Choosing the Goldring Program: A Spotlight on Arts, Style and Culture Journalism 

Following undergrad, I knew I wanted to advance my studies and pursue a master’s degree, but I was not quite sure which field I wanted to specialize in. With a bachelor’s degree in creative writing, I knew there were numerous options that would refine my writing and editing skills, but navigating the right choice felt labyrinthine.  

Then I found the Goldring Arts, Style and Culture Journalism program (formerly Arts Journalism and Communications), offered by Newhouse. It was as if my computer screen scintillated when I stumbled upon this program; I had truly hit the goldmine of all grad school web searches. Not only would this program provide learning opportunities for me to enhance my writing skills, but allow me to build expertise in a specific area of interest. 

The arts — theater, film, music and fashion — have always pulled at my heartstrings. What the Goldring program did was combine my appreciation for the arts with my passion for writing. Though I had no prior experience in journalism, the six-week intensive summer “bootcamp” really helped lay down a foundation of news and magazine writing before I began the fall semester.  

A significant part of the Goldring program is deciding on a focus that you can center your work around throughout the year. Our mighty cohort of six vary in our interests, which makes our discussions all the more interesting: three members of my cohort focus on film, one focuses on music and cultural criticism, one focuses on food and beverage, and I focus on fashion. In the past, there have also been “Goldringers” who have focused on architecture, museums, opera — really, any form of art imaginable.  

Beyond the tight-knit cohort and our lively class discussions about all things culture, a standout aspect of the program is the immersive opportunities in the curriculum. One of our courses, Goldring Colloquium, entails weekly field trips, guest speakers and dinners with industry professionals. A few weeks ago, we had an hour-long discussion with Theo Cateforis, a professor of art and music histories, about what qualifies as “bad music.” The week prior, we had dinner with Emily Nussbaum, a Pulitzer prize-winning television critic for The New Yorker.  

In the 2025 semester alone, the Goldring program has traveled to New York City and met with teams of writers from The New York Times and Vulture, we have seen four theater productions—Broadway’s “Oh, Mary” and “Gypsy,” Tony award-winning play “Stereophonic” and Syracuse Stage’s “Primary Trust”—and we have learned about (and attempted to play) the Hendricks Chapel’s organ. Last year, we got to attend the Glimmerglass Festival and travel to Canada for the Toronto International Film Festival.  

This summer, we will make our way to Charleston, South Carolina, to cover Spoleto Festival USA.  

The Goldring program truly does it all: packed into three semesters (that have flown by), the program has been full of opportunities, rigorously helpful with writing and networking and has created some of the most beautiful memories I have had in my entire academic career.