Things at the University of New Hampshire are taking a turn for the better within the English Department. Last year, the department announced that they were making a change to the current English/Journalism major. While several students did enroll this year, there was a severe decline in the enrollment of this particular major. Recently, the English department decided to reinvent the love for journalism by including it in a brand new major: Journalism & Media Studies. It will be structured as an interdisciplinary program, meaning that there is a focus on two main subjects. The major is set to include the same core lessons previously seen in the old major, but with increased focus on digital communication, media analysis, and theory as well.
UNH’s English department was founded shortly after its move to Durham, New Hampshire in 1893. The department has strived to teach its students to think critically, read deeply, and to express themselves through the various studies in literature, writing, and language.
Many of these previously taught lessons and courses within the English/journalism major will still be included in the replacement program, with an equal amount of focus on both journalism and communication-based lessons.
While there are many who have helped take part in shaping this new major, Professor Tom Haines has been instrumental in its creation and is excited to debut it next semester.
“The idea is that you have a mix of requirements from journalism and communication, and what’s newsworthy about it is it’s the first interdisciplinary major that’s been created this way.” said Professor Haines.
Haines also mentioned how, a few weeks ago, the college faculty held a meeting to discuss the new major’s creation and what was to be done regarding the transition from English/journalism to journalism/media studies. This was just one of several meetings that have taken place over the last year, and now, the faculty has formally approved the major, following its signing this month by President Elizabeth Chilton.
In these meetings, faculty discussed what specific courses they would include in the major and how they would prepare students for their future within this field of study. Students will have the opportunity to work in more journalism-related courses and still have a perfect balance of taking part in communication-related classes as well. Students will even get to experience the world of podcasting, newswriting, news video production, and broadcasting. These courses will help better prepare them for their futures outside of UNH, especially if their future job revolves around journalism and communication.
“I think it’s an excellent major for students in today’s journalism landscape,” said Haines.
The communication courses will additionally include broader digital tools to help students with their academic learning and understanding of the craft.
“The idea is that it will be a richer digital program…Students will get the traditional fundamentals of journalism in the reporting classes – how to dig for information, check facts – but they’ll also get the theory of how media works and the actual hands-on tools that produce the news,” said Haines.
On top of what Haines has had to say about the many positives this major will bring for both fields of study, Professor Kevin Healey, Associate Professor of the communication department, also had thoughts to say about the matter.
“While we offer courses where students learn how to 'do' journalism, first and foremost, we want students to understand the 'why' of journalism. Why is journalism important in the first place? And, why has social media made it so hard to discern truth from propaganda? These are interdisciplinary questions, so we need to dig deep into history, economics, and philosophy,” said Healey.
Furthermore, Healey mentioned several notable figures who helped make this new major possible. In the communication department, professors Tom Jackson, Nora Draper, Kate Zambon, and Mike Soha all made significant contributions to the program’s development. In the English Department, professors Jaed Coffin, Melinda White, Sue Hertz, and James Krasner helped similarly. Healey shared how Hertz, in particular, has contributed greatly to the creative process of the major.
“I co-offered [with Kevin] a proposal to create the new major…By combining forces with Communication, we can offer students this really dynamite opportunity...I think it's a great opportunity for UNH to really make a name for itself in the Journalism opportunity.” Professor Hertz said.
“I worked with her closely to finalize the draft of the new major proposal and to get it approved by both departments,” said Healey.
Another key figure who has influenced the upbringing of this major change is Dean Michelle Dillon. Dillon is Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and the UNH Class of 1944 Professor of Sociology. She has had much to say about the new major change.
“I was disappointed and to be honest a little heartbroken, but I also was very conscious about how we have a terrific communication department here, and so I really wanted to bring communication and English/journalism together…Bringing different departments together in a University is always a challenge, but they were both open …to meeting,” Dillon explained.
Dillon then went into detail about how the transition of jumping from one major to another will be for the students taking part in the current English/journalism major.
“It’s going to be seamless…it has to be seamless because we don’t want students, whether you’re first years or seniors, to be thinking ‘oh do I have to take a new major’ when it’s only being coded into a different name,” said Dillon.
Dillon also helped shed light on the beneficial matters the major change will provide once those enrolled graduate and go off into the real world.
“I feel that they’re going to be well prepared because they’re learning the current methods of how to broadcast, how to write, and how to make content…and even if the medium changes, they’ll quickly adapt…We want to make sure we’re preparing people to be adaptable,” said Dillion.
The English department is currently in the process of hiring another tenure-track journalist to aid students in the journalism field and teach them all the ins and outs of the intricate program. There are currently over 50 applications that have been submitted and are being looked over. Another option for students is the student-run paper, The New Hampshire. If students join the paper, they will have a headstart in pursuing journalism and writing real news.
The journalism/media studies major is set to kick off at the start of 2026, and everyone in the English and communication departments are thrilled about it. Students enrolled in the program will get an equally beneficial experience in both the fields of journalism and communications. They will get to take part in similar courses as before, but with a greater emphasis on communication and other fun, informative courses that involve journalism. In short, there will be something for everyone.
