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Author, academic and political commentator Peter van Onselen is the University's foundation Chair in Journalism.

Winthrop Professor van Onselen will develop the University's new Masters of International Journalism course, drawing on industry professionals as well as scholars to give students exposure to leading journalists and academics with a combination of theory and practical experience.

"It is really important that students learn not just the underpinnings of good journalism, but core content for the areas they want to write about as well," Professor van Onselen said. "I hope that this program can grow to become the southern hemisphere's answer to Columbia University's journalism masters.

"I have already had a great deal of interest from senior practitioners about teaching the masters. It will give students fantastic exposure to leading journalists from around the country to complement the theoretical underpinnings of the course."

Initially, experience as a journalist will not be a pre-requisite for the Masters. Ian Saunders, Professor of Communication Studies in the School of Social and Cultural Studies, said the course was a ‘conversion Masters'. "It is similar to the Masters in Social Work, which does not require a student to have worked in the field, but they will be well-equipped to do so at the end of the course."

Professor van Onselen said he hoped to run a one-year three-semester course. "That includes a summer semester with four practicum-based units," he said. "If people didn't want to do the summer semester, it could be interchangeable with a first semester dissertation, the following year. I expect that students who are looking towards a PhD would choose the dissertation option."

He said he hoped the Masters would be a highly-regarded degree and that journalism Masters graduates from UWA would be able to go into jobs in the media without any further training. "That should be the result of having people like Laurie Oaks, Paul Kelly, the business editor of The Australian and others who have agreed to come over to WA during the summer semester." (The Masters course is subject to final approval by July.)

UWA is also introducing a new undergraduate major, Communication and Media Studies, from next year.

Professor van Onselen did his PhD in political science at UWA . He also holds a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in Political Science and a Masters in Policy Studies, both from the University of New South Wales.

He was an Associate Professor in Politics and Government at Edith Cowan University before becoming contributing editor at The Australian and a presenter at Sky News where he hosts its Sunday morning political program Australian Agenda. He has also appeared on television election panels covering state, federal and United States elections.

He previously presented cover stories on national and state politics for Channel 9's flagship current affairs program, Sunday, and wrote a weekly column for The Bulletin magazine.

Professor van Onselen has authored and edited books on Australian politics, including John Winston Howard: The Biography, published by Melbourne University Press. He is a contributor to Australia's leading academic journal on politics in the past decade, The Australian Journal of Political Science.

Published in UWA News , 2 May 2011