Department of Journalism and Media Studies
Head of Department | Mr Jolly Ntaba |
Campus Location | Polytechnic Main Campus |
Contacts | 01870411 head-journalism@poly.ac.mw |
Faculty | Faculty of Education and Media Studies |
Official Website | Coming soon! |
About
The Department of Journalism and Media Studies was established in 2002 under the Faculty of Education and Media Studies, specifically to offer a journalism degree. It evolved out of the Department of Language and Communication in 2002, thirty-seven years after the Department of Language and Communication was founded in 1965.
What We Offer
The University of Malawi Senate approved a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism degree on October 8, 1997, and the degree was offered for the first time in 1999, then under the Department of Language and Communication, before being moved to its present home—the Department of Journalism. The Continuing Education Centre (CEC), which is also under the Faculty of Education and Media Studies, offers a Diploma in Journalism. Students who have completed the diploma may go on to join the degree program in the second year.
The goal of the program is to serve society by informing publics, scrutinising exercise of power and stimulating democratic debate to contribute to economic, social, political and cultural development, with the aim being to educate students to practice journalism to inform citizens of developments taking place in the country and beyond. It is a robust program, offering students both theoretical and practical training in the practice of journalism, and even catering to those already in the industry. The course program content has been updated in line with current trends in the practice of journalism internationally, including the use of information communication technology (ICT), and touching on gender and diversity issues, resulting in holistic media education.
Other Ventures
The academic members of staff in the Department are also committed to carrying out academic research and consultancies in various areas. With support from the British government, the Department established the Raphael Tenthani Centre, which is named after the late veteran Malawian journalist and corresponded for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).