Photojournalism
BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS
Lead the next generation of visual reporters and documentarians.
You can also major in Fine Arts, including a B.A. with a concentration in photojournalism or minor in photography.
Today more than ever, we need photojournalists who work as observers, reporters and storytellers to share what is happening in our world.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photojournalism program provides a unique, multidisciplinary training ground for a new generation of visual reporters and documentarians. Based in the Studio Arts program, photojournalism majors are immersed in both the traditions of photojournalism and studio arts practices from day one. Students develop their visual and reporting voices through in-depth photojournalism and multimedia classes taken in tandem with reporting classes at the School of Media and Public Affairs.
Through a combination of a faculty that includes award-winning photographers and editors from the Washington Post, the White House, and the Associated Press, a curriculum that stresses the importance of individual creativity and in coursework relating to the legal, ethical and economic challenges of the profession, our students are uniquely prepared to succeed in today’s market.
In the heart of Washington, D.C., Corcoran students have access to a constant procession of news and documentary subjects. Our Center for Career Services also works with students to identify opportunities for internships and careers that push the bounds of their photography, audio and visual skills. If you’re looking for the chance to learn through actions, then the Corcoran is right for you.
INFORMATION SESSIONS
Date: Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Time: 7:00-8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Online
Date: Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Time: 7:00-8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Online
WHAT YOU'LL STUDY
Your studies begin with a thorough grounding in the history, techniques, aesthetics, practices and critical understandings of photography and photojournalism. An array of electives and multidisciplinary electives within the Corcoran and across the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences offers ample opportunity for you to specialize in or explore new areas of interest. Your final year includes an intensive course sequence designed to prepare you for an expression of your individual interests and ambition as a visual journalist in a thesis exhibition as part of the annual NEXT exhibition at the Corcoran.
All first-year BFA students take Corcoran Foundations courses. For two semesters, you are an essential member of a tight-knit group of artists, designers and photographers. You will develop relationships across studio areas and foster multi-disciplinary approaches to making and problem-solving that can sustain a life-long investigative practice. Here you learn to think and communicate like an artist, take risks and challenge your assumptions, while developing the fundamental skills necessary to read and manipulate the complex language of images, forms and cultures that make up the world around you.
BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS IN PHOTOJOURNALISM
The BFA degree in Photojournalism is a full-time program requiring 78 credits of fine arts and art history courses and an additional 9 credits of School of Media and Public Affairs courses out of the total 120 credits to graduate. The program begins with four foundations courses and two photography foundations courses. Focusing on key aspects of art and design, these courses are required for all Corcoran BFA programs:
- Drawing and Surface (BFA foundation),
- Form and Materials (BFA foundation),
- Black and White Photography Fundamentals (Photography foundation),
- Time and Light (BFA foundation),
- Interaction (BFA foundation),
- and Introduction to Digital Color Photography (Photography foundation).
In subsequent semesters, students in Photojournalism Studio and Thesis courses are presented with content-driven assignments geared to guide them towards an increased understanding of their own photojournalistic practices in relation to professional photojournalism and contemporary photography more broadly. Aside from the photography and photojournalism courses, other courses of focused study include ceramics, painting and drawing, printmaking, sculpture and performance and time-based media.
BACHELOR OF ARTS WITH A MAJOR IN FINE ARTS, PHOTOJOURNALISM CONCENTRATION
The BA degree in Fine Arts with a Photojournalism Concentration is a full-time program requiring 42 credits of fine arts and art history courses and an additional 9 credits of School of Media and Public Affairs courses out of the total 120 credits to graduate. Students balance studio-based work with other academic programs of study. Focusing on key aspects of analogue and digital processes, the program begins with two photography foundations courses.
- Black and White Photography Fundamentals,
- and Introduction to Digital Color Photography.
In subsequent semesters, students in Photojournalism Studio and Thesis courses are presented with content-driven assignments geared to guide them towards an increased understanding of their own photojournalistic practices in relation to professional photojournalism and contemporary photography more broadly.
Photojournalism Concentration Requirements
MINOR IN PHOTOGRAPHY
The following requirements must be fulfilled: 18 credits, including a 3-credit required course and 15 credits in elective courses.
WHERE YOU'll GO
Students in the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photojournalism program have interned with The Washington Post, The Washington Times, MediaStorm, National Geographic magazine, The White House, The Pentagon, U.S. News & World Report, Discovery Channel, Green Peace, National Public Radio Science Desk, The Hill, Politico, Science Magazine, members of Congress and the U.S. Forestry Service.
Graduates of the program have secured positions at United Press International, U.S. News & World Report, Politico, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Geographic, McClatchy News, Associated Press, Chicago Sun-Times, Annie Leibovitz Studio, Adamson Editions, Creative Circle, Aperture Books, and other major news outlets and arts organizations.
Partnering with Women Photojournalists
The Corcoran hosts an annual portfolio review and seminar with the Women Photojournalists of Washington (WPOW). Corcoran students and alumni help set up and run this expansive event, which provides networking opportunities and a space for sharing creative work with industry leaders in Washington, D.C. Among the participants in 2023 were editors from National Geographic, NPR, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Smithsonian Magazine, as well as Canon, Nikon and Sony, on hand for camera cleanings.
Photo by Allison Robbert (Photojournalism '26/WPOW)
WHO YOU'LL STUDY WITH
Assistant Professor Matt Eich has 15 years of experience as an independent photographer, working on long-form personal projects and commissions for publications including The Atlantic, National Geographic, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine and many others. He has authored four monographs of photography, and his prints are in numerous notable institutions. Read more about how Eich helps students build photographic narratives and how he uses the power of photography as a tool for memory and documentary.
Our faculty are knowledgeable teachers who can provide expertise on the theory, background and practice of the photojournalism field. Just as important, they are experienced photojournalists themselves who provide real-world information to help students as they grow professionally and artistically.
Image credit: Mark Poucher
Danielle Towers, BFA, 2024
Danielle Towers is a recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Scholar award, served as the co-president of GW’s National Press Photographer Association chapter, and worked for The GW Hatchet as a photo editor and photographer. In her NEXT thesis project, Invisible City, Danielle chose the seemingly ordinary community of Greenbelt, Maryland as the focus of her work – exploring its historical legacy that moves through the veins of its community. See More.
Isaac Jonas, BFA, 2020
Isaac Jonas is a photographer and editor based in New York City, currently working in the imaging department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Isaac combines his traditional fine art background with a journalistic sensibility to cover layered stories that are strong, humanitarian and impactful. You can see his thesis work in NEXT and read more about his current projects.
Keren Carrion, BFA, 2019
Keren Carrión is a bilingual visual journalist based in D.C. She is currently a short-form video producer and photojournalist at NPR, and was previously the photographer and videographer for KERA, an NPR and PBS affiliate in Dallas, and served as a Report for America corps member for two years. While at the Corcoran, Keren was accepted at the New York Portfolio Review and the Eddie Adams Workshop. She also interned at Univision 41 in New York. Read More.
Chris Combs Spotlighted on The American Scholar
Chris Combs (Photojournalism B.F.A. '06, from the Corcoran College of Art & Design) was the focus of an article by The American Scholar, which discusses his journey and ideals creating multimedia installations that critique the ways in which big corporations use the public’s digital data. Read the full article here.
Allison Robbert’s Photography Wins “Best in Show”
Allison Robbert ('26) won "Student Best in Show" at the Women Photojournalists of Washington’s 17th Annual Photography and Multimedia Exhibition. Her winning entry, shown here, captures a moment that "President Joe Biden pauses to think following a question from the press regarding his son, Hunter Biden, at the White House on November 9, 2024." In June, Allison also received a scholarship from the National Press Photographers Foundation (NPPF).
Photojournalism Students Cover Campus Protests for TIME and Other Major Publications in 2024
Four Corcoran undergraduate students’ works were featured in a TIME magazine article about campus protests around the Israel/Gaza conflict. Students Daniel Heuer (’27), Kaiden Yu (’27), Sage Russell (’25), and Tom Rath (’26) had their work highlighted. Tom was interviewed for the story, which featured his photographs produced for the GW Hatchet. View here and read more about other students’ work featured in the Guardian and Washington Post here.
Members of the GW Community Awarded Pulitzer Prizes
Alumni and faculty from the Corcoran School won Pulitzer Prizes for their accounts of the assault on Washington on January 6, 2021. Many worked as video journalists and photographers for the Washington Post that day. Read their stories.
Other 2022 Pulitzer Prize winners included Astrid Riecken, a Corcoran professorial lecturer, and Sam Corum, B.F.A. ’12, at Getty Images. Read more.
Students at the Corcoran have exhibited their thesis work for more than 30 years. In 2011, the exhibition came to be known as NEXT in a nod to the public seeing “what’s next” in contemporary art and scholarship. In 2023, NEXT evolved into a festival format to encompass the diversity of all the school’s programs and provide more public facing programming for the DC community. See examples from past classes’ culminating projects and work.
Photo by Alexandra Rodriguez, MA '24
CONTACTS
Campus Address
Flagg Building
500 17th St, NW, Suite 130
csarts
gwu [dot] edu (csarts[at]gwu[dot]edu)
Program Information
Program Administrator
Kamille Jackson
csartsgwu [dot] edu (csarts[at]gwu[dot]edu)
Program Head
Dean Kessmann
kessmanngwu [dot] edu (kessmann[at]gwu[dot]edu)
Advising
Undergraduate Faculty Advisor
Matt Eich
matteichgwu [dot] edu (matteich[at]gwu[dot]edu)