While I've previously expressed the view that experience in the field is more important than an impressive showing in the classroom, it is not to say that academic education is not a large part of becoming a good journalist. So what is it there for? We're not paying these institutions tens of thousands of dollars a year to learn how to memorize the AP Stylebook.

Most universities offer a wealth of classes and academic opportunities that would be beneficial to j-school students. These little trinkets can be added to the enterprising and curious student's chest of knowledge to give them a step up in a competitive and ever-changing profession.

Depending on the j-school setting, chances are the university already requires basic knowledge in areas such as political science, public speaking, and economics. At Scripps we are required to complete a specialization in a subject area of our choosing. However, if your school doesn't require this, do it anyway.

Mark Tatge, this year's visiting professor and former Chicago bureau chief for Forbes, thinks that journalism schools need to push this specialization requirement more than ever, and make it part of their core education. "As the media world continues to further segment itself, having a practical specialization will be vital to journalists," he says. Tatge's recommendation is to follow a track in business or the sciences, where he sees many job openings. But he stressed that journalists must be able to report on the subject in addition to simply knowing about it.

Most of all though, Tatge says, journalism schools, and universities in general, should be concerned with teaching students how to think critically and creatively.

Steve Paul, a senior writer and editor for The Kansas City Star, is also a visiting instructor at a small liberal arts school called Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. Paul teaches a class called Arts, Culture, and Criticism, and he explains that his experience with interns has shown him that j-schools don't spend enough time introducing students to the arts. "Just in the last few years we've seen the arrival -- finally -- of graduate level programs in arts journalism at Columbia, Syracuse, USC, and maybe elsewhere," he says. "I think that's great, but undergraduate programs need to do a better job of preparing young writers to report on and write about the arts, including as reviewers and critics."

The discrepancy in opinions is important to examine because, in the end, each J-school is different, with its own flaws and holes in curriculum. And in this ever-changing industry they are simply trying to keep up without leaving students behind.

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Many universities offer some type of experimental classes, where they give professors free reign to create their ideal course. Ohio University calls them University Professor courses and has recently offered classes like Economics Blogging, Anthropology of Social Change, and Guide to Screenwriting. They may also be found within your program, as professors are constantly developing courses to test as possible additions to the curriculum. Recent examples at Scripps have been Gender, Race and Media, and Media Economics -- one of Tatge's current classes.

Along with these kinds of courses, there are many that focus on very specific and current topics that give students particular insight into a subject area they may be writing about post-graduation. For example, check the political science department for classes regarding the Iraq War or the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Look to your religion or philosophy department for classes on religious beliefs. Take a language like Chinese or Arabic. Enroll in a computer programming or interactive graphics course. Search out English or film classes that may help get your creative juices flowing.

Another option that many students overlook is independent studies. While they take a bit more imagination and self-motivation, independent studies are a great way to tap into the expertise of a certain professor and gain knowledge and experience in an area that you might not be able to just take a class in. When I was unable to sign up for a photojournalism class (I lack the prerequisites), I scheduled an independent study in photojournalism to gain technical know-how and more experience using photos in multimedia stories. The big advantage to independent studies is that they can be done in just about anything, and can be tailored to meet your specific needs.

Spicing up your schedule isn't terribly difficult, but sometimes the pressures of j-school make it easy to slip into a schedule stupor. Luckily, a good j-school will encourage these alternative routes -- it's up to us to take advantage of them.

Meghan Louttit is a journalism student at Ohio University and is a former intern at American Express Publishing and mediabistro.com.

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