Q: What are the benefits of attending an accredited journalism school, as compared to an non-accredited one? Does graduating from an accredited journalism school necessarily look better on a job application than graduating from a non-accredited one?
Sara
A: There are benefits that any prospective college student should consider, but accreditation – or the lack of it – is just one of many considerations.
Accreditation assures you that a journalism program has met the standards set by the The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. Any program that can meet all the standards is likely to apply for accreditation, but some unaccredited schools offer fine programs.
Editors know about the good journalism programs locally and nationally and may use accreditation as one of their criteria for judging a program’s quality. But accreditation should be just one of your many considerations.
The critical factors in your choice of a journalism school are how much work you put into the school, wherever it is, and how much real-world experience you get.
