Business & Economics Concentration
A Note on Our M.A. Program Evolution
Columbia Journalism School regularly reviews its degree offerings to ensure our teaching keeps pace with the evolving demands of global reporting. To focus fully on this strategic evaluation, we are temporarily pausing admissions for the M.A. program.
Prospective applicants interested in the M.A. program are encouraged to contact the Admissions Office at [email protected] to discuss how our other degree programs may align with your academic and career goals or whether you prefer to wait for the relaunch of the M.A.
Extract the deeper meaning from balance sheets and quarterly reports.
Steep yourself in business and economics, all in the context of current events.
Learn how to follow the money.
M.A. students in the Business and Economics concentration will develop a deep understanding of the forces driving the global marketplace and the interconnected decisions that determine how we live and whether we prosper.
No prior business reporting experience is required. This course of study will set you up for success.
I think the pedigree of the program, particularly the business and economics reporting concentration, elevated my profile and made recruiters look at my applications more seriously than otherwise would be the case.
What You'll Study
Through a firm understanding of basic economic theory and institutions, students will learn how to follow the money and prepare to cover beats as diverse as foreign economies, local governments, inequality, jobs and unemployment, financial markets, high-tech startups and Fortune 500 companies.
Thesis Feature
Mohammed conducts an interview with an executive about the state of the NBA in Africa.
The NBA Academy in Africa, where players are recruited. Some graduates have played basketball for U.S. colleges.
Mohammed in Senegal reporting on the business of basketball in the region.
For his thesis, Omar Mohammed, '22 M.A. Business & Economics, traveled to Dakar, Senegal to report on the NBA’s Africa League. The reporting from his thesis was the basis for his feature article in The Guardian: ‘The NBA has come to us’: inside basketball’s $1bn play for Africa.
Curriculum
Critical thinking and historical context will be emphasized, with assignments geared toward weaving analysis and key data points into writing of all forms, from news to features to investigative endeavors.
Timely case studies will be introduced on companies like Tesla (What is it really worth? Is it in financial trouble?) and Disney (Why did it merge repeatedly with other big companies? Why did it diversify into Broadway shows? Can this classic entertainment company survive the disruption of the Internet?).
Students will look for warning signs of trouble in a corporation: in accounting, in the way the company is run, in the way the board of directors is structured. Similarly, they will ferret out clues about whether politicians may be enriching themselves, their associates or their favorite industries. That will lead to foundational work on the financial enforcement of crimes like money laundering, securities fraud and insider trading.
Along the way, students will assess the true value of an enterprise and glean whether they — and investors of all stripes from hedge funds to college endowments — are making wise investment decisions for tomorrow.
Alumni in Focus
'19 M.A. Business & Economics
Nic is a business reporter at Bloomberg, covering municipal bonds, and state and local governments.
'09 M.A. Business and Economics
Jeff is a technology reporter at The Wall Street Journal. In 2021, he won The George Polk Award for Business Reporting for his work on the “Facebook Files” series.
'18 M.A. Business & Economics
Olivia is an investigative reporter for Bloomberg and a member of the New York Financial Writers' Association (NYFWA) Board of Governors. Check out her recent Q&A on the impact of the program.
Disclaimer: Columbia Journalism School, at its sole discretion, reserves the right to make changes to its academic programs, course offerings, degree requirements and academic policies.