Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Program in Health and Science ...

Media Contact:
Elizabeth Fishman, ew2129@columbia.edu and (212) 854-8619
Clare Oh, clare.oh@columbia.edu and (212) 854-5479
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Announces Grant of More Than $4 Million
to Bolster the Study of Health and Science Journalism at Columbia’s Journalism School
Support from the Foundation will fund faculty and provide scholarships to students
New York, October 20, 2008—Columbia University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will
announce today that the Graduate School of Journalism will receive a $4.46 million grant to
advance the study and teaching of health and science journalism.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant will fortify the Columbia University Graduate School
of Journalism’s science concentration for its one-year Master of Arts in Journalism program, which
was established in 2005. This rigorous program is designed for experienced journalists who wish to
pursue a deeper understanding of the sciences to inform their work. Interdisciplinary study of the
sciences and the methods of scientific inquiry are hallmarks of the M.A. Science program at the
Journalism School. Subject areas studied during the nine-month program include public health, the
environment and the processes of innovation and discovery.
Under the terms of the grant, the science concentration will be known as the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation Program in Health and Science Journalism. Students accepted into the program will be
recognized as Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Fellows in Health and Science Journalism, and
will, during the course of the academic year, meet with the Foundation's staff and alumni, and have
the opportunity to learn about the fields of health and health care.
“This generous gift from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reflects a deep commitment to the
importance of health and science journalism; it is a recognition of the critical need for improved
public understanding of science in all its forms, but particularly to pressing issues in public health,”
said Nicholas Lemann, dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
To support the pursuit of health and science journalism and to attract the most promising journalists,
the grant will provide at least half of the tuition costs for students in the M.A. science concentration,
and will fund research related to their thesis projects. Funds from the grant will also help pay for
full-time science journalism faculty members in the M.A. program, and support a variety of
curriculum-development measures and initiatives to recruit prospective students to the program.
“The Columbia M.A. program tackles a clear public need: better educating journalists to report on
complex health and science issues so that the public and policy-makers are better informed,” said
David Morse, vice president of communications for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “If we
are to improve the health and health care of Americans, we will need reporters and editors armed

with specialized knowledge and a sense of context and history who can effectively explain and
compellingly present these difficult health issues. We at the Foundation are proud to be associated
with this effort, and we look forward to working with these journalists during and after their time at
Columbia Journalism School.”
Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
share the conviction that complex issues of our time, including climate change, biotechnology and
infectious disease, call for highly trained journalists with a keen understanding of health and
science, who can translate this knowledge into first-rate reporting.
To learn about the Master of Arts program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of
Journalism, please visit www.journalism.columbia.edu/maprogram.
For more information about applying to the program, please e-mail admissions@jrn.columbia.edu.
# # #
About the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
For almost a century, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism has been educating journalists
in a program that stresses academic rigor, ethics, journalistic inquiry, and professional practice. Founded
with a gift from Joseph Pulitzer in 1903, the School offers master of science, master of arts, and doctor of
philosophy degrees as well as dual degree programs in journalism and earth and environmental sciences,
religion, business, law and international and public affairs. For more information, visit
www.journalism.columbia.edu
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our
country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of
all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify
solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation
has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the
health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the
care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit
www.rwjf.org