With only one semester under its belt since its introduction last September, Lang’s Journalism + Design major has proven to be a hit. So much so, in fact, that not everyone interested has been able to register.
According to Kim Lightbody, program coordinator for Journalism + Design, enrollment jumped from 94 students registered in seven courses last semester to 164 students in 16 courses this semester. As of January 2015, five courses had over-tallies and five others reached their max of 15 to 18 students. The six other courses are all close to maximum capacity.
“I suspected that there was a desire for a real journalism program, taking it beyond just being a track, but I never anticipated the response that we’ve had,” said Heather Chaplin, who currently leads the Journalism + Design program. Before joining Lang, Chaplin worked as a feature writer covering video game culture.
“My biggest problem is quality control,” Chaplin said. “The minute I stop hiring the most amazing people in the world to teach, we have a problem.”
Journalism + Design’s mission is to merge design thinking with the traditional craft and ethics of journalism in the ever-changing foreground of the digital age. Chaplin jump-started the program last fall after receiving a $250,000 grant from the Knight Foundation. Some of its highlights include hands-on design workshops, 2-credit “pop up” courses exploring journalistic mediums and hiring real world practitioners to instruct courses.
Many students say it is the hiring of outside professionals into the major which sparks their enthusiasm. “I like how the new program brought in so many people from various companies, which makes me realize how lucky I am to be studying in NYC,” said Amanda Manning a junior double majoring in Culture and Media and Journalism + Design.
Parsons students are also taking notice of the major’s design component. “I was interested in writing before, but journalism would have been the best option for me to take as a major because then I could get into fashion writing, and actually integrate my two majors,” said Twisha Zaveri, 20, a BA/BFA student studying Fashion Design Womenswear at Parsons and Journalism + Design at Lang.
Until last year, Journalism was a ‘track’ within the Literary Studies – Writing concentration. Now, In addition to three sequence News, Narrative and Design courses, receiving a BA in the major requires the completion of courses centered on expanding skills in numerous subjects including web design, visual storytelling, and radio journalism.
Whatever the formula, it seems to be working.
Since incorporating the design element and becoming it’s own area of study, nearly 40 students have declared it as their major, according to enrollment data furnished by Lightbody.
This rising interest can produce some roadblocks for current students.
Upperclassman trying to complete requirements for a degree in Journalism + Design may encounter problems due in part to the enrollment surge. According to Lightbody, a range of 30 to 40 students attempted to add each one of the three available News, Narrative & Design I courses while only 15 seats are open for each section.
“I’ll say that there may be a sort of bottleneck effect at work here because our major is so new,” Lightbody said. “A lot of students are currently trying to register for the same classes because many of these students couldn’t spread the classes out across their four years at Lang, since the classes only just became available.”
Over-enrollment barred Noah Emrich, a senior studying Integrated Design at Parsons, from registering for the Visualizing Data course, a recent addition to the Journalism + Design roster taught by adjunct professor Lena Groeger.
“I asked [Groeger] to overtally and she said she was unable to, which is the response I’ve gotten from 90% of instructors this semester because of the implemented waitlist, which is new this semester,” Emrich said.
Waitlists were implemented by The New School on a pilot-basis for Parsons undergraduate courses this semester. The new protocol is not expected to be in effect for Lang until next semester, Lightbody said.
“I’m frustrated slightly but it’s also kind of the way the university works.” Emrich said. “Most of the instructors are adjunct so I’m assuming they can’t ask for more sections.”
Chaplin says she’s adamant that no sections will be added to the current roster of sequence courses, such as News, Narrative & Design. “I think it would be a mistake to get any bigger,” she said.
The New School is not the only community showing interest in Journalism + Design.
Chaplin said the program received a great deal of interest when she introduced the program to members of the greater journalism community at the Online News Association Conference in Chicago of last year.
“I was flooded with people saying ‘Oh my god, this was so needed and thank you for doing this,’” she said.