Special Opportunities

Stanford in Washington

The Stanford in Washington program offers a valuable opportunity to Communication students interested in public policy. The program selects approximately 35 undergraduates in a competitive application process to spend one academic quarter in the nation’s capital.

Students take classes taught by Washington policymakers and professionals as well as Stanford faculty. They are also placed in a full-time internship for which academic credit can be received upon completion of a paper. Internships, arranged by the program, are in government agencies, public interest groups, news media organizations, and others. Stanford students interested in communication have worked at the Los Angeles Times Washington bureau, at ABC News, at Congressional Quarterly, and in government agency press offices.

The Communication Major and Bing Overseas Studies

With the exception of Florence and Beijing, Stanford overseas campuses rarely offer Communication courses. Nonetheless, a Communication major should be able to work a trip overseas into his or her program in the sophomore or junior year, and depending on the student’s post-graduation plans, a stay during senior year may be accommodated. Decisions regarding overseas campus study should be fully discussed with the student’s advisor and the student services manager. For more information visit bosp.stanford.edu.

Research Opportunities

Students have the opportunity to work with Communication faculty on their research projects in labs such as the Center for Deliberative Democracy, the Political Psychology research group, and the Virtual Human Interaction Lab. Credit can be arranged for interested students. Students should consult their advisor or individual faculty members for more information.

Honors Program

Honors Program: (Communication 195, 15 units)

The honors program provides undergraduates with an opportunity to undertake a significant program of research in an individual professor/student mentoring relationship. The aim is to guide students through the process of research, analysis, drafting, rethinking, and redrafting, which is essential to excellence in scholarship. Working one-on-one with a faculty advisor, seniors earn 15 Communication units, culminating in an honors thesis. In order to be eligible for the honors program, interested majors must have: (1) successfully completed both Comm 106, the research methods course (minimum grade B+), and a statistics course; (2) selected an advisor; and (3) submitted an application to the department by the end of their junior year. Please refer to the Honors page on this website for more information and a link to the Honors application form.

In the fall quarter of each year, an informal Honors Lunch Information Session is held to help students understand more about what honors work involves. Those present usually include two or three professors, the Student Services Manager, a representative from the UG Research Programs Office, and the current Communication honors students. All declared majors are informed of the event via email and are welcome to attend.

The Coterminal Program

Th coterminal M.A. degree program in Communication is a small program that permits current Stanford undergraduates to study for a bachelors’s and a master’s degree simultaneously. Applicants apply to one of the two tracks: Media Studies degree or Journalism. Visit the Coterminal Masters section of this site for more information.

Internship and Career Opportunities

View the Internships, Fellowships and Jobs section of the site to explore internships and other professional opportunities.

The internship office also coordinates the prestigious Rebele Journalism Internship Program. For questions contact the Rebele Internship Program Director at 650.724.8920.

Other Opportunities

Please note the major and minor are not intended as specific preparation for professional careers in the media, or pre-professional training in journalism, television, film production, advertising, marketing, or public relations. However, the department does encourage students, where appropriate, to complement their knowledge of theory with an experiential component.

Journalism

Students interested in journalism can refine their skills through a number of campus publications such as The Stanford Daily, The Stanford Report, Stanford Chaparral, etc. In addition, the department supports the Rebele Journalism Internship Program that provides stipends for Stanford students who secure internships with weekly and daily community newspapers and news organizations. Please note that COMM 104W Reporting, Writing & Understanding the News, is the prerequisite to the 177/277 series of specialized writing and reporting courses (SWARs), such as Sports Journalism, Computational Journalism, and Environmental Journalism.

Film

Students with an interest in film should check out the Stanford Film Society. Undergrads may also consider a minor or double major in Film and Media Studies, which is housed in the Art and Art History Department.

Radio

The department encourages involvement with KZSU Radio 90.1FM, the student-run radio station.

Television

Those considering a television career should investigate opportunities with SCBN-TV, Stanford student’s TV station, and should check the general notice boards on the first floor of Building 120 on a regular basis for temporary, part-time, and full-time openings in the field.

Sources of Information

The bulletin boards in McClatchy Hall (Building 120) carry notices about part-time and full-time jobs, internships, scholarships and awards, teaching jobs, and additional educational opportunities, including summer school programs, graduate schools, and communication-related seminars.