Journalism

I. Program Requirements

  • Students in the Journalism track will complete their coursework by taking the core courses (9 units) and Electives (21 units) outlined below;
  • Substitutions may be possible subject to DGS approval;
  • Up to three thesis units (FREN 910) may count toward the total of 30 units in all MA options.  Thesis units (FREN 910) may not be combined with Internship units (FREN 593) or Independent Studies units (FREN 599) as part of the total of 30 units (they may be taken in addition).
Part 1
Core Courses

FREN 532 French Translation
FREN 533 Business French 1
FREN 534 Business French 2

Part 2
Electives

Journalism Electives (9 units):
JOUR 502 Media and Terrorism
JOUR 504 Freedom of Expression
JOUR 506 Introductory and Advanced Reporting
JOUR 507 Reporting with Multimedia
JOUR 509 International and US Media Law
JOUR 511 Feature Writing
JOUR 520 Digital Communications Law
JOUR 528 Entrepreneurial Journalism
JOUR 533 Digging with Data
JOUR 558 International Opinion Writing
JOUR 560 International Media Systems
JOUR 572 Science Journalism
JOUR 580 Advanced Multimedia
JOUR 584 Mobile App Development
JOUR 593 Internship Specializing in digital storytelling
JOUR 596D Journalism Seminar
JOUR 597B Advanced Photojournalism in Italy

Electives in French (12 units):
FREN 540 Topics in French Literature
FREN 542 French Narratives and Film
FREN 543 Contemporary Francophone Literature and Cinema
FREN 544 Topics in French Culture
FREN 545 Francophone Cultures and Traditions
FREN 547 Topics in Francophone Studies
FREN 550 French Cultural & Literary History: Renaissance to Revolution
FREN 551 French Cultural & Literary History: Revolution-World War II
FREN 552 French Cultural & Literary History: Contemporary France (20th-21st)
FREN 553 Literature in Context: Focus on a historical period
FREN 561 French Linguistics
FREN 563 Simultaneous and Consecutive Interpretation
FREN 567 Topics in French Linguistics
FREN 593 Internship 
FREN 599 Independent Study (1-3 units)
FREN 910 Thesis

Sample Course Sequence
  • YEAR 1
    • Fall Semester (9 units)
      • FREN 533, Business French 1 (3 units)
      • FREN 5XX, Elective (3 units)
      • JOUR 5XX, Elective (3 units)
    • Spring Semester (6 units)
      • FREN 532, French Translation (3 units)
      • FREN 534, Business French 2 (3 units) 
      • (student files Plan of Study)
  • YEAR 2
    • Fall Semester (9 units)
      • JOUR 5XX, Elective (3 units)
      • FREN 5XX, Elective (3 units)
      • FREN 5XX, Elective (3 units)
    • Spring Semester (6 units)
      • FREN 5XX, Elective (3 units)
      • JOUR 5XX, Elective (3 units)

II. Completing the Professional M.A.
 


Preparing for your Professional M.A. Written and Oral Exams

Just before the semester of the expected graduation date, the candidate and DGS should confer about the choice of an Exam Committee chair, and the candidate should meet with the prospective Chair to make plans for the upcoming semester. No later than the beginning of the semester of the expected graduation date, the candidate, Exam Committee Chair, and DGS should also agree upon and contact the two additional Exam Committee members, who will be formally appointed by the DGS. Early in this last semester of the MA program, the candidate (not the Department) is also responsible (1) for checking Graduate College deadlines and for completing and submitting to the Director of Graduate Studies the Master/s/Specialist Committee Appointment Form through GradPath; and (2) for providing Exam Committee members copies of all course syllabi of FREN courses covered in the Professional M.A. program, alerting them to the proposed date of the written examination, and ascertaining their times and dates of availability for the Oral Exam. Students are responsible for communicating these times and dates to the DGS, who together with the SILLC and French and Italian staff will schedule a provisional time, date, and classroom for the Oral Exam. All fees must be cleared with the Bursar's Office.

The Professional M.A. Written Examination

  • The Professional M.A. examination is typically given twice a year, in October-November and March-April.  It consists of two parts, written and oral.
  • The written examination is based on the candidate's coursework in French and/or Francophone literature, culture, and/or theory, as well as related areas of the graduate curriculum when appropriate (as determined by the DGS and Exam Committee Chair).
  • The written component of the examination consists of three take-home exams (sent via e-mail), that typically take the following form: (1) a textual or cinematic analysis; ; (2) an essay based on a specific work of literature (to be chosen by the candidate, the faculty member in charge of this part of the examination, and the Director of Graduate Studies at the beginning of your last semester in residence); and (3) an essay on a wider, more general topic in literary and/or cultural studies.
  • All three essays should be written in French, typed, double-spaced, and 4-6 pages in length.
  • The student has one week to complete all three exams and return them to the DGS, who will distribute them to the committee members for evaluation.

The Professional M.A. Oral Examination

The candidate is not permitted to undertake the oral component of the MA Examination until s/he has performed satisfactorily on the written part. (Satisfactorily is defined as a passing grade on the written part from at least two of the three committee members). A student required to retake one or more parts of the written examination (normally in the semester following the one in which the original attempt was made, but not sooner) must do so before proceeding to the oral examination. The Oral Examination (1-2 hours maximum) will cover works on the candidate’s course syllabi as well as areas considered in the written examination. The oral examination is usually scheduled within a week to ten days of the written examination. The Graduate College sets deadlines each semester for the completion of this examination; students are responsible for knowing these deadlines and scheduling their exams accordingly. The examination committee shall be composed of the three committee members in French for the written examinations (one of them shall be designated chair by the Director of Graduate Studies). The examination committee shall meet prior to the oral examination to determine time limits and questioning sequences. It shall meet once more after the completion of the oral examination to determine if the candidate has:

  1. Passed.

  2. Failed (in which case the student must wait until the following semester before retaking the oral examination). A second oral examination will take place no sooner than four months after the initial one.

Note: Two adverse votes result in failure. An abstention counts as a vote for failure. Results  are tallied by the committee chair, who informs the candidate only as to whether the vote was Pass or Fail. 

M.A. Thesis

In lieu of the written exam, Professional M.A. students may request the option of presenting an M.A. thesis, written in French, on a topic of interest that combines their French and professional skills. For students presenting an M.A. thesis in lieu of a written examination, the oral examination will consist of 1) a defense of the thesis, and 2) questions on works and topics covered in the candidate’s course syllabi.

III. Financing Your Studies

Students in this program are not eligible for Graduate Assistantships in Teaching (GATships). The Africana Studies Program awards two Research Assistantships (RAships) at 0.50FTE per academic year to candidates in any of the emphases of the Professional MA in French.  For the total Tuition and Fees for the Academic Year, click here.

IV. Curricular Emphasis in Journalism

With the help of their faculty mentor and the Director of Graduate Studies, as well as other faculty members when appropriate, Professional M.A. students have the flexibility to construct a Plan of Study that suits their own particular needs and interests. What is listed above is a sample Plan of Study for the Emphasis in Journalism. If one or more of the courses listed is not available in regular rotation or if the students and their advisors determine that a different class would be better suited to the students’ individual academic interests and professional goals, substitutions may be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies on a case-by-case basis. 

While students are required to successfully complete a minimum of 9 units in Journalism, they are encouraged to complete 15 units (in addition to the 21 units required in FREN).
 
School of Journalism