The Digital Media and Journalism (DMJ) program prepares you for a career as a media professional, equipped with the critical thinking, knowledge, and technical skills needed to work in journalism, public relations, or with any organization or business with a media profile. By the time you graduate, you will be able to:

• Design and develop content for digital and social media platforms.
• Tell intelligent and compelling multimedia stories.
• Unearth and critically interpret information about contemporary issues.
• Understand and analyze the wider social, political, and economic forces shaping today’s journalism and media environments.

Starting in Fall 2021, students will earn a second credential in addition to their Honours BA in Digital Media and Journalism as part of the program. The new Certificate in Digital Media Production will highlight the hands-on training students will receive and the skills they will develop via workshop-based classes in digital imaging and photography, audio storytelling, videography, as well as graphic and web design.

Admissions Suspended 2023-2024

Digital Media and Journalism Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation

The Digital Media and Journalism program has not made a commitment to Truth and Reconciliation

Wilfred Laurier University Indigenous Strategic Plan (2023):

Educational institutions were specifically called out in actions: 10, 11, 16, 62, and 65, which support research, understanding, and awareness of reconciliation; lessening the gap of educational attainment for Indigenous learners, and working in partnership with Indigenous community to preserve Indigenous languages.”

Call to Action # 86

We call upon Canadian journalism programs and media schools to require education for all students on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal–Crown relations. 

Mandatory Course: No. No explicit reference

Optional Courses

ID120/SOJE120 – Introduction to Indigenous Studies

Provides students with an overview of the discipline of Indigenous Studies including the history, cultures, and experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada. 

DMJN204: Media, Law and Ethics 

This course studies the legal and ethical implications of contemporary media practices, including journalism, public relations and digital/social media. Students research a variety of topics that include relations between the Canadian state and Indigenous people and communities.”

Digital Media and Journalism Commitment to Call to Action # 86: 0 out of 5 = 0%

1	The history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools
No. No explicit reference
2	The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
No. No explicit reference
3	Treaties and Aboriginal rights
No. No explicit reference
4	Indigenous law
No. No explicit reference
5	Aboriginal–Crown Relations
No. No explicit reference

Land Acknowledgement

Located on Indigenization section of Wilfrid Laurier’s Home Page

We would like to acknowledge that Wilfrid Laurier University and its campuses are located on the shared traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishnaabe (Anish-nah-bay) and Haudenosaunee (Hoe-den-no-show-nee) peoples. This land is part of the Dish with One Spoon Treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe peoples and symbolizes the agreement to share, protect our resources and not to engage in conflict. 

From the Haldimand Proclamation of Oct. 25, 1784 this territory is described as: “six miles deep from each side of the river (Grand River) beginning at Lake Erie and extending in the proportion to the Head of said river, which them and their posterity are to enjoy forever.” The proclamation was signed by the British with their allies, the Six Nations, after the American Revolution. Despite being the largest reserve demographically in Canada, those nations now reside on less than five per cent of this original territory.

Wilfrid Laurier University strives to improve its relationship with the land and people with whom we share it. As such, it is important to further our understanding of the long-standing history that has brought Laurier to reside on the land, and to seek to understand our place within that history.

Located on Indigenous Strategic Plan

Laurier’s Waterloo and Brantford campuses are located on the shared traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishnaabe (Anish-nah-bay) and Haudenosaunee (Hoe-den-no-show-nee) peoples. This land is part of the Dish with One Spoon Treaty between the Haudenosaunee and Anishnaabe peoples and symbolizes the agreement to share, protect our resources and not to engage in conflict.

Laurier’s Milton campus will be located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, which is also part of the Nanfan Treaty of 1701 between the British Crown and Haudenosaunee. Laurier works with our Indigenous partners and colleagues to ensure the university appropriately acknowledges those lands and its stewardship.

NOTE: All content has been submitted to the respective faculty for validation to ensure accuracy and currency as of the time of posting. The Wilfrid Laurier University – Digital Media and Journalism Program DID NOT RESPOND to any of the multiple Indigenous Watchdog inquiries. Managing Editor: Douglas Sinclair: Publisher, Indigenous Watchdog Lead Researcher, Timothy Maton, Ph.D