Curriculum

Our program takes three semesters to complete, plus a summer internship.  You will be part of a cohort of students who will progress through the program together. Many of our classes are required, but you also have the opportunity to take three electives to pursue an area of special interest.
Fall Semester #1 (Late August to mid-December)

Jour 784: Environment of the West (3 credits)Analysis of the most pressing environmental issues in the West, as seen through the expertise of scientists, policy makers, citizen advocates and journalists.

Jour 720: Journalism and Democracy (3 credits)Analysis of the democratic implications of journalism.

Elective<: Courses could include Environmental Law, Policy, Science, Writing, GIS, or other related courses. Prior approval is required.

Spring Semester: Mid-January to mid-May

Jour 655: Fundamentals of Participatory Journalism (3 credits). Introduction to the concepts and tools of interactive participatory journalism including social networking, interactive publishing, and other new forms of media.

Jour 656: Fundamentals of Interactive Narrative Journalism (3 credits). Study and production of convergent media to create documentary forms of journalism incorporating a variety of multimedia tools.

Elective (3 credits)Summer Internship (150 hours)

  3-credit internship working in a professional news organization. 

Fall Semester #2 (Late August to mid-December)

Jour 723: Interactive Publishing (3 credits)Students will conceptualize, produce and evaluate various forms of advanced interactive journalism in a newsroom environment with teams and deadlines.

Prerequisites: Journalism 655, Journalism 656, and Journalism 657

Jour 657: Fundamentals of Exploratory Journalism (3 credits)Analysis and production of exploratory journalism using the tools and concepts of computer game design. 

Jour 796: Professional Paper (3 credits)Students will finish writing their professional paper under supervision of their graduate committee. Once the paper is completed, students will participate in an oral defense to demonstrate their conceptual mastery of the material in the graduate program.Plus one elective (3 credits

About Us

The Interactive Environmental Journalism program started in the summer of 2006, the inspiration of Cole Campbell, then dean of the Reynolds School of Journalism. Cole’s vision for the program was about inventing forms of journalism that matter:

Everything we do as journalists is informed by the way we think: how we think journalism works, how we think people use journalism, how we think the individuals and institutions that journalists cover operate. If the way we think no longer matches the changing world, our journalism will be off-kilter.

At the Reynolds School of Journalism, we are examining the mental models journalism has been working with – and we will invent other models to see if environmental journalism can lead the way in making journalism overall far more effective.

Traditional environmental journalism assumes a professional practice based on trained reporters and editors who find authoritative information and communicate it authoritatively to the public. A journalist finds the experts who know what is (or ought to be) happening in the domain of the environment. The journalist then extracts what the experts know and transmits this knowledge to everybody else.

In this model, journalism’s primary function is to secure and disseminate information – “the best obtainable version of the truth,” to use an axiom popularized by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of Watergate fame. This kind of journalism is quite valuable. But it contains inherent limits that fail to address the complex environmental problems facing our society today.

The traditional model of journalism presumes that someone always knows the truth about complex issues, and the public interest is served when journalists faithfully fulfill their role in transmitting expert truth to the public. But when it comes to environmental journalism, that presumption may not bear out.

Consider a recent case. Scientific experts and policy makers knew of the threat to New Orleans posed by a catastrophic hurricane, and the Times-Picayune and other news outlets reported these details to the public. But no one knew when such a hurricane might strike. Therefore there was no “best obtainable version of the truth” about how aggressively public agencies should reinforce levees or take other expensive steps to mitigate such a potential catastrophe.

In hindsight, after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, we can say the costs of reconstruction will be several orders of magnitude higher than the cost of preparedness. But to make the best judgment in a situation of uncertainty about when bad things might happen requires more than expertise. It requires what Daniel Yankelovich calls “public judgment,” a sound grasp of what’s at issue and a shared sense of what to do about it.

At the Reynolds School we are exploring how journalism can help people come to public judgment. What if journalists engaged people in imagining the future that they want to live in and in analyzing possible approaches to achieve that future?

To begin to answer to these questions, we are developing approaches to interactive environmental journalism that we believe will help people come to public judgment about uncertain choices and tradeoffs. In addition to authoritative transmission of expert knowledge, interactive journalism encompasses:

• Narrative: The principal way people make sense of the world – and convert that sense into deeper meaning – is through stories. Stories are not the exclusive domain of journalists or scientists; all people use stories to convert their experience and perception into an understanding of the world. Journalists can help people reach public judgment by helping them share their stories.

• Exploration: To enrich their stories, people search out information, test ideas and search for patterns. Experts can help by sharing their own explorations, but they cannot explore everything for the rest of us. Journalists can help people explore data, test facts, use new frames and imagine future scenarios.

• Conversation: People share their stories and explorations in conversations with one another. And these conversations – in which they listen as well as speak – reshape their understanding. Journalists can facilitate conversations through interviews, online forums and other means.

So, as examples, we will explore how journalists can best use rapidly developing Internet technologies such as blogs, RSS, news aggregators and wikis. How can we most effectively use Flash™ for engaging games and simulations? How can we tell the most compelling stories that make full use of emerging communication technologies?

Faculty involved in the graduate program include:

Larry Dailey, MA, Reynolds Chair of Media Technology & former multimedia producer at MSNBC.com Howard Goldbaum, MA, Associate Professor, Interactive Media
Dr. Edward Lenert, J.D., Professor and Fred W. Smith Chair in Critical Thinking and Ethical Practices
Dr. Donica Mensing, Director of Graduate Studies
Dr. David Ryfe, Associate Professor, Journalism & Democracy

The University of Nevada, Reno, is situated at the edge of the Sierra Nevada, 45 minutes from Lake Tahoe, spectacular desert, the Mount Rose Wilderness area and world class ski resorts.

We’re a campus of 15,000 students ranked in the top 250 of all campuses in the United States. The Reynolds School of Journalism is one of the oldest accredited journalism schools in the country and counts six Pulitizer prize winners among its alumni.

Further information about the program is available from Reynolds School Graduate Director Donica Mensing, 775-784-4198.

Costs

The University of Nevada offers an excellent value for graduate work. In-state tuition and mandatory fees for the three-semester master’s degree in journalism totals approximately $7,000 for the 33 credits of course work. Non-residents and international students pay extra fees. Tuition and fees for in-state, non-resident and international students for the current semester are outlined on the Cashier’s Office Web page.

Graduate assistantships are available for selected students. Graduate assistants work 10 hours a week and earn $700 a month; a few 20-hour a week assistantships are available for $1,400 a month. Students on assistantships received reduced rates for tuition and all non-resident and international fees are waived. If you are interested in applying for a graduate assistantship please indicate in your cover letter to the Graduate Director or email her directly.

How to Apply

Applications to the graduate program are accepted once a year; we have no rolling admissions. The next application deadline is March 16, 2009 to begin fall semester 2009.

To apply, submit the following materials directly to the Graduate School:

(1) A completed application, using the online application form. The minimal university requirements include the completion of a baccalaureate degree, a minimum total undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 2.75 for a Masters program and completion of all required prerequisite course work. The application fee is $60, nonrefundable; $40 for returning students and Nevada alumni, payable when you file your online application.

(2) One official transcript from every post-secondary institution you’ve attended sent directly from the university to the Graduate School.

(3) If English is not your first language, recent TOEFL scores. Send transcripts and scores to:

Graduate School
Mailstop 326
University of Nevada
Reno, NV 89557

Submit directly to the director of graduate studies at the Reynolds School of Journalism:

(1) A letter of intent explaining why you want to pursue graduate work in this program, what you hope to gain from participating, the assets you bring to the program and how you plan to use the degree after graduation.

(2) A resume outlining your professional and educational experience.

(3) Three letters of recommendation including one from a recent employer.

(4) Recent samples of published journalism.

Application materials can be sent by email attachment to Donica Mensing or by mail to:

Donica Mensing
Graduate Director
Mail Stop 310
Reynolds School of Journalism
University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557

Committed Faculty

At the Reynolds School you will find a dedicated faculty committed to creating journalism that matters. We have a small program so you will have individualized study and plenty of contact with faculty. You will work closely with a small cadre of students who provide support for each other. We encourage a collaborative and cooperative work environment.

Excellent Facilities: You will work in a beautiful building in a lab specifically set aside for graduate students. Each student is given a backpack with a Mac Pro laptop, video camera, still camera and audio equipment to use during the program.

Rich outdoor environment: Our campus is close to some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet. We regularly take field trips to Lake Tahoe where we have done much of our work over the past two years. From the nearby Black Rock desert to the alpine meadows of the Sierra Nevada, we have an outdoor environment that encourages exploration and study.

Outstanding campus resources: The University of Nevada campus hosts a number of environmentally oriented programs, from the unique Literature and Environment graduate program in the English department to the Ecology, Evolution & Conservation Biology Interdisciplinary Graduate Program. The Academy for the Environment provides a central clearinghouse for all the environmental programs on campus. The nearby Desert Research Institute also serves as a world-class resource for access to scientists working on environmental issues.