CENTRE DE FORMATION
DES JOURNALISTES

At the CFJ, we owe everything to our students. Without the trust they and their families place in us, without the money they invest in their studies, the school – which is run autonomously – would close down.

Students have been entrusting their future to us for over 70 years. Why? Because they know we’ll do everything in our power to help them make their dreams come true! Our teaching methods and our instructors, as well as the access we provide to professional equipment, internships and a whole network of media players, all boost CFJ graduates’ chances of successfully and quickly finding work.

Our two-year long degree course explores all media channels and current practices both in France and abroad, allowing each student to refine or even change their plans in order to feel fully confident as they launch into a professional career.

Each school year at the CFJ is made up of around fifty students. Most group projects involve 20 students maximum. This guarantees close supervision in every subject. TV and radio work is often carried out in smaller groups of under ten aspiring journalists. In their final year, students benefit from Genius Bars organized by the CFJ to provide mentoring in twos or threes to help each student’s personal project grow.

In 2018, the CFJ brought in a new admissions policy, involving less cramming for tests and more diversity. To find out more about these changes, please click here.

Practical exercises, autonomy, self-evaluation and both the need and the desire to learn are at the heart of our teaching methods at the CFJ. There are no big lectures, no syllabi and no student ranking system. These principles don’t suit everybody. There are many different ways to become a journalist. Applying to the CFJ is one of them: but is it the right choice for you?

Almost all our classes at the CFJ are taught by practicing professionals, often journalists taking a break from their normal duties to come and share their experiences and best practices.

Our students work in groups with one, sometimes two, instructors per group. They thus come into contact with almost 200 professionals as part of their degree course.

If we add to this number the experts who sit on our juries or our board of directors, or who give masterclasses, you can imagine the long list of professional contacts our students can build up over the space of two years.

Since our school first opened in 1947, our students have found media work both in France and abroad. Our graduates, or alumni, form a network of contacts who can share advice and provide a stepping stone into the industry.

For any questions about the school and its history, please feel free to contact The CFJ Alumni Network.

At the CFJ, we aim to train quality journalists with a thirst for knowledge as well as the ability to think critically and to use professional equipment, enabling them to find media work directly after graduation. Right from the start, we give them access to all the tools of their future trade (cameras, recorders, software etc.).

In addition, thanks to the support of Paris regional authorities and the du CFA – Paris Académie Entreprise, we provide students with a TV studio, a radio studio and a newsroom which serve a dual purpose in that they allow young journalists to work in a professional context while also respecting the requirements of their course.

In France, most media channels are based in Paris. The fact that the CFJ is situated close by is a big plus for our students, allowing them to follow classes while completing an internship or working freelance at the same time. Our location is also very handy for journalists when they agree to temporarily leave their work aside to come and teach a class for us.

Practical exercises are essential to our teaching methods and we aim to provide a real-world context for our students. However, there is no substitute for media experience, be it at a desk or out in the field. This is why our courses include up to 26 weeks of work experience (only a part of which is mandatory).

The CFJ is a private, vocational university, and our degree in journalism has been approved by the French Ministry of Education since 1985. Since the 5^th of July, 2012, it has been recognized as the equivalent of a Master’s degree.