5 journos, media pros complete 2025 DVJ program; 2026 applications start

MANILA, Philippines -- Five media professionals finished successfully in November 2025 the five-course Diploma in Visual Journalism (DVJ) offered by the Asian Center for Journalism (ACFJ) at the Ateneo de Manila University, capping 10 months of hybrid class work that culminated in on-campus trainings, a forum, and project presentations.

The DVJ graduates for the 2025 cycle are visual artist Neel Bhattacharjee from India; television correspondent Gerard S. Dela Peña, and multimedia journalist Aram Jan Lascano from the Philippines; development communication professional Sing Mong Prue Marma from Bangladesh; and multimedia journalist Shwe Paw Mya Tin of Myanmar.

The DVJ program is a post-graduate diploma course for practicing journalists with experience in photography and other visual media. It looks to provide experienced practitioners with theoretical, practical, and ethical fundamentals and skills that mirror the Ateneo vision for social change.

The final works of the 2025 cohort included studies on the changing urban community profiles of India, health challenges in Bangladesh, flooding in Metro Manila, mental health challenges experienced by some members of the heavy metal music community in the Philippines, and the mental health experiences of Myanmar refugees living in Thailand.

Slots for 2026 program up for grabs

Meanwhile, the application period for 2026 cycle has started, and will close Jan. 16, 2026.

Financial support may be availed of through the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Media Programme Asia, which offers scholarships to eligible practicing journalists to cover tuition and allowances. 

Led by newly appointed Program Coordinator Ron Lopez, the 2026 cycle consists of four online step-ladder courses and one hybrid capstone course. The four are: Fundamentals of Visual Journalism, Visual Literacy and Storytelling, Journalistic Writing for Multimedia, and Multimedia Platform Practices. These have been taught in the past by top-caliber journalists and experts Booma Cruz and Atty Jun  Rodriguez from the Philippines, Pratibha Tuladhar from Nepal, and the award-winning photojournalist Veejay Villafranca. 

Meanwhile, the Final Portfolio Production and Publication is a hybrid course where students defend a final multimedia package on socially relevant issues before a panel of experts at the Ateneo campus.

Interested applicants may access the application portal at https://acfj.ateneo.edu/diploma-in-visual-journalism/how-to-apply. 

For those seeking the Adenauer Fellowship, additional details and scholarship applications are available at https://adenauer.careers.

This ten-month blended learning program, which usually runs February to November, offers media professionals a unique opportunity to enhance their craft through a mix of online coursework and on-campus sessions.

The present-day DVJ is the surviving program of two diploma programs that ACFJ previously administered: the Diploma in Photojournalism (2006-2015) and the Diploma in Multimedia Journalism (2011-2015). In 2016, the two programs were merged into the DVJ. Around a hundred professionals, many of them Asian photojournalists, have graduated from the program.