Florida International officially launches master's in biz journalism program

Florida International University has officially launched its new master’s program in business journalism. Gregg Fields, a former business reporter for the Miami Herald, has left the paper and will run the program.

The program is offered jointly by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and FIU’s College of Business Administration and combines courses in advanced investigative reporting with basic business courses to produce professionals equally at home in a newsroom or a boardroom.

The business journalism track requires a total of 36 credit hours and can be completed in 20 months of part time study, including one intensive weekend of instruction monthly. Classes are taken in both the School of Journalism and the College of Business Administration. Some classes can be taken online.

The program is for experienced reporters and editors looking for a specialty that will help them earn better assignments and help accelerate their professional advancement. It is also for reporters and editors already covering business who want to expand their knowledge and add the skills necessary to do investigations in subjects like free trade, corporate corruption, or the changing American economy.

In addition, it is for business, government or non-profit professionals with special subject-matter expertise who yearn for a career investigating, analyzing and writing for publications — possibly as a career change.

“FIU and Miami are the perfect setting for a business journalism program, providing a multicultural exposure other schools can’t match,” says Fields. “We’re one the country’s most diverse universities, in one of the world’s fastest-growing hubs of international business. That means our students get an early glimpse of America’s destiny – and the professional skills to cover it.”

Read more here.