Curriculum
For majors and students considering a journalism and mass communications major:
Registration guidelines
Most courses have tight limits on the number of students. It is important to remember that the core courses generally are taught in both the Fall and Winter Terms.
English 105 must be taken during the first (freshman) year unless a student has been exempted from that requirement by the English Department. .
Students planning to take a semester abroad and to major in a professional sequence -- journalism or business journalism -- should make certain they take Jour201, Pol203 and Jour190 by the Fall Term of the sophomore year.
Sequences
The Journalism and Mass Communications major has three sequences: Business Journalism, Journalism, and Mass Communications. The sequences are designed to respond to the widely varied interests among our majors and to assure that those students in the professional sequences have the academic and professional background to make them competitive in the print, broadcast, business or Internet journalism job markets. Students planning a career in public relations should also consider the professional sequences, because so many of the skills needed in that field are the same as those used in journalism.
The professional sequences require an internship; for Mass Communications sequence majors, an internship is elective. The Business Journalism sequence requires a substantial number of courses in economics, accounting and management.
Core Courses
All majors, regardless of sequence, take five core courses (13 credits):
- Jour101, Introduction to News Media, which should be taken in the freshman year.
- Jour190, Bibliographic Resources. Students taking Pol203 should take Jour190 as a co-requisite.
- Jour201, Introduction to Reporting, which is open to students who have had Jour101.
- Journalism 301, Law and Communications, which may be taken during either the junior or the senior year.
- Jour344 (Interdepartmental 344), Ethics of Journalism, to fulfill the journalism ethics requirement.
Sequence requirements
Each major must select a sequence -- Business Journalism, Journalism, or Mass Communications. The required courses for each sequence, to be taken in addition to the core courses required of all majors (above), are:
- Business Journalism: A minimum of 30 credits in Journalism and Mass Communications are required, including the 13 core credits. In addition to the core courses, requirements include:
- Jour202; Jour253 or 263; Jour356; Jour371 or 372; Jour452.
- Politics 203.
- Accounting 100 or 201.
- A cognate of 12 credits at the 200 level or above in accounting, business administration or economics, including one course each from each of the following areas:
- Area I, Applied Microeconomics: Economics 230, 243, 250, 255.
- Area II, International: Accounting 396; Business Administration 305, 357, 364, 390; Economics 270, 271, 272, 274, 280, 288, 356.
- A full description of the business journalism program is available at the business journalism Web site.
- Journalism: A minimum of 30 credits in Journalism and Mass Communications are required, including the 13 core credits. In addition to the core courses, requirements include:
- Jour202; Jour253 or 263; Jour280, 297, 371 or 372; Jour351 or 362; Jour356; Jour452.
- Politics 203.
- Mass Communications: A minimum of 31 credits in Journalism and Mass Communications are required, including the 13 core credits. In addition to the core courses, requirements include:
- Jour231; Jour202, 225, 295, 297, 351, 357 or 365.
- 12 additional credits selected from courses in Journalism and Mass Communications.
- Politics 100, 105 or 203.
Cognate
A 12-credit cognate of courses at the 200 level or higher must be taken in another discipline. The Business Journalism sequence has a specific cognate requirement (See above, or refer to the Business Journalism web site). For majors in other sequences, a second major will serve to fulfill cognate requirements.
Note about public relations and advertising
The department offers limited courses in public relations and no courses in advertising. Students interested in public relations are free to graduate under any sequence, but the more professional courses they take, the better their preparation will be. Public relations practitioners must be excellent communicators, and many are involved in publication editing and design. Students interested in public relations should take courses in economics, marketing and management as well.
Aadvertising is addressed in selected courses in the Williams School. Students envisioning a career in advertising or media buying should take a curriculum that includes economics, marketing, accounting and management in addition to their journalism courses. Students planning a more creative career should develop their skills in the graphic arts.
Internship credit limit
Students in all sequences may receive no more than three credits toward graduation for internships or other experiential courses. But remember that a paid internship need not be taken for credit. For example, a student may serve one paid or unpaid summer internship for three academic credits, and a second, paid internship for no academic credit.