Student experience

The Master of Journalism at the University of Melbourne is more than just a degree. Just some of the many opportunities available to students are listed below, together with a student spotlight.

Practical learning

Practical learning is embedded into all aspects of the Master of Journalism. Students are given the opportunity to:

  • Intern at a media organisation
  • Undertake a journalism project with an industry supervisor
  • Publish work on The Citizen, working with Editor Simon Mann. Stories on The Citizen are regularly co-published in outlets including Crikey, The Age, The Monthly and more
  • Live-blog and cover our annual New News conference
  • Attend guest lectures by visiting journalists

International opportunities

  • Students enrolled in Social Media and Change (MECM90019) travel to China for an in-country intensive class co-taught between the University of Melbourne and Fudan University
  • Master of Journalism students are eligible to apply for student exchange through Melbourne Global Mobility
  • Students can study up to 25 points of a foreign language while enrolled in the Master of Journalism

Journalism community

Students in the Master of Journalism are eligible to join our online community. We regularly update our online community with job, internship and volunteering opportunities.

Student spotlight: Bec Zajac, Master of Journalism student and Producer, RN Afternoons

Bec Zajac
Bec Zajac

Master of Journalism student Bec Zajac recently gained a full time, ongoing role as a producer on RN Afternoons, a relatively new national program that runs from 1.00 - 3.00pm on Radio National. She spoke with us about what the job entails.

So tell us about the show

The show regularly features interview segments on news, politics, science, culture, arts, food, the environment and a whole host of other interesting topics! It’s hosted by Michael Mackenzie.

What does a radio producer do, exactly?

I pitch ideas for segments, find good guests, set up interviews, write scripts for Michael and monitor interviews in the studio as they go to air.

What excites you most about the role?

I’ve worked casually on similar shows on Radio National. But this is a full-time, ongoing position, so I’m looking forward to being able to work with a team in a more long-term way. We can really shape the way we want the show to be. RN Afternoons is quite innovative in the way it mixes music and talk, so I’m excited about experimenting with the format. What I love about producing so far is the collaborative nature of the job. It’ll be great getting to know this new small team.

It sounds like you cover a lot of different topics on the show.

I’m a very curious person, it’s what drew me to journalism to begin with. This show in particular is a great mix of serious analysis and lighter topics. It’s fun to find an interesting topic, think up a new way to approach it, find an expert to talk about it and then ask them everything you want to know. And then, of course, sharing it all with your listeners.

Did you volunteer or do other things while studying the Master of Journalism?

Yes, I’ve spent the past couple of years producing at 3CR Community Radio, and I interned at RN Drive as well.

Have you found that the Master of Journalism prepared you well for your new job?

Well, I wouldn’t be able to do this job without having done the Masters, particularly the work I’ve done with The Citizen. The course has really helped me hone my news-sense, which is pretty essential for producing. You need to be able to look at a topic and be able to work out how to approach it in a way that’s “newsworthy”, that’s of interest to a broad range of people, and in a way that fits the format of the show or newspaper you’re working for.

The course has also helped me write in a much more concise way. Each brief is about seven minutes so you only get to write a few sentences and a few questions so it’s important to make those words count. It has also given me practice working to deadlines and the confidence to know that I can do that daily, which is essential for our program.