Housed in Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, UGA’s M.A. in Health and Medical Journalism (HMJ) is a two-year, non-thesis degree program in science writing and health reporting. Students learn to translate complex topics in medicine and healthcare for lay audiences through written, digital, and social media and have many opportunities to publish their writing in local, state and national outlets.
Required coursework combines classes in journalism theory, research and practice with classes in scientific and health-related fields of students’ choosing. Students supplement journalistic skills in news writing, data gathering and digital media with substantive background knowledge in such fields as disease ecology, health policy, food and nutrition science and disaster management, among others.
Graduates have gone on to work with online health and science news publications such as STAT, Georgia Health News and Kaiser Health News. They have contributed to multimedia news outlets such as WebMD, WIRED, the Scientific American and the Cable News Network. Others have worked with healthcare systems such as Piedmont Healthcare and government organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The program is open to applicants holding a bachelor’s degree in any field, with or without prior experience in journalism. Some students enter the HMJ program immediately after their undergraduate education, while other non-traditional students spend several years employed between their undergraduate and graduate educations.