February 5, 2004

New dual degree program combines journalism, law

Study includes torts, criminal law, and a stint in the Medill Washington, D.C. newsroom

Five graduate students are enrolled in the first class to participate in a new two-degree program offered by the School of Law and the Medill School of Journalism.

The unique program is the only one in the country where students who recently completed bachelor’s degrees enroll in a two-degree journalism-law program.

The program of study begins and ends at Medill (and includes a stint as a working reporter in Medill’s Washington, D.C., newsroom or an international residency through Medill’s Global Journalism Program). Students last summer took a Journalism Methods (reporting and editing) course and an Ethics and Law (for journalists) course at Medill.

The students take two semesters of work at the law school in the first year of the program, studying torts, criminal law, civil procedure, legal writing and electives of the student’s choice. Upon completion of the program, students will earn both a Master of Science in Journalism and a Master of Legal Studies. The degrees will enable them to examine and report legal nuances involved in many news stories today.

“Understanding the law and being able to explain it well are skills increasingly essential to many of the issues journalists cover — from government to sports, business to civil rights. Medill has always been dedicated to turning out exceptional young reporters, and this partnership with Northwestern’s law school enables us to raise the bar on that commitment,” said Loren Ghiglione, dean of Medill.

“The degree program is fashioned to provide journalists with intensive immersion in legal thinking so that they are better able to educate their readers, viewers or listeners,” said David Van Zandt, School of Law dean.