International Journalism

The purpose of the programme is to train a new generation of highly qualified journalists able to work both in traditional genres and in new formats. The main focus of the programme is aimed at developing practical skills to nurture universal specialists of international level, able to cover events at the local, national and international levels, including from a Kazakh perspective comprehensively, objectively, with high quality.

Duration: 3 years (trimester system)

Languages of instruction: Kazakh, Russian and English

Programme features: In the first year of study, students will study English intensively in order to complete the main volume of subjects in this language by the beginning of the second year. From the second year of study, students will choose a working language for writing journalistic materials (Kazakh, Russian and English), while continuing to take most of the specialized disciplines in English.

This is necessary for several reasons:

• Students will be able to work with the primary sources in English both for journalistic activities and for the application of media trends in their work, which are mainly formed in the English-language media field. English language is necessary for future graduates for continuous professional development and competitiveness in the international labor market;
• Since the number of English-language editorial offices in Kazakhstan is increasing , the demand for English-speaking journalists will only grow. The increase in the number of English-speaking journalists in the local labor market will affect both the reduction of the information vacuum about Kazakhstan in the world and the image of the country as a whole. Also, at the early stages of the program, students will be able to master the basic amount of journalistic skills and competencies in various formats.

By the beginning of the second year of study, students will decide on a minor in two areas:

• 1) video journalism;
• 2) analytical journalism.

Each of these areas has specialized disciplines for deeper immersion. This will allow students to improve their professional skills in their chosen field and prepare for the duties of a journalist and media specialist in local and international media. If students decide to choose disciplines from different minors, they will not receive a certificate of the minor program upon graduation.

Advantages of the programme:

1) With the emersion and development of new technologies, the gap between the demands of the global media market and the quality of expertise of young personnel is only growing. In this regard, Kazakhstan’s need for modern versatile journalists who can cover and analyze events objectively, in Kazakh, Russian and English is increasing. At the same time, they should be able to attract, retain and constantly increase the audience. The “International Journalism” educational program is aimed at reducing this gap through the production of diverse professional media specialists.

2) The program is based on advanced foreign practices in media education, and focuses on a practice-oriented approach, which makes it unique for the Kazakhstan’s media education market.

3) During their second year of study, students can choose one of the minors: video journalism or analytical journalism, having previously checked their interests and strengths in both text and video journalism in the first year of study. Thus, students will be able to:

• focus their attention on the selected profile;
• get the necessary skills;
• develop skills to create high-quality media content.

4) The program is aimed at eliminating insufficient information (underreporting) about both local Kazakhstani problems and global problems through the prism of Kazakhstani cases.

5) The cornerstone of the “International Journalism” program is professional ethical principles, without which journalistic work is doubted and casts a shadow on the entire community of journalists both in Kazakhstan and abroad.