This or That: Journalism vs. Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU

The Journalism major at CAS is for students who want to study reporting theory and practice. The program requires you to take on a second major, which you use to create a specialized beat. After you’ve declared your Journalism major, you choose between the print/online track or the broadcast track. The resulting degree is a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Journalism.

Maybe you decide on Cinema Studies as a second major, focusing your reporting on film and television. Your studies might be the perfect springboard to an internship at a TV network—in fact, one student landed a dream senior year internship at MTV! Or maybe you choose a second major in Politics, following aspirations to become the next Anderson Cooper.

For Delia Apetroaei, a junior on the broadcast track, Physics is the ideal second major because it allows her to balance her creative and scientific interests. She taps into both when producing a podcast for WNYU, NYU’s student-run radio station. Her show, called Fallen Apples, breaks down the physics behind everyday phenomena: For example, why does food taste different on an airplane?

“I wanted to use my skills for a passion project outside of class. I love it because it involves me doing research and educating myself on how things work,” Delia says. “I’m currently enrolled in the Journalism Multimedia class, where I’m learning to edit audio, video, and photos. I’m taking the skills I’ve learned in class and growing them in different ways.”

Whatever you choose to double-major in, you’ll gain exposure to a different discipline and develop expertise in your field, giving you an extra edge in the job market. Journalism majors from NYU have gone on to careers at prominent news organizations and publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, and Vanity Fair.

The Media, Culture, and Communication major at Steinhardt is one of the more challenging programs to describe in a single post. To begin, everyone here calls it MCC.

At MCC, “media” includes all forms of communication technology—writing, advertising, television, video games, AI, and more. Your courses explore the cultural, political, and economic forces that shape communication across the globe and across generations. The resulting degree is a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Media, Culture, and Communication.  

MCC students choose to focus on two of five fields of study (though many of the classes for each overlap):

• Global communication and media
• Media industries and politics
• Visual culture and sound studies
• Technology and society
• Interaction and experience

Throughout the program, you’ll learn how to analyze today’s media environment, how it came to be, and how it continues to evolve, all while honing strong critical thinking and writing skills. Along with foundational courses, you can take practical production courses in areas ranging from film and podcasting to digital design and 3D printing.

Junior Yudi Tang was drawn to MCC by her lifelong fascination with storytelling in books, film, and television. She wondered how the media could shape the ways we think, feel, and live. “Instead of chasing one clear answer, I was drawn to the questions,” she says. “Studying MCC felt like the right way to explore the things I enjoy while learning to think critically about them and about myself as a media consumer.”

Although many MCC grads go on to successful careers in the media industry, with alumni at major companies like BuzzFeed, NBCUniversal, and Capitol Music Group, you’re not limited to working in the entertainment industry. MCC is also a great gateway to careers in industries like advertising, law, technology, corporate communications, consulting, and nonprofit work.