In the Summer quarter, Olivet School of Media and Communication (OSMC) conducts an annual curriculum review for its journalism program. The review committee has proposed some major changes to both undergraduate and graduate programs, which will reflect the latest industry standards.

The new programs will adopt a more specialized, skill-orientated, and result-driven educational model. While the principles of journalism and basic reporting will remain as the fundamental part of the education, students will be trained to tell stories in multimedia format - with texts, photos, videos, and graphics. More in-depth courses that focus on a specific skill will be added so that students can learn to master a certain medium.

The new curriculum will be facilitated by new equipment and production facilities. Students will be trained on professional gears, following the benchmark set by the industry. For example, the Associated Press has announced to equip all visual journalists globally with Sony imaging products from Summer 2020. Mirrorless cameras will be used as a standard for student work, instead of the traditional DSLRs.

A new study track or certificate program specialized in the application of information technology in media will be introduced. Students will be able to choose to study some trending topics such as big data, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) production, live-streaming and other mediums.

The review committee will complete the draft of the new curricula next month after conducting more meetings with faculty and consultants of specific subjects.