Mission

The Department of Journalism strives to prepare its students to become well-educated, principled citizens who are capable of initiating careers as skilled journalists, public relations practitioners and other related communication professionals.
听

Our vision statements:

Students:听Learn to be excellent writers and communicators who tell factual stories in a variety of forms and platforms for a diverse public and whose work reflects creativity, innovation, analytical thinking, ethics and democratic values.

Faculty:听Innovate to produce excellence in teaching, research, service and creative activities.

Department:听Foster culture of collaboration among students, faculty, staff, alumni and diverse communities to become a resource, a town square and a network for those interested in journalism.

Program Learning Outcomes

  • Students will be able to report and write for diverse publics, using proper grammar and听punctuation, word usage and spelling, sentence and storytelling structures across multiple听journalistic formats.
  • Students will be able to gather and analyze information, including basic numerical concepts,听using reporting techniques, such as interviewing, observation, and researching primary and听secondary sources.
  • Students will be able to think critically, creatively and independently.
  • Students will demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work听ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness, and diversity.
  • Students will apply tools and technologies appropriate for the news media professions in which听they work to communicate for and with diverse publics.
  • Students will be able to understand and apply the historical, theoretical, legal and societal听contexts for producing and consuming news media for consumers, ranging from local to global听publics.

Public Accountability


To provide public accountability as required by the 's standards, the CSUN Journalism Department maintains and annually posts information on several indicators of student success. The data include retention and graduation rates for first-time freshmen and new transfer students over a five-year period.

Read more about our Public Accountability

The Journalism Department鈥檚 Assessment Plan evaluates student progress toward the Program Learning Outcomes as well as for industry preparation and uses multiple methods.听

Primarily located in听Manzanita Hall, Journalism鈥檚 facilities听feature industry-standard news labs for broadcast and multimedia production, a digital photo听lab and specialized instructional areas in both skills and lecture courses. In addition, the Department's space includes the newsroom/broadcast studios in the听听public radio station, part of听, the Valley's Center for the Performing Arts.