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Photojournalism Degrees: Requirements to Enroll in and Complete a Photojournalism Degree Program

Published Sep 09, 2009

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Before enrolling in a photojournalism degree program, applicants must submit a packet of material that can include an application, letters of recommendation, test scores and work samples. Students who have been accepted into a photojournalism degree program will be required to complete a set of core coursework and electives. Master's students will have to complete a thesis project in addition to coursework requirements.

Enrolling in a Photojournalism Degree Program

In order to enroll in a photojournalism degree program, applicants must first meet general requirements for university admission. Typically, students must submit ACT or SAT scores as well as an overall GPA with the university application. Once students are accepted into a university, the process for entering a photojournalism degree program can differ. Some students can declare a major in photojournalism upon acceptance to the university or college; however, some schools don't allow students to declare majors until their second or third year. Students may be able to take introductory photojournalism classes before officially entering the degree program. The requirements for acceptance into undergraduate photojournalism programs may be set higher than the average acceptance requirements for the university.

Graduate photojournalism degree programs require students to submit GRE scores, posses a bachelor's degree with a minimum GPA and submit a statement of purpose. Many photojournalism graduate degree programs also require an interview prior to acceptance into the program. Students may want to accrue several years of experience working as entry-level photojournalists before applying to graduate school.

Completing a Photojournalism Degree Program

In order to complete a bachelor's degree in photojournalism, students must fulfill a required number of credits for graduation. These credits usually total 120 credit hours and include general education classes as well as core classes and electives for a photojournalism major. Undergraduate photojournalism courses might include fundamentals of photojournalism, techniques in photojournalism and history of photojournalism. Some schools may expect students to work as photojournalists for the school newspaper or to complete internships at professional newspapers.

Photojournalism master's degree programs usually take two years to complete for a full-time student. Students must fulfill a set number of credit hours by taking required core classes in photojournalism and completing a thesis project on a topic of their choosing. In some schools, the thesis project may consist of a photo essay.

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