School of Journalism and Mass Communication (University of Wisconsin–Madison)

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Former names	Department of Journalism, School of Journalism
Type	Public
Established	1927
Director	Kathleen Bartzen Culver
Address	Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave. , Madison , Wisconsin , United States 43°04′21.5″N 89°23′59.3″W / 43.072639°N 89.399806°W / 43.072639; -89.399806
Website	www.journalism.wisc.edu

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) is the journalism school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, located in Vilas Communication Hall. Administratively, the school is part of UW-Madison's College of Letters and Science.[1] It offers two undergraduate programs (BA in Journalism and BS in Journalism), two Master of Arts programs in Journalism (Research and Professional), and a doctoral program (PhD in Mass Communication).

SJMC was one of the first schools in Wisconsin to offer a doctorate in mass communication.[2] Guido Stempel, Donald Shaw, Richard Perloff, and Pamela Shoemaker attended the school's PhD program.

The school offers over 50 courses to nearly 500 undergraduate majors and about 100 graduate students.[3]

In 1904, Willard Grosvenor Bleyer developed and offered the first journalism course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.[4] The university established journalism as a department in 1912, and reformulated it as the School of Journalism in 1927.[5]

The school was among the first to introduce education in electronic editing and the offset press. It offered Radio news programs before World War II, and in 1970 a radio-television news sequence was established.[5]

The first sequence in advertising was developed in association with courses offered by the School of Business. By the early 1950s, it encompassed creative and account management areas. Public relations developed under Professor Scott M. Cutlip, evolving from a single lecture course in the 1940s to an established sequence by 1970.[5]

These programs continued to be integrated with the school’s broader training in journalism.

In 1970, the school was rebranded as the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The school moved to its first permanent location in 1972, with the opening of Vilas Communication Hall.[5] The facility was also purpose-built as the production and studio headquarters for the Wisconsin Educational Radio and Television Networks, which have become Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin respectively.

In 1949, Ralph O. Nafziger’s served as the school's director. Among the first such PhD programs in the nation, it granted its first degree in 1953. By 1973, the school graduated more PhDs in mass communication than any other school.[5]

The school grants two degrees for undergraduate students: Journalism Bachelor of Arts (JBA) and Journalism Bachelor of Science (JBS). Students may choose either reporting or strategic communications as their major track. Those who choose to double-track take courses sequentially.[6]

Along with five other departments, the school offers an interdisciplinary digital studies certificate program. The program is open to all undergraduates at UW-Madison and offers 50 courses from the School of Journalism & Mass Communication, as well as the departments of Art, Communication Arts, Life Sciences Communication, English, and the Information School.[7]

The school grants two master's degrees and one doctoral degree. The research master focuses on developing tools in mass communication research. Commonly, this program leads to enrollment in a doctoral program, while the professional M.A. typically leads to careers in news and information production.

The PhD in Mass Communications is jointly administered with the Department of Life Sciences Communication. This is different from the PhD in Communication Arts offered by the Department of Communication Arts. The Mass Communications doctoral program covers areas of research and teaching such as civic and political communication, health and environmental communication, law and ethics of media, and history of media institutions, among others.

The annual QS World University Rankings consistently ranked University of Wisconsin–Madison as a top-10 institution for communication and media studies from 2013 to 2018, ranking 1st in 2014. It exited the top 10 in 2019 by ranking 12th.[8]

In ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (Communication), UW-Madison ranked 5th in 2017,[9] 7th in 2018,[10] and 8th in 2019[11]⁠ in terms of publication score.

According to the 2017 Center for World University Rankings, UW-Madison ranked 4th in subject rankings for communication.[12]

In the 2010 Assessment of Research Doctorate Programs by the National Research Council, the school's doctoral program was evaluated among more than 80 PhD communication programs nationwide.[13] The assessment provided a range of high and low possible ranks for each indicator, with the school receiving the following ranges:

• S-Rank: Ranks 1-6 (based on criteria scholars identified as most important)
• Research: Ranks 1-6 (derived from faculty publications, citation rates, grants, and awards)

In a study of prestige of communication doctoral programs based on faculty hiring patterns, the UW-Madison ranked first in terms of "placement centrality."[14] In a national survey, 221 faculty members and 49 chairs of communication departments were asked to name the top 3 US communication programs, and UW-Madison's program was ranked first.[15]

See also List of University of Wisconsin–Madison people.

• Anthony Shadid, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
• Louis P. Lochner, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
• Neal Ulevich, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer.
• Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
• Paul Ingrassia, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.