The School of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, a school in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in journalism and political and international communication. The School's director is Frank Sesno, former CNN correspondent, creator of PBS's Planet Forward and professor.Undergraduate programsSMPA offers two undergraduate degrees, as well as a five-year BA/MA program with George Washington's Graduate School of Political Management. The school is highly competitive within the university, and offers facilities and opportunities to SMPA students not accessible to other students, such as invitations to attend lectures and taped events filmed within the Jack Morton Auditorium and access to top-of-the-line filming/editing equipment. SMPA was ranked in 2014 as the 5th best journalism school in the country by USA Today in 2014.Graduate programsThe School of Media and Public Affairs offers a Master of Arts degree and a joint MA degree in conjunction with the Elliott School of International Affairs. With the SMPA Documentary Center, the school offers a Certificate in Documentary Filmmaking.Media and Public Affairs BuildingThe School of Media and Public Affairs is housed in the Media and Public Affairs building at 805 21st St, NW, which additionally houses the Graduate School of Political Management and the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration (SPPPA). The Jack Morton Auditorium is on the first floor of the building. The Jack Morton Auditorium was the filming location for CNN's Crossfire debate show between 2002 and 2005.
