Cornerstone’s Communication and Media Studies Division is making several key changes designed to prepare students for better careers, exemplified by the creation of several three-year journalism degrees.

The move will give students the opportunity to get into the workforce one year earlier, saving money on tuition and gaining a step on their peers when it comes to finding a job, said Alan Blanchard, director of the journalism department at Cornerstone.

Journalism students will also be better prepared for their careers, due to a more intense focus on multimedia classes and real world experience.

“The new emphases incorporate and blend traditional news writing, visual communication and public relations courses along with courses in audio, video and online,” Blanchard said.

After recognizing the importance of internship experience, Blanchard decided to require 12 internship credit hours for journalism majors, up from six previously. That could mean up to four separate internships for students during college.

And there’s nothing more valuable than an internship when it comes to a college education. Experience is the best education in life. It’s crucial. And that’s exactly what internships provide. They offer students several advantages, including added experience and networking power.

Those who take advantage get a step up on the competition, and when it comes to Cornerstone they make sure all their students get that extra step in the job market by requiring internships. For most majors that means six internship credit hours. But why stop there? The elite job candidates coming out of college gain much more internship experience, and that is the direction Blanchard is shooting for with the journalism department.

“This change will strengthen the marketability of students seeking careers in media,” he said.

But mostly, it’s not about what you know, but who you know. The influential contacts students develop are by far the most valuable part of internships, because people want to hire prospects they know. So the quickest way to get your resume looked at is to know someone high up in the organization you are applying to. And when you know a potential boss, sometimes getting hired is as easy as a handshake or a quick phone call to fill an opening they have. Networking is not only where it starts, but also where it finishes.

So Blanchard’s plan to  require students to spend a semester interning at a major publication in either Chicago or Washington, D.C., will do wonders for the journalism program at Cornerstone.

“An internship in Washington, D.C. for a journalist is resume gold,” junior Katherine Wisen said. “To be in the country’s capitol, working with and around the country’s lawmakers, will not only  give students’ resumes credibility, but will stretch them in ways that working at some small, hometown newspaper never could.”

This new journalism program seems to be tailored precisely to today’s market, and it is going in the best direction possible for future generations of Cornerstone journalism students.