Hudson Catholic Regional High School in Jersey City is partnering with New Jersey City University to offer a new program this fall that will allow its students to earn college credits in “media arts.”
The two-year program will allow HC to earn a media arts “certificate” and up to 18 credits in the field, equivalent to a minor at the university. According to NJCU’s website, this path is “for students interested in the creation, production, dissemination and use of digital media, film, cinema and media studies, and sound content.” Were one to major in media arts, which at NJCU would require another 33 credits in the department, students would have solid academic and practical preparation for a career as a production assistant, research assistant, script advisor, or post-production assistant, the website also says.
“These are exciting times for the school community of Hudson Catholic High School,” said Brother Christopher Hall, C.F.C., the Archdiocese of Newark’s newly-appointed Assistant Superintendent of High Schools. “Principal Terence Matthews, M.A., his leadership team, and the faculty are truly providing students with the opportunity to excel at learning through educational partnerships.”
In addition to the new program at NJCU, Hudson Catholic offers three other “pre-college” programs: two at St. Peter’s University in Jersey City that also afford the opportunity to take St. Peter’s’ courses for credit and one at Steven’s Institute of Technology in Hoboken that, among other things, offers scholarships for certain non-credit classes designed to help students prepare for college.
The St. Peter’s courses are in liberal arts, criminal justice, and science — and Steven’s specializes in science, technology, engineering, and math.
“The expansion (to film) will provide students more individual choice in their studies,” said archdiocese spokeswoman Jessica Ryan.
Another advantage of the collaboration, according to Ryan — which holds true for all of Hudson Catholic’s pre-college offerings — is financial.
The NJCU program is free to enroll for eligible HC students. By comparison, for the upcoming school year, 18 undergraduate credits at NJCU will cost approximately $8000 for in-state students (and $14,000 for out-of-state students); $11,000 to $14,000 at St. Peter’s; and $22,000 to $36,000 at Steven’s.
Individuals interested in learning more Hudson Catholic can visit HudsonCatholic.org. One of 73 schools run by the Archdiocese of Newark in Hudson, Bergen, Essex, and Union Counties, the school itself recently received a large grant (with a matching grant challenge) from the William E. Simon Foundation for its pre-college program.
Tuition for the upcoming school year is $11,000, but according to Ryan, every year over 70 percent of its students receive approximately $1.2 million combined in financial aid.