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Student Profile for IMAC
The International Media, Advocacy and Communications (IMAC) Specialization has eighty to ninety students in the two-year program. A slight majority is female, and 40 percent are from abroad, representing every corner of the world. The average age is 27, similar to that of the whole school. Almost all have been working at least a year or two since undergraduate college, though not necessarily in media and communications. All have traveled widely and speak at least two languages. Half seek careers in journalism; the others lean toward institutional information positions and other media related work.
SIPA / Journalism Dual Degree
SIPA and the Graduate School of Journalism offer a dual degree program for IMAC students who want an MIA and an MS in journalism. Students must be admitted by both schools. They must study a full year without interruption at the School of Journalism and at least one year at SIPA. This program is offered to IMAC students who want more intensive training in the craft of journalism. Students may start the two-year program at either school.
IMC Concentration Combination
Many IMAC students with an eye toward media work in a specific field, combine IMAC with another functional concentration such as human rights, economic and political development, or environmental studies. Others aiming at media work in a particular geographic region take courses offered by SIPA's regional institutes, East and West Europe, Latin America, Africa, East Asia, South Asia, The Middle East, and the former Soviet Union.
Internships
A media or communications internship is a requirement for IMAC students. It can be part-time during the school year in New York or full-time during the summer, usually overseas. To supplement their course work, many students take two internships during the two years, gaining hands-on experience and sharpening skills in a professional environment.
Recent domestic internships have included ABC News; CBS News; CNN; China Daily; Committee to Protext Journalism; Foreign Affairs Magazine; Hill & Knowlton; Institutional Investor; Nation Magazine; NBC News; Newsday; Newsweek; NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.); Voice of America; The Wall Street Journal; United Nations; and Women's Feature Service.
Recent overseas internships have included ABC (London); AP Dow Jones (Tokyo); AP (Caracas, Bogota, Manila, Rome, Nairobi, Mexico City); Back Spielvogel & Bates (Paris); Bloomberg (Hong Kong); Cairo Today (Cairo); CNN (London, Tokyo, Moscow, Manila, Jerusalem); Far Eastern Economic Review (Tokyo, Beijing, Hong Kong); The Indian Express (New Delhi); Olgilvy & Mather (Shanghai); Reuters (London, Jerusalem, Caracas, Mexico City); Time, Inc. (Hong Kong); The Wall Street Journal (Moscow, Brussels); UN Department of Public Information (Geneva); UNESCO (Brasilia); World Health Organization (Geneva).