Program of Study

The Department of Journalism offers a professional journalism education in a liberal arts setting. The department is part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which means that our students do not have to choose between a journalism education and a liberal arts education. They get both. We feel that such an education provides the best preparation for a successful career in journalism.

Required Courses

All journalism majors must satisfy the requirements of the College and complete 29 credits in journalism at the 2000-level or above, including:

  • JOUR 2000W (Newswriting I)
  • JOUR 2001W (Newswriting II)
  • JOUR 2065 (Mobile Journalism)
  • JOUR 3002 (Journalism Ethics)
  • JOUR 3020 (Journalism Law)
  • JOUR 3030 (Multiplatform Editing)
  • JOUR 3111 (Portfolio: Content Development
  • JOUR 4111 (Portfolio: Professional Presentation

In addition, students must take at least one advanced elective course from the list below:

  • JOUR 3000W (Community News Reporting)
  • JOUR 3012W (Feature Writing)
  • JOUR 3015 (Sports Reporting Across Platforms)
  • JOUR 3031 (Design for Digital Journalists)
  • JOUR 3042 (Live Broadcast Production)
  • JOUR 3045 (Specialized Journalism)
  • JOUR 3046E (Environmental Journalism)
  • JOUR 4016 (Publication Practice)
  • JOUR 4035 (Investigative Reporting)
  • JOUR 4065 (Video Storytelling)
  • or another advanced course if accepted with the consent of the department.

JOUR 1002 (The Press in America, CA-1, TOI-5) is a prerequisite for JOUR 3002.

A journalism education is, by definition, an education in writing and information literacy. A journalism major will fulfill the writing in the major requirement and the information literacy competency by completing the department’s core courses: JOUR 2000W, 2001W, 2065, 3002, 3020, 3030, 3111 and 4111.

Students must complete 120 credits overall.. Students must also complete 12 credits in upper-division courses in a related field. (For students who are pursuing a double major, the courses in the second major may be used to fulfill that requirement.) Students are urged to consider their related courses as essential to their career preparation, and to work closely with their advisor to choose courses that will provide them with the knowledge they will need to be successful reporters and editors. Students who have a specialized interest — such as arts or environmental reporting — are urged to take their related courses in those areas.

Second major

The Journalism Department strongly urges its students to complete an additional major in a related field, such as History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Environmental Studies, Biology, Statistics, or a foreign language. With planning, a student can complete two majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in four years. If a student wishes to pursue a second major in a different school or college in the university (such as the School of Business Administration), more than four years will be necessary to meet all requirements. (For more information, see the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences catalog.)

Students who do not complete a second major must complete at least 12 credits of upper level work in a another discipline that will provide context for their future reporting and editing. The courses may all be in the same area (such as political science or history) or in different areas that all contribute to one body of knowledge. For example, a student interested in environmental issues could find related courses in Biology, Geography, Sociology, and Natural Resource Management and Engineering.

More information on required courses is available at the Major Requirements page.

(Learn more about class size, grading, employment opportunities, and how we teach.)

Cultural Fluency

Journalism requires many skills, one of which is the ability to hear, understand and tell the stories of people who are unlike you. That skill, like others, must be learned and practiced. There are many ways in which people differ, including race, ethnicity, poverty, language, physical and mental health, appearance, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, education and political views. To a journalist, these differences are interesting, not intimidating. It is up to you to choose journalism assignments, courses and experiences that will develop your ability to listen to the many voices of our world.