204 W Washington St.
Lexington, VA 24450
Academic Year Represented
2025
Mission Statement
As the nation’s only accredited journalism and mass communications program in a highly competitive liberal arts college, we remain committed to our first and highest mission: to educate, to broaden minds, and to inculcate habits of honor, careful analysis and reasoned discourse. We train students to produce excellent written and multi-platform work that can tell the nuanced stories of an increasingly diverse and pluralistic culture.
Technology/Equipment/Facilities
Our building, Reid Hall, houses 10 faculty offices, four staff offices, five classrooms, a lunch/special events lounge and a green room/student workspace, two computer/teaching labs, and spaces for audio/podcasting and video production, including a full television studio and control room. We also run WLUR, the campus radio station, which includes four on-air and recording studios.
Undergraduate Degrees Offered
Bachelor of Arts
Graduate Degrees Offered
Majors
Journalism and Strategic Communication
Tracks within Majors
Journalism major/journalism sequence; Journalism major/business journalism sequence
Internships Accepted for Credit
All students in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications must complete at least two credits of internship experience. They can take up to six credits. To earn one credit, students must work 100-199 hours. To earn two credits, they must work 200-299 hours. To earn three credits, students must work 300 or more hours.
Internships Facilitated
The department has employed a part-time internship coordinator since 2006. The responsibility for finding an internship rests with students. They receive considerable assistance from the intern coordinator, faculty, alumni and the university's Office of Career and Professional Development. Students also have access to a database of internships maintained by the department. All placements must be approved by the internship coordinator before a student is enrolled in an internship course.
Experiential and/or Immersion Programs for Credit
Washington and Lee requires all students to earn at least four credits of experiential learning before graduation. Journalism and strategic communication majors all take a capstone course: Journalism majors take Investigative Reporting, in which they produce a multimedia investigative report on a local or state issue, and strategic communication majors take Leading Public Relations Campaigns, in which they plan and execute a campaign for a real-world client.
Online Options
The Department of Journalism and Mass Communications does not offer online courses.
Study-Abroad Options
W&L’s Center for International Education offers numerous opportunities for students to engage in global learning, and the department encourages students to study abroad. As resources allow, the department offers a study abroad course of our faculty’s creation. The university has a four-week Spring Term that includes numerous courses abroad. More than 90 percent of the Class of 2026 has studied abroad, either for a full semester or for a four-week spring term.
Graduate Programs
Department Budget
$130,800
Amount Spent per Student
$1,245
Undergrad Student Fees
$20,870
Undergraduate Student Fees Exclusive of Housing and Meal Plan
$1,265
Undergraduate Student Fees for Housing and Meal Plan
$19,605
Undergrad In-State Tuition
$70,100
Undergrad Out-of-State Tuition
$70,100
Average Undergraduate Financial Aid
$64,265
Average Undergraduate Student Debt
$23,340
Graduate Student Fees
$None
Graduate In-State Tuition
Graduate Out-of-State Tuition
Average Graduate Financial Aid
Average Graduate Student Debt
Total Accredited Unit Enrollment
76
Undergraduate Enrollment
76
Graduate Enrollment
Number of In-State Students
Percentage of In-State Students
Number of International Students
4
Percentage of International Students
5
Male
12
Female
64
Not Specified
White
64
Black
4
Asian
4
Hispanic/Latino
3
Pacific Islands or Native Hawaiian
Native American or Native Alaskan
Other
1
Average Size of Skill Based Classes
11
Average Size of Non-Skill Based Classes
14
First Year Student (Freshman) Retention Rate at University
96
Four Year Completion Rate
91
Six Year Completion Rate
95
Full-Time Employment within Six Months of Graduation
15
Full-Time Employment Within Field of Study
15
Part-Time Employment Within Field of Study
Full-Time Employment Not In Field of Study
Part-Time Employment Not In Field of Study
Attending a Graduate Program
0
Unemployed
Unknown Status
2
Full-Time Faculty
10
Part-Time Faculty
0
Faculty with Tenure
6
Faculty on Tenure Track
2
Untenured Part-Time Faculty
0
Untenured Full-Time Faculty
4
Percentage of Faculty within Scholarship or Research Field
100
Male
6
Female
4
Unspecified
White
7
Black
2
Asian
1
Hispanic/Latino
Pacific Island or Native Hawaiian
Native American or Native Alaskan
Other
Faculty-to-Student Ratio for All Classes
14
Faculty-to-Student Ratio for Skill Classes
11
Comments on Quantitative Numbers
Our operating budget does not include faculty and staff salaries. Total unit enrollment includes only sophomores through seniors, as students declare majors midway through their sophomore year. W&L is a private university, which recruits students from throughout the nation and world, not just Virginia. The employment data for graduates is for the Class of 2024. The Class of 2025 graduated in late May, less than six months ago.