MA Professional Track

MA - Professional Track

This MA Professional Track is geared toward students who are coming to Journalism from another field of study or for additional professional experience. The types of students this program is best for include:

Students who have little journalistic background but want to switch careers entirely, such as from engineering, political science, or business to journalism.

Students who already have an undergraduate journalism degree and/or professional experience, who want to expand and focus their abilities, or switch career paths within journalism, for example, from daily journalism to foreign correspondence, or from writing to visual storytelling.

Students with journalism experience in non-U.S. media systems seeking to develop an understanding of the purpose, principles, and process of journalism in the U.S.

Fall Admission Only
Application Opens	September 1
Application Deadline	December 1 (11:59pm CT)

Journalism Graduate Admissions

Tjarks Fellowship

Oct. 7, 2026

Get Hooked In: Virtual Information Session

Interested in learning more about the MA Professional Track Program?

Join our virtual Open House on Wednesday, October 7 (12pm CT) to learn about the program, the application process, and what it's like to be a student in the MA Professional Track. You'll have the opportunity to hear from the Graduate Advisor, connect with current students, and learn about the application process.

Career Opportunities Await

Students in this program have gone on to work for newspapers like the Dallas Morning News, digital sites like the Texas Tribune and broadcast networks like NBC News and local affiliates. By receiving hands on training from world class faculty who have decades of experience working in the industry, students are ready for the job market upon completion of their degree.

Learn More

Explore Program Details

25-26 Master’s Handbook

25-26 Program of Work

Coursework

The coursework (30 semester credit hours) includes ample experiential opportunity to report and produce stories with intense-yet-supportive editing, with an emphasis on applying accountability journalism principles regardless of beat or interest. The program is designed as a full-time experience during the two long semesters, followed by a summer internship at a professional media outlet. Some of the internships past students completed included work with The Texas Tribune, The Texas Observer, Sports Illustrated, Texas Monthly, Spectrum News, McGregor Mirror, The Austin Chronicle, The Briscoe Center, The Horn FM, The Austin Monitor and AARP.com, among others.

All students take a set of 6 required courses (18 semester credit hours):
- Reporting Texas I (required first semester)
- Visual Journalism (required first semester)
- Proseminar in Journalism (required first semester)
- Reporting Texas II (required second semester)
- Media Law
- Business of News
All students take a total of 12 semester credit hours through elective courses to help them become an expert in a medium and/or specialty.
At least three hours of credit are obtained through an internship.

Meet Our Students

Admissions

Graduate Resources

Moody provides additional resources for current and prospective graduate students, find more information on the Graduate Resources page.

Contact Us

Do you have questions about the School of Journalism and Media’s graduate programs?
Email Us: jamgradoffice@austin.utexas.edu