‘A lot of dismay’ as Langara College in Vancouver considers pausing journalism program

Langara College in Vancouver is considering pausing its long-running journalism program due to low student demand, a move faculty say is the beginning of the end for the department.

A college spokesperson told CTV News that leadership is reviewing the journalism program and may put a pause on admissions for the fall 2026 semester, but no final decision has been made.

“Langara regularly reviews its programs to ensure they remain sustainable and aligned with student demand and educational priorities,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.

However, program chair Barry Link says journalism faculty are preparing for that to be the case. He said he expects the students currently enrolled in the program will graduate, and after that the program will end.

“From everything we’ve been told, as of spring 2027 there won’t be a program,” he told CTV News. “Theoretically in the future they could bring it back, but I think we can confidently say indefinitely, it’s not going to be around.”

He said the end of the program is a painful loss for the industry, as it has created generations of journalists who work in B.C., across Canada and around the world.

Langara’s two-year diploma offered a faster and cheaper way for prospective journalists to get in the field compared to other programs, he continued.

Current students are shocked and saddened by the news, Link said. “There’s a lot of dismay.”

Link added enrollment in journalism programs has been in decline not just as Langara, but across the country, which signals changes in the industry as a whole.

“It’s a sign that our society’s view on journalism and how it’s done and what it means, that has changed. And I don’t think that we as a society, and certainly we as an industry, have grappled with what that means,” he said.

“Because we can’t afford to lose (journalism), not in these times, and we’ve already lost much and we’re in danger of losing more, so we’ve got to find a way to turn the ship around somehow.”

Langara, like post-secondary institutions across Canada, are being forced to make tough decisions due to financial strain amid the federal cap on international students.

Link says it’s up to the provincial government to decide which programs to support.

“This is a question for the provincial government… what they want to decide is their priority in education.”