University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Degrees offered

The Hubbard School offers three undergraduate majors: journalism, strategic communication, and mass communication (renamed from earlier tracks in 2019), along with an M.A. in mass communication, a professional M.A. in strategic communication, and a Ph.D. in mass communication.

Programs and emphasis

The school is home to the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law, directed by Jane Kirtley since 1984, and the Minnesota Journalism Center. More than 30 faculty members teach across the school's roughly 8,300 living alumni network.

History

Journalism instruction at the University of Minnesota traces to 1922. William Murphy, a former Star Tribune publisher, left a fund in 1918 to establish a journalism course of instruction; the gift financed 55 percent of the construction of Murphy Hall, which opened in 1940 and has housed the school since. The school added "Mass Communication" to its name in 1966 and was one of the first 35 journalism programs accredited nationally, in 1948. In 2017, following a $10 million gift from the Hubbard Broadcasting Foundation, the University renamed the school the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Key faculty and leadership

Elisia Cohen: Director since 2017, with a leadership transition to a new University of Minnesota role scheduled for June 15, 2026.
Al Tims: Director from 1999 into the 2000s, who led the school's Murphy Hall renovation.
Jane Kirtley: Director of the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law since 1984.

Student-run media

The Minnesota Daily is one of the nation's largest student-run newspapers; many of its staff take journalism classes in Murphy Hall though the paper's office has been located elsewhere since 2007.

Location and contact info

Address
Murphy Hall
206 Church St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Website
https://hsjmc.umn.edu