Savannah State University’s (SSU) Department of Journalism and Mass Communications (JMC) was reaccredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications at the council’s meeting in April. The council voted 16-0 to reaccredit SSU’s program. Initial accreditation was achieved in 2007 and SSU remains only one of two schools in Georgia with this certification.

The department, under the leadership of acting chair Juliana Maria Trammel, Ph.D., submitted a comprehensive self-study in November of 2018 in preparation of a three-day visit in February. “We are very pleased with our accreditation. I am also thankful to the JMC’s faculty, staff, students, and many other stakeholders around campus and in the community, who helped us to reach this milestone,” says Trammel.

The accreditation team toured the facilities, attended classes, met with JMC students, faculty, administrators and a group of SSU faculty from other departments.

JMC is among 113 fully accredited journalism and mass communications programs in the United States. ACEJMC-accredited programs are reviewed every six years and the next reaccreditation review will be in 2025. SSU offers concentrations in journalism, public relations and strategic communications, and multimedia and digital communications. It is the home of a TV studio, an award-winning newspaper, an independent film festival, a state-of-the-art student media center and the annual Southern Regional Press Institute.