The Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University is introducing a new undergraduate Certificate in Investigative Reporting for students who want to develop advanced skills in deeply reported journalism.

The optional 12-credit certificate can be completed alongside any Jandoli School major, allowing students to add the credential to their existing degree. For example, a student could graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a Certificate in Investigative Reporting.

The new certificate builds on a long tradition of investigative journalism at the Jandoli School. Its graduates have produced investigations recognized with the Pulitzer Prize and duPont-Columbia, Peabody, Edward R. Murrow, George Polk, Emmy and Sigma Delta Chi awards, as well as honors from the Associated Press, Investigative Reporters and Editors and the National Press Club, among others. Jandoli faculty members also have received the Pulitzer Prize and duPont-Columbia and Sigma Delta Chi awards, along with recognition from the Associated Press and Investigative Reporters and Editors for their investigative reporting.

“Students are entering a media environment that is increasingly driven by headlines, clicks and the pressure to produce content quickly,” said Aaron Chimbel, dean of the Jandoli School of Communication. “There is a real need to prepare the next generation of journalists who are willing to ask difficult questions, dig deeper and do the kind of reporting that holds people and institutions accountable.”

The personalized certificate program will guide motivated students through the process of developing and producing a major investigative journalism project under close faculty mentorship. Students also will complete a PolitiFact workshop offered by the Jandoli School in partnership with the Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking organization.

The certificate includes existing courses on newswriting and reporting, along with two new courses. In the first course, students will study the history, value and methods of investigative reporting, develop a project idea and begin research and reporting. In the second course, students will complete and present their major investigative reporting project.

Students interested in pursuing the certificate, which will be offered beginning in the spring, must submit a statement of interest and be accepted into the program by the dean of the Jandoli School.

The school, whose history dates back more than 75 years, is one of just 16 private university journalism and mass communication programs in the United States accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.

For more information about the School of Communication, visit www.sbu.edu/Communication.