Journalism Program at SUNY Plattsburgh

Do you want to make a difference? Do you want to inform and entertain readers about the world?

If so, then journalism at SUNY Plattsburgh may be the major for you.

Our journalism program is different.

We teach theory and skills, but we balance them with an emphasis on practical experience. To get the story, our students have interviewed presidential hopefuls in the New Hampshire primary, traveled to Quebec to listen to wolves, studied moose in Vermont, and attended national press conferences.

All of our students work for SUNY Plattsburgh's four publications:

Cardinal Points, our campus newspaper, which has twice been selected as New York's best all-around college newspaper, seven times been named an All American, and for 2006-2007 was named a Pacemaker Finalist, placing it in the top 55 college newspapers in North America;
All Points North, our online magazine that covers the culture, people, and places of the Adirondack and Lake Champlain regions;
the print edition of All Points North magazine;
and Cardinal Yearbook.

You can

Study in state-of-the-art computer classrooms
Gain practical experience at the student-run newspaper, online magazine, print magazine, and yearbook.
Learn from distinguished visiting journalists.
Get personal attention from faculty with real-world experience in our small-size classes.
Gain valuable internship experience.
Develop a portfolio of clips to show prospective employers.

Our graduates have gone on to successful careers at media outlets such as People, Harper's Bazaar, MTV, Dateline NBC, The Wall Street Journal, and Hearst Entertainment.

Flexible study options

Our students can major in newspaper or magazine journalism. We have the only magazine major in SUNY.
If you like the outdoors, you will love our courses in Science and Environmental Writing.
If you are interested in digital journalism, you can produce multi-media news features, Web sites, and publications for the community.
If your goal is to be a sports reporter, take sports reporting with ESPN The Magazine Senior Writer Luke Cyphers.

Faculty with real-world experience

To write stories, our teachers have traveled to the North Slope of Alaska to examine global warming, to New Hampshire to cover the presidential primary, to Hawaii to investigate noise pollution, to Midway Atoll for a travel article, and to Beijing to cover the Olympics for ESPN. Their articles have appeared in national newspapers and magazines, such as The New York Times, SKI, Popular Science, Discover, College Media Review, Audubon, and ESPN The Magazine. They have also served as editors, photographers, writing coaches, journalism award judges, and editorial consultants.

Programs of Study

Program News

Cardinal Points Ranked Among Top 20 Percent of College Newspapers Nationwide

Cardinal Points, the independent and student-run newspaper at SUNY Plattsburgh, was named an All American newspaper for the fall 2008 semester by the Associated Collegiate Press. Cardinal Points received marks of distinction for coverage and content; writing and editing; photos, art and graphics; and leadership. Read more.

Questions, Comments, Suggestions?

If you would like to learn more about the Journalism Department at SUNY Plattsburgh, please contact

Shawn Murphy
Chair, Department of Journalism
Co-Director, Center for Communication and Journalism
Office: Yokum Hall 103-A
Phone: 518-564-2422
Fax: 518-564-2105
E-mail: shawn.murphy@plattsburgh.edu

Journalism Program at SUNY Plattsburgh

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