DURHAM, N.H.—The University of New Hampshire will launch a new Journalism and Media Studies program next year, focused on equipping students with both the practical skills the profession demands, as well as theoretical and analytic training to navigate an evolving media landscape in thoughtful and ethical ways. 

“I am thrilled that UNH will be able to offer such a strong and timely journalism curriculum,” said UNH President Elizabeth Chilton. “Interdisciplinary approaches prepare our students to tackle complex, real-world challenges, and the future of journalism relies on the creative, critical thinking that this program will foster.”

The new interdisciplinary program—approved last month—will bring together courses from the English and communication departments focusing on basic reporting skills, like writing and editing, but also essential experience in more contemporary forms of reporting like podcasting, multimedia and documentaries. Other skills include media literacy required to navigate in the fast-paced news environment with special attention to disinformation, artificial intelligence and other emerging challenges. Along with the how-to and why of being a news reporter, the new major will provide students with more interactive experience in the digital realm and applied internship experiences across current and developing media fields.

“I am delighted that our faculty came together to establish an innovative and dynamic interdisciplinary journalism major to better prepare our students for many different fields of reporting from traditional print news to the ever-expanding digital space,” said Michele Dillon, dean of UNH’s College of Liberal Arts. “I’m excited that this vision creatively harnesses faculty expertise and existing resources to boldly reimagine journalism education in ways that meet the future of news communication and will help equip our students for success in a rapidly changing field. I have confidence that our reimagined major will sustain UNH’s well-deserved reputation for excellence in journalism.”

UNH College of Liberal Arts faculty voted in March 2024 to eliminate the University’s longstanding journalism major, amid concerns about funding challenges, declining enrollment, and drastic changes in the journalism business. A faculty committee met twice monthly over the next year to reimagine the curriculum. The new program will continue to provide students with important skills like fact gathering, critical media analysis, historical and ethical perspectives on news and other information—preparing the next generation of reporters for a range of professional communications opportunities ranging from newsrooms to filmmaking to non-profits.

“The updated journalism major will give students theoretical frameworks and practical skills to navigate and lead in this ever-evolving media landscape,” said journalism professor Tom Haines. “Students will graduate from this new program with the capacity to distinguish fact from fiction, balance from bias, and to deliver robust, fact-based reporting in a complex digital world.”

The new Journalism and Media Studies program will officially launch in fall of 2026. Current and prospective journalism majors will automatically be transferred into the new program.

UNH has produced several notable journalists including Pulitzer Prize winners Barbra Walsh ’81, Mark Osler ’81 and Michael D’Antonio’77; New York Times international correspondent Megan Specia ’09; CBS New York news anchor Chris Wragge ’92; CNN supervising investigative editor in London Eliza Mackintosh ‘12, and longtime Boston news anchor Natalie Jacobson ’65. Many UNH alumni have and still work for notable news outlets including WMUR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The New Yorker, The New Republic, CNN, ABC News and Vanity Fair.