A student should have the ability to think clearly and express themselves clearly, says Prof. Thomas Goldstein, JSJC

Professor Goldstein, Dean of Jindal School of Journalism & Communication, is a distinguished American journalism educator, education administrator and author who has served for 15 years as the dean at the journalism schools at Columbia and at Berkeley. These are the only universities in the United States having journalism at the graduation level. He started his career by editing a magazine called “Juris Doctor”, worked as a part-time teacher at the graduate program at New York University. Professor Goldstein had the honor of holding five “named” chairs—at the University of Florida at Gainesville (1983-84), the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (1994), the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia (July 2000-June 2002), Stanford University (Fall 2002), and Arizona State University (2003 and 2004). That’s not all, Professor Goldstein has worked as an expert witness with more than 25 legal cases involving Press issue.

In this Take 5-Series with Shiksha, Professor Goldstein talks about what's unique about the unique aspects of studying Journalism at Jindal School of Journalism & Communication; the kind of projects, internships and placement opportunities that students have, the best programs to study and how to take admission to these.

Q: What are the three things that your institute is doing that will enable it to differentiate itself from the competition?

We believe in being the best and for that, we put our heart and soul in all that we do. We emphasize a lot of reading and writing, we focus on flexibility and try our best for dynamic curriculum.

Q: What are the top three initiatives undertaken by you that are helping your students become more industry ready?

We make sure that all our students get exposure to top-flight professionals, state of the art laboratories and innovative courses.

Q: What are the key attributes that a student should have in order to qualify for your institution and get top grades in your institution?  

The key attributes that a student should have been mentioned below:

a. Qualify for your institution:

A student should have the ability to think clearly and express themselves clearly. They should also have the curiosity to learn new things. 

b. Get top grades in your institution :

There is no shortcut to success. We believe the harder you work the better you become. All they need to do is work hard and be diligent.

Q: Which programmes would you say are your best? What is it that helps your institution differentiate itself for these programmes?

We are not organized that way. We are a small institution with highly focused faculty, many of whom were (and are) first-rate practicing journalist. It is our teachers who help to bring the best in our students.

Q: What are you doing to improve/drive better campus placements for your current students and alumni? What kind of jobs routinely come to campus? What would you say are the key recruitment trends for your college (observed over the past five years)?

Since we are too new in the industry, this would be really unfair to answer this. We are just two years old!