UMass Journalism Department

UMass Journalism Department This page is here for discussion about Journalism and the UMass Journalism program. for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Prof. Ziff, Prof.

Journalism education was first introduced at UMass in 1915 by Robert Wilson Neal, one of the founding members of the Assn. Instruction was offered through courses by several professors in the English Department from 1946-1970. Howard Ziff facilitated the move of journalism into a separate degree program called Journalistic Studies (later called the Journalism Department) in the College of Humaniti

es and Fine Arts. Early chairs included Prof. Larry Pinkham and Prof. Jim Boylan. Norm Sims was chair for 13 years, ending in 2005. In 2005, the Journalism Department was moved into the Department of Communication in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and its status changed to a program within that Department. Since 2005, Prof. Karen List has been Director of the Journalism Program. In 2013, Journalism was returned to department status and Prof. Kathy Forde was hired to start running the department in Fall 2014. The Journalism Department also moved into the Integrative Learning Center in the summer of 2014. As of Fall 2017, Prof. Brian McDermott is the Journalism Department Chair.

05/27/2026

"Be the voice of change. Tell the story."
Our senior speaker this year was Sydney Warren, who recorded her speech that was played during the SBS Senior Celebration.

05/23/2026

Shoutout to my ✨️dog✨️
Journalism grads + alums: who helped you during your time at UMass?

05/21/2026

For every diploma our students earn, there's a village of family, friends and faculty behind them helping them reach graduation day.

They'll never admit it, but our profs love getting dressed up in their academic regalia (even if most of them need help ...
05/20/2026

They'll never admit it, but our profs love getting dressed up in their academic regalia (even if most of them need help getting their hoods on). Thanks for repping the department at the SBS Senior Celebration!

CONGRATULATIONS to all our Journalism and PR graduates! We are so proud of you 🎉
05/18/2026

CONGRATULATIONS to all our Journalism and PR graduates! We are so proud of you 🎉

Announcing our 2026 scholarship winners! Congratulations to all 20 of our award winners, who earned a combined total of ...
05/14/2026

Announcing our 2026 scholarship winners!
Congratulations to all 20 of our award winners, who earned a combined total of more than $50,000.
See our full list of winners: https://bit.ly/4nA4kpe

05/13/2026

If you're in our PR or Sports Journalism tracks, you're required to complete an internship to graduate - what could that look like? Check out Valentina's internship with the Town of Amherst's DEI department to find out!

SENIORS! WE👏WANT👏YOUR👏SELFIES We're making a senior slideshow and want any cute, fun, silly, favorite photos you have fr...
05/08/2026

SENIORS! WE👏WANT👏YOUR👏SELFIES
We're making a senior slideshow and want any cute, fun, silly, favorite photos you have from your time at UMass in it!! Send your photos to Hannah ([email protected]) ASAP to be included! Come to the Senior Party on May 16 to watch the final product!

Have you registered for one of our summer courses yet? It's not too late to sign up for our News Literacy course (Journa...
05/07/2026

Have you registered for one of our summer courses yet? It's not too late to sign up for our News Literacy course (Journal 250) or Intro to Visual Storytelling (Journal 333). Get ahead this summer and take care of some gen eds!
Learn more/sign up: https://bit.ly/4ddGVFg

Address

Journalism Department, Integrative Learning Center, 650 North Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA
01003

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+14135451376

Website

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