Why Media and Journalism?

The Power of Storytelling

Our academic programs are built with the end in sight: launching high-impact careers. From day one, we begin building capabilities, confidence and professional contacts so that students can land promising internships.

We are one of three accredited schools of media and journalism in Ohio, and one of only 117 in the world. When you invest in a professional education, national and international rankings matter.  So does performance.

From day one, our students can work for our nationally award-winning student media. From day one, our students can participate in student professional organizations.

We build media and communication leaders, as our performance in intercollegiate journalism competitions demonstrates. In 2021, we achieved impressive results in the Hearst Journalism Awards Program – often referred to as the “Pulitzer Prizes of Collegiate Journalism" - which recently recognized Kent State senior Gianna DaPra in the nation's top 10 for television features. Our students also placed in the top 20 in the photojournalism news & features competition, television features competition, and feature-writing competition. A team of advertising students from the School recently earned semi-finalist status in the Effie Collegiate national competition in July 2020. In 2019 and 2016, teams earned second place nationwide for campaigns for Subaru and V8+ Energy, respectively. Kent State teams placed among the top 10 in this challenge since they began competing in 2013. Students from our School won a gold medal of excellence in the national College Photographer of the Year competition. TV2, our student-run television station, was named a Pacemaker finalist in the four-year, Outstanding Broadcast News Program category by the Associated Collegiate Press. In 2019, The Kent Stater student newspaper was named both a Pacemaker winner and the best college non-daily newspaper by the Ohio chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. 

Where can a Media and Journalism degree take you?

TV studios and movie sets. Newsrooms and board rooms. Red carpets and runways. Multinational corporations and nonprofit agencies. Sports arenas and sports marketing agencies. The White House Press Corps and the halls of Congress.

Wherever compelling storytelling matters, you’ll find journalism and communication graduates at work. Wherever critical thinking and solid reporting make a difference, you’ll find our graduates excelling. And wherever multimedia platforms are used to inform, engage and persuade, you’ll find growing demand for the skills and experiences made possible by a Media and Journalism degree.

School of Media and Journalism graduates work across the nation and across the globe. Whether anchoring the news for CNN, leading communications for the Cleveland Cavaliers, producing TV shows like CSI-Miami or working for an ad firm in Australia, our graduates are communication industry leaders.

Kent State University’s students are ready to work because they gain real-life experience through high-impact, high-caliber internships. Our close proximity to Cleveland, Akron and Pittsburgh allows our students access to metropolitan news and media operations, corporations and nonprofit organizations. Our students also intern well beyond Ohio, in major media markets like Los Angeles and New York.

What are your journalism and communication career options? Pick your destination. We’ll help you get there.

Will there be jobs in the future?

Yes. Our skill sets are designed for flexibility, adaptability and mobility across every sector of the economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts job growth in communication careers through 2029:

• Public relations: expected growth of 7%;
• Advertising: expected growth of 6%;
• Photographers: expected growth of 4%; 
• Producers/directors: expected growth of 10%.