As the profession of journalism goes through momentous changes, Sri Sri University’s Masters in Journalism and Mass Communication (MJMC) programme seeks to train the journalist of the future.

Multimedia training, convergent newsrooms, and social media training are redefining journalism. In addition, journalists are increasingly required to possess domain knowledge and skills in a variety of subjects to make their work more authentic and high quality. SSU’s MJMC programme seeks to incorporate these trends and skill requirements in a two-year programme with an emphasis on experiential learning and simulation of actual working conditions.

The defining feature of the two-year programme is its focus on practical learning in which lectures and classrooms are not the norm. Instead, students are required to be student journalists with teachers serving as mentors invested in their personal development. Theoretical understanding is given to students through discussions and class work as context in the course of practical work.

With print media stressed and online journalism still unable to work out a sustainable business plan, media operations are required to be multimedia. The divisions of print, broadcast and online are no more valid concentrations in a Masters programme. Journalists are required to be multimedia storytellers from the very beginning. Our MJMC programme cuts through traditional classifications and directly exposes students to the craft and practice of multimedia journalism.

Social media has disrupted journalism. People including older folks are increasingly consuming news from social media. The game is to catch the attention through social media so what journalists put out attracts the attention of people. The journalist of the future will need to operate on social media but should be individually empowered to earn a livelihood out of it.

Until now, journalists have been doing their work in institutions and then engage in social media sparingly. In future, journalists will have to work in social media and engage with their readers. Journalism has to learn to co-create. Journalists should engage with their audience on a continuous basis and serve as moderators and facilitators of information. This requires a different set of professional approaches and skill sets than what journalism training institutions have been offering so far.

The first year of SSU’s MJMC offers an intense training in journalism with several skills courses incorporated to equip the students as per market demands. Innovative courses in data journalism, animation as well as visual techniques on mobile phones provide a cutting edge to the programme. The second year presents two more cutting edge modules that will train students to work in social media. Through these courses, students will learn to co-create content as well as use digital marketing techniques to promote the content they create. Further, in the second year, students get to explore other forms of media and related topics including film, theatre, public relations, media business and so on.

At the end of the two-year programme, the SSU student will not only be a highly trained journalist, but, more than that, she will have the experience, skills and insight to become a media personality.

Course Features

• The curriculum has been designed to develop students’ critical thinking abilities and practical skills, thus enabling them to take up media-related positions in a changing media environment.
• Here, students are made to enhance both theoretical and practical aspects of learning.
• The course is structured according to the current trends and needs by training the students in writing and reporting with a sense of social responsibility.
• Various specialized field relating to writing, editing, reporting, photography and other allied fields like photo-editing, documentary film-making and cinematography has also been included in the curriculum.
• Orientations based on business and industry and the environment is held for students so that they are well versed in current trends and news.
• Industry mentors
• Minimum 8 software taught
• Regular practical workshops
• Emphasis on digital media & ethical Journalism
• Mix of industry experts and academicians in teaching
• Counselling at Vivechana available
• Spiritual courses, meditation