Where the Class of 2020 Landed

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Class of 2020 faced severe disruption in the journalism job market. Nevertheless, many of our students found jobs and internships after graduation. As of July 14 2020, 61.5 percent (171/278 students in all degree programs) had plans lined up after graduation (i.e. internships, fellowships, full-time and part-time jobs, continued in another academic degree program, or freelanced). These figures were well below the 71-77 percent range we’ve seen since 2011. 

In 2019, which was a more typical year in terms of employment, nearly 77 percent (220 out of 285 students) who graduated had post-graduation plans lined up. 

Regardless of the journalism economy, the number of Columbia students finding employment rises with each passing week of summer. This was true in the summer of 2020 as in previous summers.

Most of our international students are legally permitted to work for one year in the U.S. after graduation if they apply for an Optional Practical Training (OPT) visa. International M.S. students in our three-semester M.S. Data Journalism program and our dual degree M.S. Journalism and M.S. Computer Science program qualify for longer-term STEM visas.

Our international students are competitive in the U.S. job market for short-term internships and positions while on OPT but will find the landscape very challenging. Longer-term work authorization (also known as sponsorship) is rarely granted, so international students should expect to return to their home countries at the conclusion of their OPT year. Once back home, our international graduates typically find that their Columbia degree has made them highly marketable.

The Class of 2020 landed at these companies after graduation: