Philip Merrill College of Journalism | University of Maryland

Carnegie Seminar

The Carnegie Seminar exposes journalism students to the university’s leading experts in fields directly related to major issues and events that reporters tackle in print, broadcast and new media. Students emerge with a deepened understanding of specialized topics, so they can report on them accurately and intelligently. Directed by Carnegie Visiting Professor Deborah Nelson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, the topic changes every semester.

The class meets on Mondays from 6-8:45 p.m. around a conference table to encourage lively discussion. The course is open to graduate students and a limited number of undergraduate students. Masters students also will report and write an in-depth story on a related topic.

FALL: JOUR698C/459C

SPRING: JOUR698N/479N

Upcoming, current and past topics:

SPRING 2010. Immigrants: An-depth look at three different immigrant groups from three different perspectives in classes led by some of the campus's top experts. We'll explore how/why they come here, their culture, and their impact on communities through classroom discussion and a reporting project.

FALL 2009. The Economy: The economic crisis brought about profound changes that will play out on every local, national and international beat for years to come. An economic historian, a social economist and an entrepreneur provide insight into how we got here and where we may be headed.

SPRING 2009. The New Voters: Latinos and other emerging voting groups participated in the fall election in historic numbers. Students worked with experts in polling, census geographic analysis and ethnography to learn how to analyze political attitudes and engagement.

FALL 2008. National Politics: Students took a virtual ride on the campaign bus with a top polling expert, a former politician and a congressional aide-turned-scholar.

SPRING 2008. War and peace: Experts on the U.S. military and the Middle East led a provocative semester-long discussion about the culture of war and geographic conflict.

FALL 2007. Global Threats: Terrorism, nuclear proliferation and climate change – The University’s top experts lead discussions on three of the biggest stories journalists will cover in their generation.

SPRING 2007: Urban issues: The seminar featured a top columnist and scholar on African-American politics, an activist and scholar on a local immigrant community, and a leading expert on crime.

FALL 2006: Students explored race, gender and child development with a historian, demographer and education scholar.