The National Council for the Training of Journalists has accredited courses at the Universities of Sunderland and Lincoln.
The decision has taken the number of accredited journalism courses in the UK to 80.
The NCTJ also accredited courses offered by the Grimsby Institute and Lambeth College, while 26 other courses have had their certification renewed after they were assessed as continuing to provide “gold-standard qualification”.
Of the 80 currently holding accreditation, 21 are undergraduate courses, 24 postgraduate, 26 are at colleges and nine are overseen by independent providers, most of which are fast-track courses.
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The four newly accredited courses in full are: a Diploma in Journalism at the Grimsby Institute; Multi-Media Journalism at Lambeth College; BA (Hons) in Journalism at the University of Lincoln; and BA in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sunderland
Sue North, lecturer in Journalism at Lincoln University, said: “It is so important to provide our students with the best possible credentials. Getting this accreditation means we can now offer students the chance to gain the NCTJ diploma in addition to their degree, which is invaluable in the modern climate”
While the courses at Grimsby and Lincoln are the first at those centres to be approved by the council, the broadcast course at Sunderland joins eight others at the university with accreditation while Lambeth College already has two courses endorsed by the NCTJ.
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The 26 courses whose accreditations have been renewed for a further two years include the University of Sheffield’s BA in Journalism, and MA Journalism diplomas at the Universities of Ulster and Kingston.
On their website the NCTJ describe their accreditation as “the hallmark of excellence in journalism training”. Certified courses must provide an “essential foundation for students who strive for excellence” with teaching of a “world-class standard”.
Centres are required to pay the NCTJ an £800 annual charge per accredited course, in addition to a £960 fee for assessment visits by the accreditation board.
On July 9 the NCTJ’s certification board convened to make changes to the accreditation standards relating to ethics training and careers advice strictures, before awarding the new accreditations.
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