The goal of this program is to help students develop both journalistic skills and expertise in analyzing politics and political phenomena. The program provides students with background in Journalism and International Relations. Students gain a wide-ranging understanding of political and international issues while also sharpening their ability to research, report and write for a sophisticated general public. The curriculum is comprised of required classes from both Journalism and the Department of Politics. The final requirement is a Master’s Thesis.
Students can get a Masters of Arts in this program by taking 36 points over three terms, by completing an internship for two points, and completing a Master’s thesis in the fourth term for 2 credits for a total of 40 points.
In Politics, the curriculum consists of two core courses: International Politics and Comparative Politics (one of the cores could be substituted with another core course depending upon a student’s research interest), both designed to introduce students to literature and debates on the respective fields; a course in statistics (Introduction to Quantitative Methods I); and one other 4-credit elective course. Possible courses include International Political Economy, National Security, Middle Eastern Government and Politics, Political Development, Economic and Political Reforms, Seminar in American Politics, Public Policy, and the like. The politics elective must be chosen from those offered in the Department of Politics or from other NYU departments offering politics-related classes; courses taken in other departments are subject to approval from the Director of Master’s Program in the Department of Politics.
For the Journalism component, the curriculum consists of three required core courses and two other 4-point electives. The required core courses are: Writing, Research and Reporting I; Writing, Research and Reporting II; and Journalism Ethics or First Amendment Law. The two elective courses will be selected from the department’s specialized reporting courses offered in any given semester.
Thesis. Students are required to complete a thesis: a heavily researched and reported journalistic work of 6,000 to 10,000 words in explanatory, investigative, or narrative style. Students enroll in a special two-point course, Directed Reading, to support their efforts.
Internship(s). Students must undertake at least one approved internship with a professional media outlet specializing in political affairs. The internship should focus either on domestic or international politics. It is supervised by the Career Services director of the Journalism Department in conjunction with the Director of the MA Program in Politics. Experience gained through such an internship should be applicable to the student’s Master’s Thesis.
