Where the Class of 2021 Landed

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Class of 2021 faced severe disruption in the journalism job market. Nevertheless, many of our students found jobs and internships after graduation. As of August 2021, most members of the class of 2021 had plans lined up after graduation (i.e. internships, fellowships, full-time and part-time jobs, continued in another academic degree program, or freelanced). In a typical year, 71% to 77% of the class is employed shortly after graduation. Regardless of the journalism economy, the number of Columbia students finding employment rises with each passing week post-graduation and that continues to be the case in the pandemic.

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 2021 landed at 118 companies after graduation: