Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism M.A.
General Graduate Program Requirements
Graduate School policies and standards can be found on the Graduate School Policies page.
The minimum GPA for any graduate program is 3.0. Individual programs may require more than a 3.0 to remain in good standing.
The minimum grade for a course to be accepted toward any requirement is C. Individual programs may require higher grades for specific courses.
MASTER OF ARTS - ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND NATURAL RESOURCE JOURNALISM
- The Master of Arts in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism requires 36 credit hours: 18 in journalism and 12 in natural resource issues and/or environmental science.
- There are two options for the remaining six credits. Students can either use them to work on a documentary-style professional project or opt to take two more Journalism courses in order to create a portfolio of work in multiple mediums.
- The professional project option allows students to embark on an ambitious investigation or create a comprehensive public information project. Students typically produce the project in their final year at the university after completing the rest of the coursework. This allows them to travel outside Montana and abroad for research for one semester. They return to Montana to defend their project in front of their chosen faculty committee.
- The portfolio option allows students to take additional journalism electives and produce a three-part portfolio that explores a common environmental or natural resource theme. The portfolio must include work presented in at least two different mediums, ranging from writing to photography, video, audio, multimedia, maps and graphics. This track is designed for those wanting more experience with different journalistic media.
- Students are also required to successfully complete 12 credits of approved non-journalism courses relevant to the coverage of natural resource issues, environmental science, or environmental public health. Course registration is subject to availability, prerequisites, and instructor consent.
Course Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| Complete all of the following courses: | ||
| JRNL 505 | Journalism and Society Seminar | 3 |
| JRNL 567 | Press/Broadcast Law | 3 |
| JRNL 570 | Reporting | 3 |
| JRNL 575 | Story Lab | 3 |
| JRNL 698 | Externship | 3 |
| Hard Science Requirement | ||
| Complete 3 credits of the following courses: | 3 | |
Any Biology course (BIOE, BIOB, BIOH, BIOM, BIOO, BIOS) | ||
Any Geoscience (GEO) course. | ||
| Health Economics and Policy | ||
| Economics of the Environment | ||
| Introduction to Environmental Economics & Climate Change | ||
| Economics of Global Development | ||
| Technology Seminar (Telling Stories with Data) | ||
| Ecosystem Climatology | ||
| Conservation and Social Science Methods | ||
| Intro to Epidemiology | ||
| Fundamentals of Biostatistics | ||
| Neuroepidemiology | ||
| Spatial Epidemiology in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) | ||
| Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology | ||
| Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control | ||
| Advanced Quantitative Methods in Public Health I | ||
| Journalism Elective | ||
| Complete one 3-credit graduate-level Journalism course. | 3 | |
| Non-journalism Electives | ||
| Complete 9 credits of approved graduate-level non-journalism courses relevant to the coverage of natural resource issues, or environmental science or environmental public health. | 9 | |
| Professional Project or Portfolio | ||
| Complete one of the following: | 6 | |
| Professional Project | ||
Two additional graduate-level journalism electives | ||
| Total Hours | 36 | |