Journalism Major: Courses, Universities, Degrees, and Career Prospects

In recent years, mass media has indeed been at its peak in popularity. So it is not surprising that the journalism major is one of the most popular majors. It can be said that this major is one of the majors tasked with studying journalism in more depth. Of course, for those of you who want to become a journalist, you can choose this major. Well, see the discussion about courses, universities, degrees, and career prospects for journalism majors below.

What is the Journalism Major?

The Journalism Major can be said to be the most dynamic study program among other majors. Journalism is an activity of searching, processing, and disseminating news to the public through mass media. For the journalism study program, we will be taught techniques for searching, writing, and editing news, and how the news is distributed through various media, both print and electronic.

Students can choose to study journalism according to their choice of media. Therefore, students must understand the character of the media and its changes. The process of forming print and electronic media news will of course be different. Print journalists must strengthen their logic and writing skills, while radio and television journalists who study broadcasting must always train their verbal skills. In addition, with the rapid growth of online media today, journalists must be able to process news even faster.

Journalism Major Courses

As discussed above, if you decide to choose a journalism major, you will later study several interesting courses such as the following:

1. Journalistic Language

This course focuses on studying the style of language used in compiling news or information. This language is usually used by journalists in compiling news, and there are special rules. The rules and how to compose language in this news will be studied.

2. News Writing

This course is mandatory for students majoring in journalism. It studies the techniques of writing news. So that students can be skilled and reliable in writing interesting, easy-to-understand news, and still in accordance with the facts.

3. Broadcasting

You will also be equipped with knowledge in reading news properly and correctly, and managing broadcasts, both audio and audio-visual.

4. Introduction to Journalism

This is also one of the mandatory courses, introduction to journalism is the basis for understanding the world of journalism. This course will be taken in the early semester and becomes the foundation for entering the next semester.

Best Universities for Journalism Majors

The following is a list of the best universities for Journalism Majors (Accredited A by BAN-PT) in Indonesia:

• Diponegoro University (UNDIP), Semarang

• University of Indonesia (UI), Depok

• Padjajaran University (UNPAD), Bandung

• Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic University, Jakarta

Journalism Major Degrees

For Journalism graduates, there are several degrees awarded, this depends on which university the alumni completed their studies. So what are the names of the degrees? The title awarded to graduates of the Journalism major is Bachelor of Communication Science or S.I.Kom. There are also those who give the title Bachelor of Social Sciences or S.Sos.

Career Prospects for Journalism Majors

1. Journalist

The first career prospect for journalism majors is probably the most commonly known is becoming a journalist. Journalists, also known as reporters, are professionals who are tasked with identifying, investigating, and reporting events and incidents to the public.

Various media that are often used include magazines, newspapers, television, radio, and social media. This profession also often acts as a watchdog for the government and other institutions, and supports democratic discourse.

2. Content writer

It is certain that Journalism graduates have reliable and qualified writing skills. With this writing ability, there are many jobs that can be pursued, not just becoming a journalist. Writing skills can also be utilized to work as a content writer, one of the types of jobs that are widely offered today.

A content writer has the task of writing related to the identity or product of the company where he works. Every day a content writer must write with certain techniques and strategies in order to achieve the targets set.

Currently, many companies require the services of content writers, especially for companies engaged in the digital sector. The reason is because content writers are one of the jobs that help in developing branding.

3. Public Relations

As a journalism graduate student, you can also work as a Public Relations or often referred to as Public Relations (PR). You will be responsible as a communication liaison between the public space and a particular agency.

In addition, you will bring a particular company or brand so that it can be known to the public through various media such as social media, press releases, or via the internet. You also have an important role in implementing an event that may require cooperation from sponsors or advertising providers.

4. Blogger

Becoming a Blogger does not necessarily have to be a Journalism graduate. The point of writing your own blog is that you are able to convey a message well to readers. Although it seems to be lagging behind, in fact, until now there are still many companies that use blogs as a medium for their advertising.

You can choose a theme that best suits your skills or what you want. Then start to develop this theme into a blog post. When you focus on developing a blog, it will slowly attract readers and bring in Adsense and endorsements from various brands. The key to success in becoming a Blogger is to always improve and be consistent in providing information.

5. Floor director

Maybe the name of this job still sounds quite foreign. Floor directors generally work in television media and become an extension of a producer and director in directing the crew or audience in the field.

If you want to become a reliable floor director, you are required to have clear, precise, fast-moving and coordinated communication skills. Students who take the Journalism Department are usually trained to do reporting and also work under deadlines, this is what makes them have the various abilities needed to become a floor director.