$147,000 for a One-Year Master's? In Journalism?
Cost of Columbia’s new graduate degree in data journalism slammed by journalists.
For those with an extra $147,514 lying around, there is a new a master of science in data journalism from Columbia University’s School of Journalism.See also Poynter, Aug. 3:
For everyone else, dropping just over $106,000 for tuition and fees -- plus $41,232 in living expenses, per Columbia’s estimate -- for a master’s degree in an unstable, layoff-ravaged industry where the median annual salary is less than $40,000 might seem ludicrous, or at least deserving of mockery.
“The higher ed Institution is crumbling,” journalist Josh Sternberg wrote on Twitter. “A $100,000 master's of science in data journalism degree?”
Chicago Tribune editor Charlie J. Johnson put his feelings more succinctly.
“A $100,000 master’s degree in journalism is a stupid thing,” he tweeted.
The new degree promises to “provide students with practical, hands-on training essential to producing deeply reported data-driven stories in the public interest,” according to a news release from Columbia.
The fourth master’s degree in the prestigious journalism program’s portfolio, it also comes with the highest price tag. Before fees, the institution's master of arts tuition is roughly $40,000 cheaper than the data journalism degree, with tuition at about $55,000. The master of science, as well as the master of science in journalism and computer science, both boast tuition at just more than $60,000.
The Ph.D. program has a tuition of $55,800.
Steve Coll, the dean of Columbia’s graduate journalism program, told Poynter that the new degree's high price is worth it, saying data literacy is in high demand at news organizations....MORE
For about $100,000, Columbia Journalism School will train you to be ready for the next massive leak
Welcome to the higher education apocalypse.
