Who We Are

The University of Arizona School of Journalism, currently housed in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS), was established in 1951 as the Department of Journalism. Since 1964, the School has been accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC). In the 1970s, the program grew to include a professional master’s degree. In this era, the School introduced community news reporting initiatives and student-run publications, such as The Tombstone Epitaph and El Independiente. Despite a temporary closure attempt in the mid-1990s, the program significantly expanded its faculty capacity, curricular breadth and research output. It achieved school status in 2008. Its faculty expanded to include both award-winning news professionals and active researchers. Today, the School offers a B.A. in Journalism (JOUR), as well as an online B.A. in Studies of Global Media (GLO, launched in 2021) and master’s degrees in journalism, bilingual journalism (BJP) and GLO. Across all degree programs, the School’s curriculum combines professional training with a strong liberal arts foundation. Students gain hands-on experience through courses, field reporting and student-run publications (such as Arizona Sonoran News), while also engaging with digital tools and global perspectives. In addition to a strong focus in border and global journalism, the school excels in science and environmental journalism, sports journalism and longform/investigative reporting. Across more than seven decades of history, the School continues to advance innovation in digital media, interdisciplinary collaboration and global engagement, while maintaining its mission of preparing students for professional success in an evolving media environment. 

Our new strategic plan sets out our mission, vision and pathway for student success. For full information, please visit our Mission and Strategic Plan page. Here's a capsule version of our core objectives behind the new plan:

Experienced Faculty

Faculty members have significant professional experience from working at The New York Times, the BBC, Pew Research Center and television news stations. 

Training Future Journalists

The school has a strong tradition of teaching communicators the fundamentals that will help them succeed in any career. Students are taught how to gather information, critically analyze it and communicate it effectively, accurately and ethically. We are one of the few programs to require every student to take courses in public affairs reporting. Students also are trained in the latest technology they need to succeed in an ever-changing digital media environment.

As an accredited school, we provide students the chance to learn in small classes where they get to know their professors and are instilled in the values of a profession that provides citizens the information they need to self-govern.

Alumni Success

Our graduates have gone on to work for major news media ranging from The New York Times to CNN International, have won every major award in the profession — including the Pulitzer Prize and the National Magazine Award — and have written stories that have changed state and national laws and policies.

Notable alumni include Savannah Guthrie, co-host of NBC’s "Today" show; Dan Hicks, NBC Sports; author Lynne Olson; and Pulitzer Prize winners such as Nancy Cleeland, Ryan Gabrielson and Paul Giblin, Elinor Brecher, and Frank Sotomayor and José Galvez.