Top bachelor’s, master’s and PGDM courses in Journalism in India

If your career dreams involve bringing essential news to people around the world, a degree in Journalism is the perfect way to go about it. The degree will prepare you for print media, news channels or multimedia news organisations. You can enrol in journalism courses at both graduation and postgraduation levels, depending on where you are in your journey.

Top institutes to pursue a bachelor’s course in Journalism

• Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR), Delhi: LSR's Journalism programme is one of the best in India. The college accepts about 30 people every year. You need very high board marks to make the cut — the cut-off last year was at least 99% aggregate in your Class XII board exams. The BA course in Journalism focuses on hands-on learning and seminars. A strong alumni network will give you a foothold for the industry.

• Christ University, Bangalore: Christ University offers a three-year BA course in Journalism. With Political Science and Economics as allied subjects, the programme covers the basics of Journalism as it focuses primarily on experiential learning. You have to clear an entrance test conducted by the department concerned and appear for a personal interview for admission.

• Sophia College, Mumbai: Sophia's Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM) programme is much sought after. The three-year course focuses mainly on Journalism and Advertising, giving you a solid foundation in both areas. It also emphasises internships and work experience to give students a feel of the real world. There are also courses on diverse subjects like World History, English Literature and Cinema in the first two years.

Top institutes to pursue a master’s course in Journalism

• Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai: The one-year Postgraduate Diploma (PGDM) in Journalism at ACJ is one of the best in the country. You need a bachelor's degree in any field to be eligible for the course. ACJ also offers a one-year programme in Business and Financial Journalism, in association with Bloomberg. Several electives are available within the course — these include Health Reporting, Covering Women's Issues, and Cricket without Borders.

• Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi: IIMC Delhi offers one-year postgraduate diploma programmes in vernacular journalism, including English, Hindi, Urdu and Odia journalism. It also offers a specialisation in Radio and TV Journalism. These courses are also available in some of their other campuses like Aizawl and Jammu.

• Xavier Institute of Communication (XIC), Mumbai: This institute also offers a one-year Postgraduate Diploma (PGDM) in Journalism. You need to clear an entrance exam, followed by a personal interview, to get enrolled in this course. The programme also covers different aspects of Broadcast, Print and Radio Journalism. You will also pick up multimedia skills like website creation and handling social media during the course.

• Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media, Bangalore: The institute offers a one-year Postgraduate Diploma (PGDM) in Journalism. You can enrol in this programme after doing your bachelor’s in any stream. Anyone who has completed their master’s programme in any other stream is also eligible to join this PGDM course. Here you can choose your topic of specialisation from different areas like Print, Broadcast and Multimedia Journalism.

• Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi: This institute offers an MA course in Mass Communication, which is considered one of the top-ranking courses in India. It's a two-year full-time master's course that focuses on different media forms like Photography, Radio, Broadcast and Print. The institute also offers an MA course in Media Governance which mainly focuses on the role played by media in politics, democracy and culture.