Mid-career honours

BA Hons in Journalism and Media Studies (Mid-career: for working journalists)

This degree is for working journalists who have a first degree behind them or who have been working in the field for at least three years. If you are a graduate with little or no media experience, please see the Career-Entry Honours section. If you are a journalist who already has an equivalent of our Mid-Career Honours, see our Masters programme.

You need to:
• Be a journalist with at least three years’ work experience in journalism
OR
• Have a previous degree
• Pass an entrance test if you do not have a previous degree

Mid-career Honours can be taken on a full-time (one-year) or part-time (two-year) basis. Students do a total of five courses which must include two core (compulsory) courses, Journalism Studies A and Journalism Research. The balance of the five courses can be chosen from the other courses we offer (see below).

Lectures are generally scheduled for weekday evenings to accommodate working students, though some of the optional courses (indicated below) are done in full-time blocks of 10-15 days. The classes are made up of students from a wide range of educational backgrounds as well as working journalists, which results in a dynamic and exciting environment for discussion and debate.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Students require a 65 percent average in the final year of their undergraduate degree or 60 percent in previous Honours courses and must have a minimum of three years' working experience. Alternatively, those without a prior degree need to demonstrate significant journalistic experience through a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) test.

APPLICATION PROCESS
Students may be required to write entrance tests. Students who do not have a first degree must submit a short work history with their applications and write the Special Admissions test. If they pass, they will be permitted to take one course. If they attain 65 percent for that course, they will be admitted to the Honours programme.

Fees vary according to the choice of courses. For an exact figure, please see the official university site or contact the fees office.

For general financial assistance, including university merit awards and loans, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

International students: Please pick up an International Students handbook from the Graduate School Reception or the International Office. For further information, please contact the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. All international students to apply by 31 August 2012.

When to apply: 30 September 2012. All international students to apply by 31 August 2012. Complete an online application form to study at Wits. 

When to register:  Friday, 18 January 2013 at 08h00-16h00 - Exams Hall, 2nd floor, Central Block. Please see the maps of Wits if you are unfamiliar with the campus. More information can be found on the Wits website.

Entrance test: Wednesday, 21 November 2012, 09h00

If you’re doing your course over two years, you need to register at the beginning of the second year of study as well.

What you need to graduate:
• Two compulsory courses (Journ Studies A and Journ Research)
• Three other courses from the options on offer (see below for those options).

For further information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or phone 011 717 4028.

CORE (COMPULSORY) COURSES

• Journalism Studies A (First Semester) An intensive look at issues in South African journalism and the role of the media, involving readings in the political economy and history of the media.
• Journalism Research (Second Semester) In this course, we will form research groups around specific topics and each student will do a research project.

OPTIONAL COURSES

Please note that not all these courses are taught every year, depending on student demand and teacher availability. Please check what is available from year to year. In order to plan your year of study check our timetable.

Advanced Financial Journalism
This course is for those wishing to specialise in financial, economic or business journalism. Students are required to have completed our Financial Journalism course or equivalent.

Advanced Sub-editing
This course deals with high-level skills needed by senior print media sub-editors. It ties in well with the Newspaper Design course in mid-year. Weekly seminars.

Creative Writing for Journalists
This course is a writing workshop that shows you how to combine the techniques of fiction with the rigour of journalistic reporting to produce feature stories for the media. Various genres of non-fiction, including reportage, the personal essay, travel writing, humour, the interview and the profile, are examined, and fictional and literary devices that can be used to create excellent stories are identified. Participants are engaged in continual writing, feedback and discussion on work in progress. Many of our writers have gone on to publish in quality publications. Entry to the course is limited to working journalists, writers and freelancers, and a portfolio of work and a short cv must be submitted with your application. Co-ordinator is Lesley Cowling ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Financial Journalism
This course is for those who want to specialise or any journalist who wants to conquer the language of business and finance. At the end of the course, journalists should understand basic principles/techniques of how to cover the economy – with a focus on fiscal and monetary policy, companies, the equities and commodities markets. They should have mastered writing on technical subjects clearly and without jargon. They should have a particular understanding of reporting the Reserve Bank and the National Treasury. They should also have basic skills to cover markets and general business. This course can be followed by our Advanced Financial Journalism course. Weekly evening classes. Co-ordinator is Kevin Davie ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Journalism for Communicators
This course is designed for communicators in government, private or NGO sectors, or anyone who would like to learn the basic skills of journalism. These include news judgment, newswriting, interviewing, research, ethics and some basic skills to promote pro-active, strategic communication. Weekly seminars. Co-ordinator is Joanne Richards ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Media Law and EthicsPresented in conjunction with the Wits Law School, this is an intensive look at the law and ethics affecting our profession. It equips participants with the skills needed to deal with difficult situations that may arise in newsrooms, and is ideal for a journalist in need of a thorough update. Weekly seminars. Co-ordinator is Franz Kruger ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).

Newspaper Design
This course gives a grounding in design work for newspapers and magazines. It involves typography, basic design principles, history of media design and practical design projects. It is a block release course.

Online Journalism
This course will introduce students to the concepts and practice of the field. The course will be taught half as a lecture/seminar and half as a technical lab course. In the lecture component, students will examine the origins of online journalism and its current trends, what online journalists do and the particular issues they face, how to conduct effective Internet searches and how to assess the information. The course will look at how people understand information on the Web and how stories should be structured for the best readability. It will examine the phenomenon of participatory journalism and the increasingly important question of who calls themselves a journalist. It will also look at some of the ethical issues facing online journalists. Students will also learn how the web works and gain experience in creating web pages. Students will explore both the practice and theory of online journalism. The course runs mid-year, full-time over two weeks. Co-ordinator is Dinesh Balliah ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Photojournalism
This course targets mid-career journalists who want to learn the technique and language of photography. The course will combine hands-on workshops, reading and discussions. Alongside practical work, students will learn how to engage in the issue of representation and its significance in photojournalism. Guest photographers will present their work and share their experiences with the students. Students will learn not only how to take newsworthy pictures but also how to read and analyze images. Weekly seminars and some full-day practical workshops. (Contact:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

The Story of Money
This course has two aims: to improve the understanding of how economies work and to upgrade the writing skills of participants through examining great authors on the subject. Numerous authors, some dating back hundreds of years, who have written about complex economics in clear and understandable terms, are studied as case studies of exemplary writing. Course work will focus on a research and story component, students being required to show they are able to cover complex economic subjects in a clear, accessible manner. Co-ordinator is Kevin Davie (  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Radio Journalism
This course offers a practical introduction to the skills needed in radio journalism, covering everything from fast-paced bulletin work to the richness and depth of longer packages – the features of the airwaves. The course includes live broadcasting experience on campus. Full-time over two weeks, followed by requirements for further practical work in students' own time. Course co-ordinator is Franz Kruger
( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )

Reporting on Children
Presented by Media Monitoring Africa in conjunction with Wits Journalism, this course aims to challenge the common representation of children and their issues in and by the media, as well as open up new possibilities for alternative representations. It will allow participants to develop practical strategies in the development of a human rights centred approach to reporting on children and will allow participants to integrate the learnings and experience of other journalists and experts into the way in which they report children's stories. The course runs full time over two weeks. (Find detailed course information here.) Course co-ordinator is Taryn Hinton ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 082 940 6188) or contact William Bird at Media Monitoring Africa ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 011 788 1284)

TV/Video Journalism 
On this course you will learn to research, write and produce television journalism and then contribute pieces to the world cup international student newsroom that we are running in June. This work will be made available to professional news organisations. You will learn skills in writing for television and how to tell stories using pictures. You will gain an understanding of the entire production and editorial process involved in producing television news and current affairs. The course is practical and will require an additional time commitment of at least one week in four weeks following the course. Co-ordinator is Indra de Lanerolle ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. )