Abstract

The paper presents the results of a survey of 1,552 journalism students from five public universities in Spain during academic year 2011-12. The research addresses two objectives: how students evaluate journalism as a degree subject and whether they believe they need this qualification to be a journalist. The results indicate that most students believe the journalism courses are adequate, but almost 25% consider them unnecessary. Students acknowledge the quality of the training received at the specialist faculties but the percentage in Spain is lower than in other countries in the study. A multiple linear regression was used to discover the variables that explain this evaluation. The most influential variable is the course enrolled on, followed by the functions the respondents assign to the faculty. The paper has used data from the largest sample on this subject taken so far, which also includes all courses and data on graduates completing their first university course in journalism as part of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). This study can be a valuable starting point for further research to inform decision-making on the subject. This research is part of the "Journalism Students Project" with participants from seven countries: Australia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.