A new course in Investigative Journalism Methods and Techniques was launched in late March 2026 at the Faculty of Political Sciences (FPN), University of Sarajevo, in partnership between the Department of Journalism/Communication Studies and the Centre for Investigative Reporting (CIN). The programme was approved by the University of Sarajevo Senate.
The course aims to equip participants with the methods and techniques of investigative reporting, providing practical skills for those pursuing a career in journalism and reporting on issues of public interest. It is open to both students and working journalists/reporters.
The Department of Journalism at the Faculty of Political Sciences will offer ten thematic modules, while CIN’s reporters and editors will deliver hands-on training in investigative reporting methods and techniques.
Lejla Turčilo, a professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, said the aim was to underline that investigative reporting still matters, rather than simply create another course or training programme that would last for only one or two years.
“The more we insist on teaching investigative reporting, the more it will be present in our media,” Professor Turčilo said, adding that CIN was seen as the right partner when the idea was being formalised.
The course is expected to provide participants with additional knowledge, skills, and competencies, with a strong focus on practical work in investigative journalism.
Although the Journalism curriculum already includes a course on investigative reporting, students have not previously had the opportunity to receive this kind of hands-on training in investigative methods and techniques.
“We have not had this type of non-cycle education before, not only at our faculty but more broadly across formal educational institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of investigative reporting,” Professor Turčilo said.
The course outline, Methods and Techniques of Investigative Reporting, states that this form of education, as a non-cycle programme, also offers practising journalists/reporters the opportunity to take part as participants in an additional form of informal education.
Professor Turčilo explained that students enrolled in the course will receive the appropriate number of ECTS credits, which will be recorded in their diploma supplement, while those who are not formally students of the Faculty of Political Sciences will be awarded a certificate.
“Our hope and expectation is to enrol the first cohort as early as September this academic year, which would mean that by the end of the year we could have the first generation of participants completing the programme,” Turčilo said.
The course is designed to last three months. The idea is for participants to gain a solid theoretical grounding in investigative reporting at the Faculty of Political Sciences, followed by practical experience at the Centre for Investigative Reporting.
Further details on admissions and the structure of the course will be published on the website of the Faculty of Political Sciences in Sarajevo.
