The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications is dedicated to excellence and high standards in professional education in journalism and mass communications.  The Council endorses professional education that recognizes and incorporates technological advances, changing professional and economic practice, and public interests and demands.

The Council believes that students can best prepare for careers in journalism and mass communications by studying in accredited professional programs at colleges and universities.  The Council embraces the value of a broad, multidisciplinary curriculum that nurtures critical thinking, analytic reasoning and problem-solving skills that are the essential foundation for journalism and mass communications education.

The Council is committed to freedom of inquiry, freedom of expression and freedom of the press as indispensable values in a free society. It expects the professional education offered by accredited programs to encourage inquiry, dissent and free expression.

To serve this mission, the Council has established educational requirements and standards and provides a process of voluntary program review by professionals and educators, awarding accredited status to programs that meet its standards.  Through this process, the Council assures students, parents, journalism and mass communications professionals and the public that accredited programs meet rigorous standards for professional education.

The Council recognizes and safeguards the individual nature of each accredited program. It encourages educational innovation by programs in their efforts to meet accreditation requirements and standards to prepare students for careers in journalism and mass communication around the world.

— Revised and approved by the Accrediting Council