CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE : Journalism Grad Program Closed

Lack of full-time faculty members and a hiring freeze has forced the journalism department at Cal State Northridge to close admissions to its graduate program until spring, 1994, the only such closure on campus.

The loss of four full-time faculty members to retirement or resignation within the last 18 months has left the department with just seven full-time teachers, who are struggling to serve on thesis committees that support about 50 graduate students, said department Chairman Tom Reilly.

That, coupled with a university-wide hiring freeze, forced journalism department officials to temporarily close admissions to graduate students, he said.

“What we’ve decided to do is help the students in the pipeline,” Reilly said. “It makes no sense to bring in another 15 to 20 people when we don’t think they can make it through on a fast and reasonable level. It won’t be until probably spring of ’94 until we admit some more.”

He said graduate students can take up to seven years to complete their degree requirements, which include two years of course work followed by a graduate thesis, which may take up to five years to complete.

Several part-time instructors have said they would serve on the thesis committee to keep the graduate program open, but Reilly said the department does not have funds to pay them.

Even if the department could hire more full-time instructors, Reilly said, it would take at least a year to recruit them. In addition, he said, the heavy workload that thesis committees place on professors will require the department to trim the number of students in the graduate program before admitting new ones.

Reilly said the decision to temporarily close admissions resulted in “a lot of surprised people,” including current students in the bachelor of arts program. Thirty-two students have applied for admission into the graduate program.

Other university officials said the decision made by the journalism department is the best they could make given current budget constraints.

“We can’t take any more students and do a quality job with them,” said Mack Johnson, associate vice president of graduate studies, research and international programs.