The halls of the journalism department at the University Federal of Santa Catarina (UFSC) echo with the yells of “GOOOOOOAL,” as radio-broadcast students announce the Brazil soccer match for their university radio show, proof that UFSC´s aspiring media professionals learn their trade firsthand.
While there are nearly 400 universities in Brazil offering journalism courses, UFSC boasts top-notch rankings for its hands-on journalism department.
Helio Schuch, chairman for the journalism department at UFSC, believes that the hands-on experience that each student receives is the secret to creating a successful environment.
“There are lots of hands-on practice for students to learn,” Schuch said. “The equipment here is good and the classes have very few students.”
EIGHT PHASES
The four-year long program, caters to 240 students who are required to study a different media emphasis each year. The breakdown of the curriculum is centered around radio, television, new media, photojournalism, and print.
The curriculum consists of eight phases, with some of the classes being in radio production, television production, photojournalism, media law, reporting, and introduction to graphic arts.
Each semester consists of a phase, with most students finishing in four years, according to the UFSC journalism department website.
While journalism students at Cal State Long Beach are required to graduate with 120 units or more, UFSC journalism students are required to have 1,040 hours of elective classes, with half of those hours being mandatory courses in the journalism department, Elaine Almeida, an UFSC journalism student, said.
HANDS ON TRAINING
“I like the program very much because we practice alot and we know how it is in the real world,” said Daniele dos Santos Carvalho, a first year journalism student at UFSC.
While students do not necessarily declare which field they would like to study, the courses are designed to give students an all-around oppurtunity to learn every side of the media.
Carvalho, who hopes to graduate in 2009, said that upon graduating she would love to work as a television anchorwoman.
“On average 30 to 35 students graduate per semester, with 70 students graduating annually,” Schuch said.
There are 28 professors teaching journalism at UFSC, all of whom are former journalists who have at least 5 years experience in the field, Schuch said.
SMALL CLASSES
On average, each professor has about eight to nine students per class.
“They have a very good relationship, the professors and the students, because the classes are so small,” Schuch said.
For Theresia Strumpfel, an exchange student from Germany, minoring in journalism is something she would like to do if she doesn’t become an interpreter. She came to study here in Brazil because she heard that UFSC has a very reputable journalism department and to also improve her Portuguese.
“UFSC is known for its journalism and engineering, so I came here because I’d like to learn about journalism,” Strumpfel said.
“In comparision to Germany, the university is small, but good, in Germany it is very hard to get into. I hear that UFSC is practical,” she said.
UFSC’s most famous alumni is Sonia Bridi, who is now a television correspondent in China.
Schuch said that most of their alumni go onto big magazines and newspapers in Brazil, but that they prepare their students not just to graduate and work in Florianopolis, but that they can adapt and work for any news company in the world.