About the Department

The Department of Journalism, Media Studies and Public Relations is one of only three programs in New York State that has been fully accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, making it easier for students to find quality employment after graduation. The Department offers degrees in Journalism (B.A.), with specialties in print, broadcast and information graphics, Mass Media Studies (B.A.) and Public Relations (B.A.). Our majors are taught to question, research, and analyze the issues facing our society and to examine the ways in which our media portrays those situations. Students learn how to investigate and report news stories and receive a solid foundation in media ethics, history and law. Online and new media are an integral part of all our courses and programs of study. Almost all of our students take at least one internship, and our students go on to careers in media or graduate study.

Our award-winning faculty is of the highest caliber, averaging over 20 years of experience in their respective fields. Our journalism faculty have all worked at national newspapers, major magazines and network television stations. In addition, our public relations faculty have expertise in the corporate, nonprofit, and community service sectors, while our media studies faculty present their research at conferences, regularly contribute to scholarly journals, and work as consultants and analysts for media-related companies.  The RTNDA/Hofstra University Annual Survey is the benchmark study of the state of radio and television news in the U.S.

Founded in 1995, the School of Communication houses the Department of Journalism, Media Studies, and Public Relations, which is located in Dempster Hall, one of the largest state-of-the-art, noncommercial radio and television broadcast facilities on the East Coast.