Journalism at UC Berkeley

Become a citizen journalist and produce news on the go.

Located on the campus of UC Berkeley

Program Highlights

Experience a journalist’s process from idea development and reporting to editing and publishing

Gain hands on experience in citizen reporting and social media, shooting and editing video and photos all from your smartphone

Develop skills to interview sources for details, anecdotes, and quotes for feature stories

Create a final project exploring different aspects of the field including blog, video, photo, and podcast reporting

Residential Price: $4,998 USD (+ supplemental fees)

Extended Commuter Price: $3,398 USD (+ supplemental fees)

Commuter Price: $2,798 USD (+ supplemental fees)

Late June: June 20-July 2, 2021

Early July: July 4-July 16, 2021

Late July: July 18-July 30, 2021

University of California at Berkeley
Berkeley, CA

Testimonials

I was able to have experiences that I would not have gotten otherwise without Summer Springboard. Like visiting real newsrooms and talking to a handful of other journalists of all types.

Erin B.
I learned that journalism requires a lot of communication and talking to strangers. The assignments really helped me get into the right mindset to break out of my comfort zone.

Emily L.

Course Overview

Dive into this vital field, learn about news, and become a citizen journalist who can produce news on the go. Study journalism with professionals who will share their techniques and thoughts about the future of media. Regardless of what you major in, all students benefit from becoming a more organized, coherent and persuasive communicator.

Last year students went to Bloomberg TV. Bloomberg has 2700 journalists in 100 countries writing over 5000 stories a day! Additionally students received a behind the scenes tour of the San Francisco Chronicle, the largest newspaper in Northern California and the second largest on the West Coast.

Topics you'll explore

Hands-On Learning

Unlock your talent for storytelling. Utilize your smartphone and the latest apps to capture and create news stories in the local community. Learn and apply journalistic methodology that begins with formulating a story and a hypothesis, and continues with mapping the narrative, interviewing sources, and detailed copywriting. Improve your ability to communicate effectively and concisely through different mediums: blogs, video, social media, and photography.

Career Exploration

Learn how to think like a reporter: ask thoughtful questions, decipher facts from fake news, research sources, conduct interviews, and create informative and entertaining content for the digital age. The rapidly changing field of digital journalism means that jobs are being created that never existed before. Explore a wide range of careers in journalism and social media and consider how industry requirements align with college planning.