Model Curricula for Journalism Education for Developing Countries and Emerging Democracies

From the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Series on Journalism Education, these proposed journalism curricula are generic models that can be adapted according to each country’s specific needs. The series is intended to take full cognisance of the social, economic, political, and cultural contexts of developing countries and emerging democracies, highlighting the connection between democracy and journalism and arguing for a more cross-disciplinary approach within journalism training centres. It provides a Bachelor's level curriculum, a Master's level for those with an undergraduate degree in Journalism, and one for those entering journalism studies. The appendices discuss a two-year post secondary curriculum, journalism competencies, and syllabi for courses listed in the curricula.

There are three categories of courses in these curricula, corresponding to three axes: professional practice, journalism studies, and arts and sciences.

1. Professional practice - An axis comprising the norms, values, tools, standards, and practices of journalism, which prepares students to report, write, and edit for the various media;
2. Journalism studies - An axis emphasising the social, cultural, political, economic, legal, and ethical aspects of journalism practice both within and outside the national borders, which gives the student the institutional and societal contexts within which journalists function and connects the practice of journalism to related human activities; and
3. Arts and science - An axis comprising knowledge of the world and journalism’s intellectual challenges; which places journalism education in combination with education in the disciplines of arts and sciences.