Capstone Courses

All Sports Journalism, Journalism and Mass Communication, Investigative Journalism, Master of Mass Communication and Master of Strategic Communication students are required to complete one capstone experience course—though many do more than one!

Read the capstone course descriptions below carefully. Students may enroll in any capstone course for which they meet the prerequisites or program requirements, registering as they would for any other class. Find and enroll in capstone courses via the ASU Class Search.

For L.A. and D.C. financial support: View details here

Cronkite News programs

Cronkite News is a collection of immersive learning programs that emphasize journalistic storytelling across media techniques, languages, cities, platforms and topics.

Cronkite News Phoenix

Cronkite News is an award-winning, multi-platform newsroom known for its daily newscast that reaches 1.9 million homes and digital news published across more than 100 news organizations. Digital, broadcast and audio reporters pitch stories, conduct interviews and produce multimedia and social content. Reporters in Phoenix are assigned to a team and work closely alongside professional faculty members. Coverage areas continue to evolve, but they include the following: Borderlands (e.g. immigration issues), RWJF Health Reporting Initiative (focused on disparities in communities of color and underserved communities across the Southwest), Sustainability (e.g. climate change, water and urbanization), Money (business and economy), Social Justice (societal issues, including race and gender), Politics/Government (elections, government accountability) and Next Generation (e.g. education, cyberbullying and student debt).

View course, roles and prerequisites: Cronkite News Phoenix

Cronkite News Los Angeles

Students cover news or sports as digital or broadcast reporters in the nation’s second-largest media market. Los Angeles reporters pitch stories, conduct interviews and produce multimedia and social media content. Students work in the Cronkite News newsroom at the ASU California Center in downtown Los Angeles. Stories serve media clients in L.A. and Cronkite News headquarters in Phoenix.

View course and prerequisites: Cronkite News Los Angeles

Financial support is available: View financial, housing and transportation support

Cronkite News Phoenix Sports Bureau

Broadcast and digital reporters work with broadcast and digital/social producers to cover a variety of professional and college sports in Arizona for regional and national media outlets. Students hone reporting and producing skills by covering important issues facing the sports community today, including sports business, health, technology and gender, race and social issues. Students in a sports journalism degree program receive priority placement. Note: All students enrolled in the Phoenix Sports Bureau in the spring semester are required to attend class through spring break to support Spring Training coverage; to compensate, the Phoenix Sports Bureau ends the spring semester one week early.

View course, roles and prerequisites: Cronkite News Phoenix Sports Bureau

Cronkite News Washington, D.C.

Live in the nation’s capital for the semester and work as a Washington, D.C., correspondent in the Cronkite newsroom, just three blocks from the White House. Digital and broadcast reporters pitch stories, conduct interviews and produce multimedia and social content about national issues with an Arizona angle. Scholarship support may be available to students enrolled in this course.

View course and prerequisites: Cronkite News Washington, D.C.

Financial support is available: View financial, housing and transportation support

Cronkite Noticias

Reporters and producers cover and produce news in Spanish and English for broadcast, audio and digital platforms. Students utilize and sharpen their bilingual skills during the news gathering and production process. Content not only appears in Cronkite Noticias and Cronkite News platforms, but it’s shared with Spanish- and English-language news organizations throughout the region and country. Cronkite Noticias’ news and sports reporters in Phoenix work closely alongside Cronkite News colleagues and with professional faculty members. Both native and non-native Spanish speakers are encouraged to apply. Note: Cronkite Noticias is available in fall and spring only; it is not available in summer.

View program and prerequisites: Cronkite Noticias

Content Creation

These immersive learning experiences challenge students to innovate and create media using a variety of platforms and techniques.

New Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab

Students from disciplines across campus (including journalism, business, computer engineering and design) work together to create exciting interactive products for media companies and help grow digital media startups. In past semesters, students have built news games, designed immersive scenes, produced virtual reality content, created augmented reality apps and worked with artificial intelligence. Journalism students conduct research into new products, create prototypes and experiment with cutting-edge technology.

View course and prerequisites: New Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab

Video Production and Graphics Lab

Students gain hands-on experience in video production and innovative motion graphics. Students work with a variety of entities across the Cronkite School, including servicing clients in the Cronkite Agency, executing technical production for the award-winning Cronkite News and collaborating on special projects for programs such as the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism. Students learn facets of TV studio production, including all elements of control room and studio production for a daily newscast, as well as creating video content and building motion graphics for news packages, studio presentations, social media and digital platforms.

View course and prerequisites: Video Production and Graphics Lab

Sports Video Production and Graphics Lab

Students gain hands-on experience in sports video production and motion graphics. Students execute technical production for sports shows, team content and social media videos and graphics. Students learn facets of TV studio production, including all elements of control room and studio production.

View course and prerequisites: Sports video Production and Graphics Lab

Los Angeles Content Studio

Want to grow a YouTube channel, cultivate a TikTok following or build a Substack around your interests? Join the Los Angeles Content Studio and become a successful content creator with demonstrated audience growth and engagement. Content Studio students cultivate their storytelling skills as independent content creators, developing a content strategy; creating compelling strategic digital, video and social content; and measuring and monetizing that content. Students will also have the opportunity to experiment with immersive media techniques. Students work along parallel paths, building their own independent media brand and partnering with an existing brand to tell its story through innovative strategic content creation.

View course and prerequisites: L.A. Content Studio

Financial support is available: View financial, housing and transportation support

Cronkite Agency programs

The Cronkite Agency is a robust integrated communications agency that supports clients with comprehensive strategic communication, marketing and content services.

Digital marketing

Student strategists and digital marketers work to measure, engage and grow digital audiences for real clients. Students learn techniques in paid and organic social media campaigns, SEO, paid search campaigns and content marketing while honing skills in audience research, digital analytics, competitive benchmarking, conversion optimization and content performance. Additionally, students create campaign content, manage marketing budgets and work directly with clients to implement strategic recommendations.

View course and prerequisites: Cronkite Agency: Digital Marketing

Sports digital marketing

Student strategists and digital marketers work to measure, engage and grow digital audiences for real sports clients. Students learn techniques in paid and organic social media campaigns, SEO, paid search campaigns and content marketing while honing skills in audience research, digital analytics, competitive benchmarking, conversion optimization and content performance. Additionally, students create campaign content, manage marketing budgets and work directly with clients to implement strategic recommendations.

View course and prerequisites: Cronkite Agency: Sports Digital Marketing

Public relations

Students collaborate with peers and apply creativity and strategy to real client work. Public relations activities in the Agency may include creating a campaign, developing multimedia content, conducting competitive communication audits, drafting brand messages and coordinating media coverage. Students prepare for careers by leading meetings and participating in assignments such as weekly topical news discussions, extemporaneous speaking exercises and formal presentations. Past clients include the National Guard, Taylor Morrison Homes, Intel, Yubico, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Sun Devil Campus Stores, startups and nonprofit organizations.

View course and prerequisites: Cronkite Agency: Public Relations

Sports public relations

Students collaborate with peers and apply creativity and strategy to work for real sports clients. Sports public relations activities in the Agency may include creating a campaign, developing multimedia content, conducting competitive communication audits, drafting brand messages and coordinating media coverage. Students prepare for careers by leading meetings and participating in assignments such as weekly topical news discussions, extemporaneous speaking exercises and formal presentations. Past sports clients include the Phoenix Suns, Fiesta Bowl, Sun Devil Athletics, Sun Devil Campus Stores, startups and nonprofit organizations.

View course and prerequisites: Cronkite Agency: Sports Public Relations

Howard Center for Investigative Journalism

The Howard Center develops the next generation of watchdog reporters through intensive hands-on investigative journalism projects. Students produce in-depth digital and documentary-style journalism that illuminates problems or wrongdoing and holds public officials accountable. The Center partners with national and regional news organizations to disseminate and publish student work. Note: Spring students will learn and practice the key skills of investigative reporting—including background research, public records requests, court record searches, entry-level data analysis, source backgrounding and depth interviews while working on a fact-checked pitch for a national investigative project that may be executed in summer or fall Howard Center semesters (Spring students do not need to register for later semesters, but have the option to do so). Spring students also will have the opportunity to work on a quick-turn investigative story that will publish or broadcast during the spring.

View course and prerequisites: Howard Center for Investigative Journalism

Need help? Ask your adviser.