Georgetown’s undergraduate Journalism Program provides a bridge between an interdisciplinary, service-oriented liberal arts education and the practice of journalism, drawing on the university’s vast academic resources while bringing some of the top reporters in the nation and the world to campus, and students to newsrooms and newsmaking events in Washington, D.C. and beyond.
Georgetown graduates have earned Pulitzer Prizes, Emmy and Peabody Awards, and held key reporting and editorial management roles at some of the profession’s top news outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, CNN, and elsewhere. Others have put their own safety on the line in service of the truth, including Austin Tice (SFS ’02).
The program, offered as a minor, teaches the essential skills of good journalism: critical thinking, research and investigation, clear expression, and storytelling in every form. It explores the journalist’s duty to the truth, public and private ethics, and the pressures of a changing media ecosystem.
The program’s interdisciplinary approach, rooted in Georgetown’s deep strengths in the study of politics, public policy, international relations and law, also highlights the university’s commitment to public service and social justice. It encourages real-world experience and the development of core reporting skills, along with a grounding in of the theoretical, historical and literary context necessary for a fuller understanding of the journalist’s role and responsibility in society.
Combining traditional commitments to accuracy, fairness and accountability with a passion for new media experimentation, the program prepares students for careers in a rapidly evolving media environment and a changing world.
The Journalism Program is led by Director Rebecca Sinderbrand and Assistant Director Ann Oldenburg.
Other Events
For a campaign reporting field trip organized by the Journalism Program, seven Georgetown students spent the weekend reporting in Michigan ahead of the 2024 election. Read more about their experience.
Three veteran journalists discussed Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump’s differing campaigns, as well as their experiences covering the presidential election, on Oct. 9. The panel discussion featured Bloomberg’s Nia-Malika Henderson and Wall Street Journal’s Vivian Salama. CNN’s Brian Stelter moderated.
“These are dream jobs where we get to document history,” Henderson said. “And, listen, I remain optimistic about America’s future, certainly about the young folks that are here in this room.”
Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, poet and Director of Princeton’s Journalism Program, spoke in Riggs Library on Oct. 15, as part of the Faith and Culture speaker series. The event was moderated by Paul Elie, Berkley Center Senior Fellow and Journalism Program professor. Hosted by the Journalism Program, the Office of the President and Georgetown’s Berkley Center, Griswold discussed her new book “Circle of Hope,” narrative long-form journalism and reporting on religion.
Our program director, Rebecca Sinderbrand, sat down with the Georgetown College of Arts and Sciences Magazine team to discuss how to navigate the media ecosystem this election cycle. The veteran editor and journalist offers her advice on how to understand, interpret and interact with the news in the lead up to November 5. Read it here.
Thank you to Keith Woods, NPR’s Chief Diversity Officer, for leading the virtual workshop, “Reporting on Race/Ethnicity and Racism,” on Sept. 19, 2024.
On Sept. 17, 2024, MSNBC’s Ryan Beckwith hosted a live panel of his popular Substack: “Your First Byline.” Joining Beckwith were Politico’s Bethany Irvine, The Hill’s Taylor Giorno, Natalie Delgadillo of The 51st, Vox’s Victoria Chamberlin, Courtney Bublé of Law360, NOTUS’s Reese Gorman, and freelancer Scott Nover. Together, the panel discussed how to get started in the journalism industry.
On Sept. 16, 2024, AP’s Saeed Ahmed and CNN’s Diane Ruggiero spoke with students about “How to Stand Out and Get Hired” in the Journalism industry. Ahmed currently serves as the AP Vice President of News for Digital Platforms. Ruggiero is a Supervising Producer at CNN and manager of the DC News Associate program.
On April 29, 2024, Georgetown’s Journalism Program gathered to recognize the best student journalism of the 2023-24 academic year, through the Edward B. Bunn Awards for Journalistic Excellence. Student journalists won awards for their news, features, opinion and arts and culture writing, along with multimedia and photography work. The winning pieces can be found here.
On Sept. 13, 2023, a panel of early and mid-career Hoyas in journalism, spoke to students about careers, applications, internships and more. Christina Cauterucci, Patrick Hruby, Julia Jester, Sarah Mucha and Shaun Tandon covered every beat from presidential politics to sports to culture for top magazines, newspapers, wire services and networks.
On Jan. 19, 2023, Paul Elie, who teaches the Journalism Program’s spring Literary Nonfiction course, chatted with James Parker, Atlantic magazine writer, about the beauty of writing “odes” to things, including crying babies, baguettes, giving money away and pull-ups.
The Journalism Program and Institute of Politics and Public Service hosted an event on Nov. 14, 2022 featuring Maggie Haberman, where she discussed her book and her work with campaign reporting.
Many thanks to Mark Leibovich for joining us on Nov. 3, 2022 for an insightful conversation about his book, “Thank You For Your Servitude”!
The Georgetown Journalism Program co-hosted an exclusive screening of “She Said” on Nov. 9. The film highlighted the influential and impactful work of journalists.
The Georgetown Journalism Program would like to thank award-winning audio storytellers Ira Glass of This American Life and Jad Abumrad of Radiolab for an unforgettable master narrative journalism session this past Homecoming weekend, and to Strathmore for facilitating this amazing event!
Thanks to NBC congressional correspondent Ali Vitali for an incredible discussion about her new book ‘Electable: Why America Hasn’t Put a Woman in the White House… Yet ,’ along with the challenges of political coverage and life on the campaign trail for women candidates and correspondents alike – and to the Institute of Politics and Public Service and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program for co-sponsoring the event!
Internships and Jobs
Looking for an internship or full-time job opportunity? Check out this Media Job Board list of internship opportunities across the country. This Substack by Mandy Hofmockel — “Journalism Jobs and a Photo of My Dog” — features a calendar of paid internships.
For information about scholarships and resources for Hispanic and LatinX students, check out this online guidebook .
Need to get in touch with us? Want to share an internship, scholarship, fellowship or job posting? Please email us at journalism@georgetown.edu.