July 22, 2013 1.33 pm This story is over 127 months old

Lincoln School of Journalism receives NCTJ accreditation

Top notch: The University of Lincoln School of Journalism has been awarded accreditation by the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

The University of Lincoln School of Journalism has been awarded accreditation by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) in recognition of its media training.

The NCTJ accreditation, which is acknowledged as the hallmark of excellence in journalism training, has been presented to the BA (Hons) Journalism course at the University of Lincoln.

The National Council for the Training of Journalists is a charitable organisation that acts as a guardian of the “gold standard” for all journalists, upholding guidelines that are recognised throughout the media industry.

Its standard for accredited journalism courses sets a benchmark based on exam results and also stresses the need for courses to focus on skills convergence and multimedia journalism.

Speaking about the BA (Hons) Journalism course at the University of Lincoln, the NCTJ accreditation panel said that it “was impressed by the course team’s experience, and felt that there was a firm commitment to ensuring all NCTJ standards, course hours and requirements would be met.”

Deborah Wilson, Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Journalism course at the University of Lincoln

Deborah Wilson, Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Journalism course at the University of Lincoln

Deborah Wilson, Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) Journalism course, said: “It’s great that as a school we can now say that we have accreditation with all the relevant bodies in the UK, as well as recognition from the European Journalism Training Association.

“We were confident that we could meet the accreditation criteria without compromising what we are already committed to delivering through our BA programme.

“We are pleased the NCTJ recognises that what we are doing for our students is giving them not only a rigorous academic degree programme but also the highest standards of training, which will enable them to secure employment in an increasingly competitive market.”

Sue North, Lecturer at the Lincoln School of Journalism, led the School’s efforts to secure the final accreditation badge.

She said: “I know that it is important to provide our students with the best possible credentials, as all media editors now look for graduates with a good degree, as well as that something extra.

“Getting this accreditation means we can now offer students the chance to gain the NCTJ diploma in addition to their degree.

“NCTJ qualifications are widely recognised as the ‘gold standard’ in professional training and are respected in all sectors of the industry, be it print, online or in broadcasting.”