Photo Lauren Callahan

Sunset over North Gate Hall, home of the UC Berkley Graduate School of journalism.

The Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism on the campus of University of California, Berkeley is among top US graduate journalism schools. It produces thoughtful, well trained journalists armed with a two-year Master of Journalism (MJ) degree. The school focuses on seven mediums: newspaper, magazine, photo journalism, documentary film, radio, television or broadcast media and new media (or internet/multimedia). While many J-schools have programs that are more theory-oriented, this West Coast school offers students a hands-on approach to journalism. It requires every student to rigorously intern at a media outlet as a degree requirement.

According to the school, Graduate Student Researcher (GSR), Graduate Student Instructor (GSI), and Readership positions are class and lab assistant positions offered campus wide. While it is not recommended that students work in their first semester, students can apply for these positions for their second, third and fourth semesters. According to the J-school site, there are about 20 GSR positions up for grabs each year and application for these positions are available during the spring semester for hire the following academic year.

The school says GSR, GSI and Readership positions usually come with a partial fee remission of about $4750 per semester and a semester stipend of about $2700. Workstudy eligibility is usually required, though not always necessary. The journalism positions are with the television and news labs, in addition to assisting the magazine program, visiting scholars program, and many other programs at the school. Students also hold hourly positions with FRONTLINE World, The Knight Digital Media Center, and the Center for Photography. Students also pitch in as part of the school photography/writer pool covering events.

The school encourages students to earn money by working part-time or freelancing for a variety of Bay Area print, broadcast or new media. The school gives students a leg-up by posting positions on the departmental job blog. Access to this key jobs blog is granted once a student is admitted to the program. However, international journalism students on F-1 student visas have to remember that they can’t be earning wages in non-academic positions during the first two semesters. It goes without saying that spouses and children on dependents' F-2 visas are not permitted to work in the United States.

Separately, international students interested in being considered for departmental grants must check the Fellowship and/or Departmental Aid Applicant box on the Applicant Summary Sheet and the section under Fellowship Application on the Graduate Division application.