School of Journalism
Student Handbook: Where to find...
Words to the wise: You are not alone. Whether you're struggling to find out how much Saskatchewan spends on support for homeless people (for a reporting assignment due five minutes from now), to log on to a computer in the lab (and have forgotten your password), or to overcome a troubling personal challenge (when you can't talk to your best friend about it), follow these links to find help fast. Discover where to find:
- Fame and Fortune: make your name and gain experience
- Help: whether it's a new fitness regime or a sympathetic ear, there are many people at Ryerson just waiting to help you.
- Information: as a journalist and a student, you have double the reasons to go looking for info... here's where to find it.
- Money: need we say more?
- Awards: from start to finish, there's glory and money to reward excellence.
Where to find... fame and fortune.
Lab classes shouldn't be the only place you practise your reporting, editing and writing skills. As you proceed through your years here, be on the lookout for opportunities to have your work published, to start building the portfolio of stories that could make all the difference when job-hunting after graduation. Before you're half way through your degree, you will know enough of the basics of identifying and pitching stories to be able to start getting your byline into community newspapers and trade magazines. More than a few Rye students have broken into big-time city papers and national magazines before graduation. Ask your instructor for help figuring out where and how to pitch stories you're working on.
Nor do you have to leave campus to get your work published. Whether it's writing for the Ryersonian or working with RUtv, student media is a natural place for you to get get some work/clippings under your name.
For more opportunities to strut your stuff - and make a buck or two - be sure to check your Ryerson email inbox for job opportunities sent out by Jaclyn Mika, Secretary of the School of Journalism. These announcements are sent out bi-weekly.
The Journalism Course Union's Cabeer Night is a great chance to eat, drink and schmooze with established journalists in all types of media; the JCU also hosts a career fair, as does the Faculty of Communication and Design. As many former Ry students will attest, events like these can open vital career doors. Watch for campus postings.
You might also want to learn more about the Ryerson Journalism Alumni Association (RJAA). Having an alma mater in common with a working journalist can be a great way to open doors.
Consider taking out a student membership in one or more journalists' associations, such as the Canadian Association of Journalists, the Periodical Writers Association of Canada, the Editors Association of Canada, and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. Reading the newsletters and attending the meetings and seminars of groups like these will help you grasp the issues faced by journalists in "the real world" - and, again, make valuable contacts.
Finally, you will have no chance of selling your work to any medium if you do not first immerse yourself in that medium. You will have no chance of knowing what is and isn't "news" if you don't make a daily priority of reading and watching the news. The primary way to study journalism is to follow journalism - your studies here will complement your observations as a media consumer by helping you to analyze the work that journalists do, to emulate the best of it and to avoid the worst of it. But first, you must read, listen, and watch.
Where to find... someone for help.
When you need someone to talk to about an academic or personal problem, consider starting your search right here at Ryerson. Among those who are available to help you find solutions to whatever challenges you are facing, are:
- Your instructor. Ryerson instructors are expected to be available to students outside class time, and to post counselling hours in which they can be found in their offices. You are also invited to knock at any faculty member's door to seek help: as a student, you don't need to check with reception before heading for a faculty member's office.
- The Chair of the School of Journalism. Ivor Shapiro invites you to seek his help or advice on any matter that is making life tough -- or on issues where you feel the school is failing to meet your needs.
- The Journalism Course Union (JCU) is a student group supported by the School of Journalism, funded by RSU and run by a group of dedicated journalism students in the undergraduate and graduate programs. The union's objective is to promote the interests of the students in the program by providing students with social and academic support and with a voice within the journalism and Ryerson communities.
The JCU believes strongly that in journalism, the power of networking is very important so it connects students with each other, with journalism administration and with professional journalists. Events are open to all students in the program and are usually at no cost or discounted.
The union also liaises with the administration and is able to voice student concerns. Students are free to speak with their year representatives or executive members about problems or issues they are having or to talk about ideas and suggestions about how to make jskool better! To contact the JCU, email journalism@rsuonline.ca.
In the mean time, check out the JCU website for more information and to find out how you can help.
- RSU is the university-wide student union for full-time and graduate students. As well as organizing social events and being the umbrella for a large variety of interest groups, RSU also represents students on governance issues. They can help you with everything from legal services to getting enough to eat.
Student services. The numerous student services offered by the university include time management courses, a food bank, a career centre, Aboriginal services, an office on harassment and discrimination, and an Ombuds office, amongst many others. Check your Student Guide for full details. Here are some of the more frequently used services.
- The Access Centre will help you cope with your studies in the face of illness or disability (this includes helping to arrange with your instructor for special academic considerations).
- The Centre for Student Development and Counselling provides free and confidential personal counselling, career counselling, and academic counselling.
- The Ryerson Health Centre is open year-round to treat illnesses or accidents not requiring hospitalization.
- Learning Success Centre is designed to help you with such issues as writing, math, and time management. They offer
- The "RAC," Ryerson's Sports and Recreation facility, will help you stay fit and provide personal training and nutrition programs, as well as dance, team sports and individual training programs.
- The Student Financial Assistance office will help you with government loans, scholarships, and bursaries (in addition, the journalism school has some awards based on need for which students can apply, as well as other awards based on merit (some of which are awarded automatically based on grades).
Where to find... information.
A librarian is a journalist's best friend. Remembering this will help you throughout your career as a journalist, and never more than during your time at Ryerson. The university's library is much more than a place to find books, magazines, journals, videos, microfilm records and CDs. From home, campus or any other Internet-connected computer, you can use the library's online databases to search of thousands of information sources, look something up in the online reference shelf of dictionaries, encyclopedias, government records and more, or Ask a Librarian for help with what you're looking for, in real time. And if you'd rather not talk to a librarian online, you can always call (416) 979-5055 and select menu option 3 (service is available during the hours that the Library's Reference Desk is open) or e-mail them. Check the library's Web site for details of turnaround times.
There's quite a lot more in the actual - rather than virtual - library, including periodical material from the years before online databases, and other stuff that's still issued only in print. If you have general questions, the reference staff is always on hand to help.
For more specific research problems, talk to B. Cameron, the subject librarian for journalism, at bcameron@ryerson.ca.
If you think "research" means typing the word "Google" into your web browser, get ready to blow your mind. The university's library is an information resource that dwarfs the facilities available in newsrooms and, for that matter, major corporations - and you've already paid for the right to use it. Why not make the most of it?
Where to find... money.
The cost of living in Toronto, much less being a full-time student, can seem overwhelming. But there is help available to make ends meet. The Student Financial Assistance office, in the lower level of the Podium building, 350 Victoria Street, right next to Yonge Street, is the place to start for most programs and opportunities. They offer information, advice and resources to beginning your financial planning online, giving costs and amounts you should expect to pay for everything from books to housing to transportation and tuition.
If you find yourself in financial straits, you should also consider speaking to a faculty member, administrator, or the Chair. There are ways to help students with financial crises.
As a student at Ryerson, money is available in three basic forms: scholarships and awards, loans, and money earned through employment. For special projects and single opportunities such as conferences or workshops, the Faculty of Communication and Design holds a pool of funds to assist students. Funds can be accessed through special Student Requests.
Both the University and the Journalism School offer a number of scholarships, awards and bursaries. Some are automatic, and awarded on the basis of academic excellence. But others are by application; it can literally pay to know what's available, and to go through the application process. Here are some of the key ones:
Entrance Scholarships are available to incoming, full-time students, and fall into three categories: guaranteed and competitive entrance scholarships, entrance scholarships across all programs and privately sponsored entrance scholarships. For full details, please visit Ryerson University's entrance scholarship page here.
The School of Journalism offers a number of in-course awards attached to excellence in course work. Some are given based on standing in courses, others require students to apply. For a complete listing of current awards offered to School of Journalism undergraduate students, please visit the School of Journalism's awards page.
The Faculty of Communication and Design also offers returning students a number of awards. While the competition is across the entire faculty, and not just the Journalism school, there's no reason you can't be a winner. Most are automatic, but there are travel bursaries, for example, which require application.
The Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) is the most common source of loans for students, offering support from the provincial and federal governments. Loan amounts are based on an assessment of need, and the ability for students (and their families) to pay for the costs of tuition and living expenses. The application process can be quite time-consuming, and students should try to apply as soon after the forms become available (usually by early March). Many other types of financial assistance are based on your assessment using the OSAP process (for example, the Work/Study program, and Canadian Student Grants; it is worth discovering how your financial assets and needs are measured.
The Student Financial Assistance Office at Ryerson offers short-term loans of up to $600 to help with "cash-flow" problems.
Employment
Some employers send job postings directly to the department, which go to you via email. But there are other ways of finding yourself a job, whether it is money to put shreddies in your bowl, or the stepping stone to your new vocation.
Ryerson students can take advantage of Work-Study placements during the year. These opportunities are funded by the provincial government and the university, and offer chances to make some money while gaining work or academically-related experience. Positions are posted through the university's Career Centre.
Research Assistantships are one type of Work-Study opportunity. Professors apply for funded positions for students to help with research projects involving students, both during the summer, and the school term. The Student Financial Assistance Office is also the place to learn more about the RA program.
Ryerson's Career Centre is the place to start your job hunt. Besides having job postings, the Centre runs workshops on networking, resume and cover letter preparation, and other recruitment services.
Student Requests for FCAD funds
The Faculty of Communication and Design holds funds for student projects and activities. The funds are available directly from the Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Communication. For more information, please review the documents below.
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