Three broad categories of students are accommodated in the program. First are students with declared career aspirations in the magazine field, from writing to editing to design and production. Third are students who have a casual interest or curiosity about magazine work, or who take magazine courses to improve their skills in writing, editing and design. Writing classes focus both on quality and publishability. As many as one quarter of the students in the magazine writing classes sell their articles.
All majors take a basic reporting course and the introductory magazine article writing course.
Following that core, they can choose from a larger number of specialized courses that explore advanced writing techniques, magazine feature editing, magazine issue planning and management, layout and design, and production. The Connie Snyder Ballmer Graphics Lab greatly enhances classroom instruction in editing, layout and design as well as production of the laboratory magazine. Faculty maintain contact with magazine industry executives and managers to facilitate student internships and job contacts . The addition of a full-time internship coordinator for the School has greatly improved the assistance we give those seeking internships. Oregon students have frequently been successful in competing for internships through the Magazine Publishers Association, Whittle Communications and other groups.