Immersion Experience

During their program, Newhouse School Online students will participate in two weekend-long immersions. These event-filled weekends take place on the Syracuse University campus and in U.S. and international cities that lend themselves to a variety of topical themes. Immersion weekends include networking opportunities and hands-on experiences relevant to the communications industry. These opportunities also feature exciting guest speakers that range from preeminent academics to communications industry leaders.

Each immersion will center on a unique theme relevant to students' coursework and promote discussion about innovations that are shaping the future of the communications field. These experiences offer students a chance to interact with their classmates, faculty and thought leaders and discuss the evolving industry outside of their coursework.

Students are encouraged to attend the yearly campus-based immersion within the first two terms of their program and then may choose one other immersion, either domestic or international, as offered. Students must complete at least one class prior to attending an immersion.

Students will be required to pay an immersion fee that varies based on the location and activities. The fee is calculated prior to course registration.

"It [the immersion] solidified my identity as a Newhouse student and validated the importance of the education we are receiving. It shifted how I think about the program and how I will approach my experience moving forward."

Janine Doyon

July 2016 Cohort

See Where We’re Going

Take a look at the locations for a few of our upcoming immersions:

Immersion Events
Date Location Theme
Fall 2020 Virtual Crisis Communications, Coverage and Recovery
April 2021 Virtual Health Communications in a Change World: Lessons from the Pandemic

Featured Past Speakers

Newhouse School Online immersion speakers and hosts include some of the most prominent and forward-thinking leaders in the communications industry. Past guests have included:

Kimberley Martin
NFL Reporter,
ESPN

Gary Tuchman
National Correspondent,
CNN

Crystal Houston
Co-founder & CSO,
Citefull.com

Jennifer Epstein
Political Correspondent
for Bloomberg LP

Hands-On Activities

Immersion activities vary by city but are always designed to give students a deeper look into the communications industry, provide opportunities for students to interact with each other and faculty, and afford access to hands-on experience with new technology. Take a look below at some common types of activities, as well as an example of each from past immersions:

Talks and case studies

“TWEET UNDELETE: An automated way to track, record and recover deleted tweets using blockchain” with David Joachim G’18 and Professor Steve Masiclat

Panel discussions

A panel at the September 2019 Sports Communications Immersion: Donna Ditota, sports writer, Syracuse Media Group: Kimberley A. Martin, senior NFL writer, Yahoo Sports; and Olivia Stomski, director of Newhouse Sports Media Center

Tours

Our tour of the Emblematic Group Virtual Reality Studios, with a guide through one of their original VR stories

Day trips

Our outing to Universal Studios in Los Angeles

Media and current events

Our trip to Des Moines, Iowa, right ahead of the caucuses that took place on February 3, 2020, and the chance to meet with Syracuse alumnus Joe Biden.

—Syracuse Alumnus, Former Vice President Joe Biden

City and Campus Tours

Each immersion focuses on topics and sites that are relevant to the city in which it takes place. The on-campus visit includes a tour of the world-renowned Newhouse School, and off-campus immersions have included tours of innovative headquarters like the YouTube studios in Los Angeles and the Foursquare headquarters in New York City.

"Initially I was a little nervous [about the immersion]. I wasn’t sure how I’d be received, as my entire interaction with this professor was through a webcam. [But] Professor Gitner welcomed me to Syracuse and we had a nice little chat. I was able to get feedback on a project, and the fear that I might be treated like an outsider quickly went away."

David Onoue

October 2015 Cohort

How will you shape the future of media?

Learn more about the immersion experience and speak to an admissions counselor.