring Semester questions and dealing with Fall RWI mid-semester and final evaluations. *Bring your lunch; cookies, chips, soda and water will be served.

Mon, Nov 5, 12:30-2 p.m., room 607B: Brown Bag Lunch with the Deans - focus on Spring Semester questions and dealing with Fall RWI mid-semester and final evaluations. *Bring your lunch; cookies, chips, soda and water will be served.

Tues, Nov. 6, 5:30 p.m., room 601B: Broadcast Workshops Preview: Profs Dinges, Wheatley, West and Alpert will discuss their courses

Tues, Nov. 6, 6:15 p.m., room 607B: Spring Briefing Tea *Light refreshments served.

Thurs, Nov. 8, 6-7 p.m., World Room: Covering Religion Seminar Briefing .
See last year’s class site: http://www.CoveringReligion.org
Additional information and application instructions

Fri, Nov. 9, 8:15 a.m., room 607B:Book Writing Seminar Preview & Application Instruction session with Prof. Sam Freedman. Application instructions

Monday, Nov. 12, 5 p.m.: Applications due for Covering Religion; Book Writing; Personal & Professional Style;

Thurs, Nov. 15, 8:15-9:15 a.m., room 607B: Spring Prep Breakfast with the Deans - *Light breakfast served.

Thurs, Nov. 15, 12-1 p.m., room 607B: DecisionMaking in Journalism preview

Monday, Nov. 19: Students notified of application results for Book Writing; Covering Religion; Personal & Professional Style

Tuesday, Nov. 20, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Lecture Hall: Spring Preview Session - an evening when professors who teach Spring seminars and workshops are invited to present three minute previews of their classes. Typically, most professors present and all M.S. students gather for this session. Please note that only a handful of classes have individual briefing sessions (as listed above), so it is critical that you attend this large gathering.

Wed, Nov. 21, 7 a.m.: Spring Ballots go live; close Wednesday, Nov. 28, 7 a.m. at 7 a.m. You can submit ballots any time during that period - NOT first come, first served.

Wed, Nov. 21, 10 a.m., room 601B: Pre-Thanksgiving snacks with Deans Sreenivasan & Huff. Come share pie, drink coffee and ask last minute questions

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 7 a.m.: Spring Ballots close.

[ And don’t forget Lucille’s Ball, the annual J-School Holiday Party & Faculty Roast on
Thursday, Dec. 13. You absolutely have to be there! Details coming from
Aliza Kassim, aik2111@columbia.edu, SPJ events director. ]

Late December: Students will be registered for their Spring courses.

December 21-Jan. 22: Winter Break; work on Master’s Projects for M.S. students (first draft due Tuesday, Jan. 22)

January 8-February 1: Add/Drop period

Wednesday, Jan. 23, 9:30-noon: ALL-CLASS EVENT: “Surviving & Thriving in the Spring Semester: Making the Best Use of Your Remaining Months at Columbia” - Mandatory for FULL-TIME M.S. students; others welcome. Presented by DOS Office and Career Services.*Light refreshments served.

Tuesday, January 22: M.A., and other University classes begin

Thursday & Friday, Jan. 24 & 25: M.S. Workshops begin

Monday & Tuesday, Jan. 28 & 29: M.S. Seminars begin

Wednesday, Jan. 30: M.S. Electives begin

Also see:

FAQ: How do I switch concentrations?
FAQ: How do I take an outside elective?

TIP: In the Spring semester at J-School, I wish I had… (alumni tips)

Deans Sreenivasan and Huff are available throughout November to discuss your options and help you plan for the Spring, as are your RWI professors, who serve as your advisers the rest of your time here.

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Personal and Professional Style with Judith Crist

The nature and demands of this course make it necessary to limit the class size.

It is offered to students who have mastered the basic mechanics and techniques of journalistic prose and are interested in developing and refining a personal literary style within a journalistic framework, appropriate to editorials, columns and reviews.

There are basic assignments and free-choice exercises, with concentration on intra-group and self criticism, and good reporting. This class is not for the thin of skin!

Students must submit one sample of their best writing and, in no more than 350 words, a statement of their interest in the course. These are to be emailed in the body of the message to Dean Huff, at mgh2@columbia.edu, who must receive them by 5 p.m., Monday, November 12, 2007.

Dear Students:

A reminder about the Fall Academic Schedule.

Please be sure to check your schedules at least once a day on SSOL for a couple of weeks - days, rooms, times, etc., may have changed.

Highlights - when certain classes begin:
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Many of our students come from cultures where interacting with deans and university officials is not an every day occurrence. Unless you are in trouble, you don’t visit the deans’ offices. See this photo I took outside the dean’s office at a journalism school in India.

At the J-school, we do things differently. We want you to come visit us often and not just when you have problems. The better we know you, the more helpful we can be throughout your academic career.

From Dean of Stude…

Fall 2007 Curriculum

TO: All M.S. Students
FROM: David A. Klatell, Vice Dean
RE: M.S. Instructional Program

Note: The Fall 2007 Ballots will be live linked from the DOS blog as of Monday, July 16, 10 a.m. The deadline for submission is Monday, July 23, 10 a.m. Students are automatically registered for the following courses: RWI, Critical Issues, Journalism, the Law & Society, U.S. as a Foreign Country (international students). Courses for which students are allowed to express preferences (depending on concentration/Stabile) via the ballot include Skills, RWIIs and the Master’s Project.

To all of you who are new, welcome to the Graduate School of Journalism. The faculty, administrators and staff are glad that you have chosen to study with us, and we look forward to working with you and our continuing part-time students. You are joining a community of teachers and learners who are dedicated to the highest ideals and aspirations of journalism. We believe that journalism is an integral part — the glue, really — of a free, open and well-informed society.

By choosing to attend the school, you have entered into what amounts to a contract with us. It binds us together in pursuit of a shared goal: to give you the finest opportunity to understand and master the craft of journalism. The school will do its part by providing faculty members who are accomplished professional journalists and educators, offering a curriculum that is varied and flexible, setting and upholding the highest standards of ethics, nurturing in you the core principles of the professional journalist, and serving as an example to working professionals. Your responsibilities include a devotion to achieving and sustaining excellence in your work, always behaving in an honorable and professional manner, whether with faculty, peers, sources or the public and above all, to telling the truth. The school works best when we work together in an atmosphere of mutual trust, respect an