Mark Lodato, Dean
400 Newhouse I
newhouse.syr.edu

About the College

The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications is widely regarded as one of the nation’s top schools of communications. Engaged in industry partnerships and ongoing curricular development, the scope of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications reaches beyond the confines of the classroom. The school prepares students and faculty alike to take a leadership role in addressing the issues of today’s rapidly changing media landscape.

The Newhouse School claims a distinguished faculty with a broad range of expertise which is supplemented by visiting communications professionals, regularly bringing new experiences to the classroom. Students study in a modern, three-building complex, which houses multimedia labs, television and photography studios, and sound production and recording facilities. Students are supported in their professional development by the Tina Press and David Rubin Career Development Center which serves students who are engaged in public communications studies and helps them make professional connections and find internships, as well as professional positions. https://newhouse.syr.edu/students/career-development-center/. 

Upon graduation, students join the ranks of Newhouse alums, a large and robust group of communications professionals influencing all aspects of the industry. The Career Development Center encourages networking among alums and between students and alums, supporting their continued involvement in the Newhouse School.

The Newhouse School is an authorized certification partner with: Adobe, Apple, Avid and Microsoft.

The S.I. Newhouse School embraces every form of public communications offering a rich variety of undergraduate and graduate programs:

Undergraduate:

• Bachelor of Science in Advertising
• Bachelor of Science in Broadcast and Digital Journalism
• Bachelor of Science in Esports Communications & Management (Joint with Falk)
• Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design (Not admitting students)
• Bachelor of Science in Magazine, News and Digital Journalism
• Bachelor of Science in Public Relations
• Bachelor of Science in Recording and Entertainment Industries (Bandier Program)
• Bachelor of Science in Television, Radio and Film
• Bachelor of Science in Visual Communications

Graduate: Master’s Level

• Advanced Media Management, MS  
• Advertising, MA (No longer admitting students)  
• Arts, Style and Culture Journalism, MA  
• Audio Arts, MA  
• Broadcast and Digital Journalism, MS  
• Communications, MS  
• Communications Management, MS  
• Magazine, News and Digital Journalism, MA  
• Media Studies, MA  
• Multimedia, Photography and Design, MS   
• Public Diplomacy and Global Communications, MA  
• Public Relations, MS  
• Television, Radio and Film, MA  

Graduate: Doctoral Level

• Mass Communications, PhD  

Minors

• Photography, Video and Design
• Public Communications Studies

Shared Competencies 

The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications participates in students’ knowledge and skill development through the Shared Competencies, Syracuse University’s institutional learning goals that highlight the knowledge and skills students can expect to gain through their major courses, liberal arts requirements and co-curricular activities.

Accreditation

The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, and the School is a member of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Educational Mission

The S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications’ mission is to educate ethical, visionary communicators whose goal is to establish an open marketplace of ideas guided by the First Amendment using contemporary professional practices. In the course of earning their degree, students are expected to achieve the following educational outcomes:

Graduate Education

Mark Lodato, Dean
Joel K. Kaplan, Associate Dean for Professional Graduate Studies
Anne Osborne, Director of Doctoral Studies

In addition to the professional master’s degree programs, the School offers a research-based master’s degree program in media studies.

At the doctoral level, the mass communications program is designed for advanced study in research, analysis of public communications, and teaching.

For a complete listing of faculty members associated with the Newhouse School, see the Faculty  section of the Graduate Course Catalog.

Admission

Master’s Degree Programs

We welcome candidates from a wide variety of academic disciplines and backgrounds to apply to our master’s degree programs. Candidates with bachelor’s degrees from accredited colleges or universities are eligible for admission. No prior academic or professional experience in communications is required.

Our on-campus professional programs begin in the summer only. Media studies begins in the fall only. Our online communications and communications management programs offer four start-terms per year.

In addition to the master’s degree programs described above, the School offers dual-degree options with the College of Law.

Inquiries about the master’s program should be directed to the Graduate Programs Office at nhmasters@syr.edu. 

Doctoral Program

Only students with outstanding records will be considered for the Mass Communications doctoral program. A candidate must be a graduate of an accredited college or university and have a master’s degree or equivalent in communications or a field considered appropriate by the school’s committee on graduate programs. Inquiries about the doctoral program should be directed to the Director of Doctoral Studies, Newhouse School of Public Communications, masscomm@syr.edu, 315-443-7358.

The Newhouse School funds five new doctoral students each year and is rooted in the social and behavioral sciences. The Ph.D. in Mass Communications is intended to be an interdisciplinary degree, with doctoral students taking a series of classes outside of the Newhouse School and developing at least one outside area of expertise. In developing an outside area of expertise, the student may draw on a wide variety of faculty in other schools at the University.

The purpose of the program is to train doctoral students to be scholars who are capable of conducting original research, creating new knowledge, and disseminating it through publications and teaching. Most graduates will leave the program to take faculty positions in journalism, mass communication, public relations, and other communication units in colleges and universities around the world; some will pursue careers that serve the needs of communications organizations or research organizations.

Our four-year, fully funded in-person residential program is meant to help students develop their scholarly skills and abilities to the fullest. While there are a wide range of opportunities (such as teaching, research, service, travel, working with faculty), our focus is to make doctoral coursework as enriching as possible, and dissertation research of the highest caliber worthy of peer-reviewed publication. It is this educational experience that will prepare students most successfully for the careers ahead. We pride ourselves on the fact that our faculty work closely with our Ph.D. students to identify their professional goals as well as collaborate on research projects.

The Newhouse School believes that academic success is grounded in student well-being, community, collaboration, and inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. We share the perspective that the whole person is part of a holistic ecosystem, incorporating both individual experience, knowledge, and perspective focusing on research, teaching, and service.

Assistantship Requirements

Research

You will engage in research and publication activities with faculty throughout the program duration. A solid publications and presentations record will help in a student’s pursuit of academic and research job opportunities available upon graduation. 

Teaching

To develop as an academic, students may have the opportunity to teach within the Newhouse School. They will develop the skills needed to succeed in the classroom by taking part in Syracuse University’s Future Professoriate Program, a structured professional development experience designed to prepare our Ph.D. students for life as a faculty member.

Academic Service

Students are expected to provide academic service to the school only to the extent that it furthers their academic progress and does not interfere with meeting program requirements. Those fully funded by Newhouse will provide 20 hours a week of research assistantship (RA) or teaching assistantship (TA) or an amalgamation of RA/TA whereby you will help faculty conduct research and/or teach. Additional service duties may include reviewing research papers, assisting with school/department-hosted professional meetings, helping to host guest research scholars, Newhouse Symposium, etc.

Graduate Awards

Newhouse Diversity Fellowship

Established in 1993, these awards are made annually to two minority students who wish to enroll in the Magazine, News, and Digital Journalism Master’s program to pursue a newspaper career. Preference is given to students who have majored in subjects other than journalism. Funded by the Newhouse Foundation, each award provides free tuition and a monthly stipend for 18 months of study (during which time the student also works as a reporting intern at the Advance Media New York).

Dean’s Scholarships

These scholarships support graduate education for students with superior qualifications. Academic departments recommend students to receive these scholarships. These are percentage awards of varying amounts that are applied each academic term until completion of the degree. Awards range from 10 percent to 45 percent.

Forever Orange Scholarship

Specifically for Syracuse University students, the Forever Orange Scholarship provides half of the tuition for students who enroll full-time in a qualifying graduate degree or certificate program at Syracuse University. The scholarship is automatically available to all graduating Syracuse University seniors who are eligible for admission-no separate scholarship application is needed.

Doctoral Awards

The Newhouse School funds up to five new doctoral students each year who help support research and/or the teaching of undergraduate classes. 

Online Education

Master of Science in Communications

The online master’s in communications program prepares media professionals to succeed in today’s world of mass media and digital communications.  With classes created and taught by Newhouse faculty, the master’s in communications offers students around the world the opportunity to receive the highest quality education without relocating. Students can start their degree in January, April, July or October. The program is intended for students with bachelor’s degrees and/or backgrounds in media and communications, journalism, public relations, advertising, media business management, and related fields. Students may choose from four secondary focus tracks: Strategic Communications, Journalism Innovation, and Media Management. 

There are two required immersions which take place Friday through Sunday in various locations.  (Past immersions have been in Syracuse, New York City, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Miami  and Costa Rica.)  During the immersion, students come together to learn from professionals in the field, interact with their classmates and faculty, network with Newhouse alumni and work together on a case study on a specific topic.  The 33-credits master’s in communications program can be earned in 15 months through an online format that accommodates students who are working full-time.

Master of Science in Communications Management

The master’s degree program in communications management is for experienced communications professionals who seek to equip themselves with managerial or leadership roles. Since 1995, this program has combined courses in strategic communications, business management and leadership to prepare hundreds of successful graduates now leading communications in corporate, agency, not-for-profit, NGO and consulting sectors, and in other practice areas around the world.

This interdisciplinary program delivers  the fusion of the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for career advancement in the rapidly evolving communications profession, which continues to change due to digital and social media advancements.  The 36-credits master’s in communications management can be earned in 18 months through a flexible online format that accommodates professionals working full-time.

For more information regarding our online programs,  please email nhonline@syr.edu.

Facilities

The S.I. Newhouse School’s buildings are known on campus as Newhouse 1, 2, and 3; which are capable of supporting current curricular needs including: web conferencing, presentations, web development and advanced multimedia projects.

Newhouse 1 contains administrative offices; digital news writing and editing laboratories with motion graphics, 3D animation, and research tools, such as SPSS and NVivo. Newhouse 1 also houses multimedia laboratories supporting digital imaging, video editing, digital sound editing, an advertising/public relations campaigns laboratory, and the Bill Glavin Magazine Lab, a collaborative space for magazine writing and production. There is a large professional photography studio equipped with Profoto D4 strobe equipment and lighting attachments, as well as HDSLR cameras. Exhibition spaces and the Steele Center, a portfolio prep environment with digital ink jet printers are also located in this facility.

Newhouse 2 contains an extensive field-equipment facility (CAGE) that manages the school’s digital video cameras (HD and DSLR formats), lights, microphones, and other production accessories. Post-production facilities include video editing stations, a 16-channel, digital music-recording studio equipped with Pro Tools© HD and 5.1 surround sound capabilities;  a digital post-production sound studio equipped with Pro Tools© HD; an extensive sound effects and music collection; Full Adobe Creative Cloud© suite of software. The Newhouse School is an AVID©, Adobe© and Microsoft© authorized training partner and offers courses that lead to AVID©, Adobe© and Microsoft© certification. The facility also two radio news production labs, and writing labs equipped with the broadcast newsroom software ENPS©. Several voice recording booths for recording voice tracks for radio and television stories support the creation of newscasts on multiple platforms. Students edit voice tracks using Adobe Audition©.

The Dick Clark Studios and Alan Gerry Innovation Center are located on the first two floors of Newhouse 2. This five- studio complex is supported by three control rooms,  equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Two large soundstages and two smaller flex studios can be configured for a variety of single and multicamera productions. The broadcast and digital journalism newsroom and studio feature a fully automated system for newscast labs that integrate robotic cameras, graphic systems and digital video servers. Technology includes Ross Vision© video switchers, XPression graphic systems, Overdrive automation, SSL audio consoles, Ikegami© broadcast cameras, Imagine© video servers, Avid Isis© storage, and Evertz© routing systems. Newhouse has partnered with SU Athletics with the launch of the ACC Network in 2019. Fiber optic lines connect athletic venues, including the Carrier Dome to Newhouse 2 and ESPN headquarters in Bristol, CT. The facility in Newhouse 2 produces over 100 live sporting events annually.

The Gerry Innovation Center encourages students to experiment with new technologies including drones, large interactive screens, 360° cameras, and technology which supports the creation of virtual and augmented reality programming.  The University’s Orange Television Network http://orangetv.syr.edu/ is also headquartered in Newhouse 2.  Newhouse has partnered with SU Athletics for the launch of the ACC Network in 2019.  Fiber optic lines connect athletic venues, including the Carrier Dome, to Newhouse 2 and ESPN headquarters in Bristol, CT.  The facility in Newhouse 2 will be used to produce over 100 live sporting events annually.

Newhouse 3 houses a 300-seat auditorium; a collaborative media suite in which students can build interactive content; executive education interactive classrooms; student lounges; spaces for media-related student activities; and a research center. A dining and social area connects all three buildings in the center of the complex. A glass-enclosed bridge connecting Newhouse 1 and 2 provides a walkway with a winter garden setting for studying or socializing.

Research Centers

Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture

The. S.I. Newhouse School is the home of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture. Since 1997, the center has been overseeing the acquisition and editing of an ongoing series of books published by Syracuse University Press about television and other popular culture subjects, and maintaining a large archive of original interviews with pioneers of American television, as well as a collection of television scripts and production materials. The center provides expertise to a wide variety of TV, radio, and print reporters. On-campus activities include symposiums, guest lecturers, and weekly screenings, all of which are open to the public. For further information contact Robert Thompson, director, 315-443-4077, http://tvcenter.syr.edu/

Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship

The Newhouse Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship provides courses, consulting, connections and cop-ops/internships to encourage Newhouse students to start businesses and to identify new career opportunities in a fast-changing media industry. The Center teaches digital media trends, business modeling, and the latest in venture development. The work of the center is reinforced through one-on-one coaching and supporting resources on- and off-campus including mentoring, team development, assistance with legal, funding, technology and management issues, and more. Through internships and events (such as South by Southwest in Austin, and events with the start-up community in NYC), students are exposed to digital media startups and the start-up culture. In promoting digital media innovation and entrepreneurship, the Center also connects students to alumni and others who are innovating and changing the media industry. For further information contact Sean Branagan, director, 315-443-6310; email startups@syr.edu or visit http://www.newhousestartups.com/

Newhouse Sports Media Center

The Newhouse Sports Media Center builds upon the Newhouse School’s long history and strengths in sports communications. The Center provides courses across the spectrum of media– courses such as, radio sports broadcasting, sports writing across platforms, sports reporting and anchoring, esports and media, sports production, television play-by-play, sports interviewing, to only name a few. The Newhouse Sports Media oversees the Sports Media & Communications Track in the Newhouse Undergraduate and Master’s programs, connects students with internship and career opportunities through over 20 industry partnerships and fosters student and alumni interaction with a year-round speaker and guest lecture series.

The Newhouse Sports Media Center sponsors special student opportunities such as reporting from the Super Bowl, hosting and producing ACC Network studio shows on ESPN, photographing and reporting from the Empire state games and many more.

Broadcast and Digital Journalism and Television, Radio and Film Professor of Practice, Olivia Stomski is the Center director. For further information, visit: http://newhousesports.syr.edu/. 

The Newhouse Center for Global Engagement

The Newhouse Center for Global Engagement is dedicated to creating collaborative, ethical, globally-engaged students through experiential learning, cross-disciplinary storytelling, fellowships, industry partnerships, innovation and symposia. The center features the global work of Newhouse students, faculty and staff while providing a hub for new initiatives and partnerships. The center strives to bring the classroom into the world, and the world into the classroom.  Associate Professor Ken Harper is the center director.  For further information visit: http://newhouseglobal.syr.edu/

Tully Center for Free Speech

The. S.I. Newhouse School is the home of the Tully Center for Free Speech, which educates students and the public about the value of free speech, free press and the First Amendment. The Center annually presents the Free Speech Award to a journalist who has faced significant turmoil in performing journalism in the previous year. The Center sponsors educational programs and conducts research related to media law and free speech, serves as a clearinghouse on media law issues in New York State, and supports interdisciplinary work on free speech topics at Syracuse University. For further information contact Associate Professor Roy Gutterman, director at 315-443-3523, http://tully.syr.edu/

The Weiss Center

The Weiss Center was made possible in 2012 through the generosity of Syracuse University alums, Jim ;87 and Audra Weiss ‘89. Jim is founder and Chairman of Real Chemistry, a global health innovation company headquartered in San Francisco with over 2,000 employees worldwide. The Center’s mission is to ensure SU students graduate with the cutting-edge skills needed to address the convergence of communications with “big data,” business analytics, digital technology and social media in the area of “social commerce.” Toward this end, the Center brings together marketing, communications, and digital experts from the industry with faculty and students; complements current course offerings with hands-on workshops and case studies; involves students in applied research projects for clients; and hosts internships at Real Chemistry and client offices across the United States. For more information, visit http://socialcommerce.syr.edu/.

Civic Research Data Lab (CRDL-TRAC)

The Civic Research Data Lab (CRDL) provides a home for interdisciplinary research teams across campus conducting studies focused on civic engagement and government transparency.  It marks the expansion of the work of the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) established in 1989 at Syracuse as a self-sustaining data gathering, research and distribution organization affiliated with the Newhouse School and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. TRAC’s purpose has been to provide the American people–and institutions of oversight such as Congress, news organizations, public interest groups, businesses, scholars and lawyers–with comprehensive information about staffing, spending and enforcement activities of the federal government. For more information about CRDL, email trac@syr.edu.

Library Resources and Services

Syracuse University Libraries support teaching, learning, and research at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications by providing a wide array of research support services, facilities, and on-site and online resources at https://library.syracuse.edu.

Library collections in public communications cover advertising, broadcast and digital journalism, print journalism, communication theory and research, law of the press, public relations, printing, photography, film, and freelance writing. Communications-related databases, accessible from any location on or off campus, include Nexis Uni, Factiva, MRI Simmons, Statista, Media Intelligence Center, PressReader, ProQuest Historical Newspapers, AP Newsroom, Vanderbilt University’s Television News Archive, JSTOR, Communication Source, World Advertising Research Center, Mintel Reports, Inside Intelligence, eMarketer, Adforum, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, Web of Science, Scopus, Sage Research Methods Online, and many more. In addition, the library offers ebooks in the hundreds of thousands and substantial collections of streaming videos and DVDs, sound recordings, media trade magazines, collections of the memoirs of foreign correspondents; and private papers of American news people, broadcasters, authors, and cartoonists.  All current students, faculty and staff also have access beyond subscription paywalls to the platforms for the digital New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Syracuse.com, Advertising Age, Adweek, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. 

Physical facilities offer extensive hours, including 24-hour access most days, open collaborative study areas, teaching and seminar spaces, quiet and silent reading spaces, information technology loans, computer labs, reservable group study rooms, a faculty commons, digital scholarship services and open access publishing support.  Pages Café, events spaces for student, librarian or faculty use, a Center for Learning and Student Success, Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement, a Biblio Gallery for exhibition of student creative work and the Blackstone Launchpad, a multidisciplinary center for entrepreneurship.

The Library’s Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) collects the history of American broadcasting. Notable acquisitions include the personal papers of iconic broadcast journalist Ted Koppel, which includes near complete runs of Nightline and The Koppel Report. SCRC is also the repository for the papers of several American columnists of national note William Safire, Drew Pearson, Westbrook Pegler, George Sokolsky, Harold Ickes, Dorothy Thompson, and Arthur Brisbane; an outstanding collection of prints, negatives, and personal papers of noted photographer Margaret Bourke- White, as well as personal papers, scripts, and audio-visual media of communications personalities Norman Corwin, Mike Wallace, Dick Clark, Long John Nebel, and Fulton Lewis Jr., as well as those involved in the business of television, such as Ed Bleier. The SCRC also maintains an extensive archive of scripts, videos, and personal papers in the field of television history, including scripts and production notes from NYPD Blue and Party of Five; scripts and videotapes of St. Elsewhere; and interviews by critics Arthur Unger and Steven H. Scheuer.

Programs

• Advanced Media Management, MS
• Advertising, MA (No longer admitting students)
• Advertising, MS
• Arts, Style and Culture Journalism, MA
• Audio Arts, MA
• Broadcast and Digital Journalism, MS
• Communications Management, MS
• Communications, MS
• Magazine, News and Digital Journalism, MA
• Media Studies, MA
• Multimedia, Photography and Design, MS
• Music Business, MS
• Public Diplomacy and Global Communications, MA
• Public Relations, MS
• Television, Radio and Film, MA

• Mass Communications, PhD

• 4+1 A&S/Newhouse Combined Degrees
• Law / Arts Journalism and Communications, JD/MA
• Law/Advertising, JD/MA
• Law/Magazine, News and Digital Journalism, JD/MA
• Law/Public Relations, JD/MS
• Law/Television, Radio and Film, JD/MA