Master of Arts in Public Media

PMMA Students Working in Classroom

"It's media with a mission."

Our flexible, interdisciplinary M.A. program in Public Media offers tracks in Multi-Platform Journalism and Strategic Communication. Both concentrations have the goal of using storytelling to promote dialogue, civic engagement, and social justice.

Now more than ever, public media matters.

It’s about real journalism, real communication strategies, and real narratives. It’s about committed, responsible storytelling across a variety of existing and emerging platforms, from radio to TV to mobile apps.

Our one-year program combines academic inquiry and hands-on experience. You’ll engage with media theory and build your own portfolio, working with committed scholar-activists, talented advocacy practitioners, and top professionals from traditional broadcasting and digital news media. Key partners for the program include pioneering public radio and television outlets WFUV, WNYC, BronxNet, and WNET.

The Public Media program continues to grow as we incorporate public media partners and work with organizations to provide our students with practical experience. Read more about our efforts.

Choose between two tracks:

  • The multi-platform journalism track will focus on audio, video, and interactive web content reporting, production, and distribution.

  • The strategic communication track will focus on nonprofits, the public sector, and social enterprises, including social media marketing, public relations, fundraising, and advocacy.

Program Highlights

  • Gain communications skills that are grounded in media ethics and theory.
  • Learn best practices for informative, compelling storytelling across platforms.
  • Develop multimedia production expertise in graphics, audio/video production and editing, and web and mobile design.
  • Take advantage of internships and courses at WFUV, WNYC, BronxNet, WNET, other media outlets, and public-interest and advocacy organizations.
  • Enroll in courses taught by media professionals from WFUV, CBS, The New York Times, WNYC, DoSomething, and more.

Program Basics

  • Designed as a  for full-time students, with evening courses at both our Rose Hill/Bronx campus and the Lincoln Center/Manhattan campuses, allowing for daytime employment, fieldwork, or internships.
  • Curriculum requires two core courses, four advanced courses, two electives or internships, and a summer master’s project for a total of 30 credits.
  • Opportunity to take electives in other graduate programs across Fordham's Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, as well as the Gabelli School of Business.
  • Courses are held at both the Rose Hill/Bronx campus and the Lincoln Center/Manhattan campus to take advantage of the different opportunities that each campus and neighborhood has to offer.

Careers

  • Multi-Platform journalist
  • Digital activist
  • Social entrepreneur
  • Communications director
  • Public relations specialist
  • Development director

Interview with Beth Knobel

In this Fordham News interview, former Program Director Beth Knobel explains current improvements made to the PMMA program.

Beth Knobel

 

The M.A. in Public Media program at Fordham University has done a lot for me, from expanding my journalistic skills to helping me get my foot in the door of the TV production industry.

Ysabella Escalona, PMMA '22, FCRH '21, Associate Producer, Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network (HITN)

- Read more testimonials

Public Media News

Telling the Stories that Matter in Fordham’s Public Media Master’s Program

For Maya Sargent, public media is more than a career path; it’s a calling. The U.K. native traveled a lot with her family while she was younger, living in places such as Dubai and Spain, which sparked her curiosity and sense of storytelling even at a young age.

Read more

Journalism Students Learn Ropes at Spanish-Language TV Station

Journalism students in Fordham’s Master of Arts in Public Media program have been interning at HITN, a Brooklyn-based, Spanish-language television station dedicated to educational and cultural programming. The station has also hired graduates of the program.

Read more

Public Media Graduate Wins Prestigious Awards for Podcast on Rom-Coms

When Carmen Borca-Carrillo was deciding on her capstone project for the master’s in public media program at Fordham, film and television seemed like the obvious choice.

Read more

Enhanced Partnerships, Accelerated Track Add to Public Media Program’s Growth

Media with a message. That’s the key component of Fordham’s one-year, 30-credit graduate public media master’s program, according to director Beth Knobel, Ph.D.

Read more