The Columbia University School of Journalism is launching a dual masters program in journalism and computer science, in association with the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science at the New York university. The proposal is now awaiting the approval of the country’s Department of Education.
The program will involve two semesters of coursework in journalism and three in computer science.
The university spokesperson pointed out that with the unprecedented access to news now possible, the present should be the golden age of journalism. More people have access to news and they have access to more sources.
The spokespeson felt that most news organizations have not fully embraced the digital revolution. The proposed course is intended to train journalists who also have computer-related technical skills such as data mining and computational imaging, for example.
Graduates from the course will have “both the editorial and technological skills to produce new applications and online tools that could help redefine journalism in a fast-changing digital media environment.”
This is believed to be “he first truly integrated program of its kind,” according to a univesity spokesperson. The news report adds that the Columbia University School of Journalism, established in 1912, became the first graduate school of journalism in America in 1935.
Read the news release at redOrbit.
