University General Course Catalog 2014-2015 
    
    May 15, 2024  
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University General Course Catalog 2014-2015 ARCHIVED CATALOG: LINKS AND CONTENT ARE OUT OF DATE. CHECK WITH YOUR ADVISOR.

Journalism, B.A.

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PRE-MAJOR AND MAJOR STATUS

Students may declare a Journalism major at any time by completing a Declaration of Major form and submitting it to the dean’s office. Beginning journalism students maintain Pre-Journalism status until the following requirements are met:

  1. Sophomore standing (30 units completed).
  2. An overall grade point average of 2.5 or higher and a journalism grade point average of 2.5 or higher.
  3. Completion of  JOUR 107  , JOUR 108  , JOUR 207  , and JOUR 208  with a grade of “C” or better in each and a GPA of 2.5 in the four classes. NOTE: Each of these classes may be repeated only once.
  4. Submission of a completed major application form.

Journalism majors must maintain these GPAs to remain in the major. A major will revert to Pre-Major status whenever either the journalism or overall GPA’s fall below 2.5. After two consecutive semesters below 2.5 in either GPA, the student may be removed from the major.

I. University Core Curriculum Requirements (36-45 units)

NOTE: Refer to the Core Curriculum  chapter of this catalog for information regarding the “Core English and Math Completion Policy”.

A. English (3-8 units)

Refer to the “English” section of the Core Curriculum  chapter in this catalog. 

NOTE: Students who place into ENG 102  are not required to complete ENG 101 .

B. Mathematics (3-5 units)

Refer to the “Mathematics” section of the Core Curriculum  chapter of this catalog. 

C. Natural Sciences (6-8 units)

Refer to the “Natural Sciences” section of the Core Curriculum  chapter of this catalog for a list of appropriate courses. At least one Group A course is required. 

D. Social Sciences (3 units)

 Students my choose one from the following:

E. Fine Arts (3 units)

Refer to the “Fine Arts” section of the Core Curriculum  chapter in this catalog. 

F. Core Humanities (9 units)

Refer to the “Core Humanities” section of the Core Curriculum  chapter in this catalog. 

G. Capstone Courses (6 units)

Journalism students may not use any required journalism course to satisfy this requirement. At least one of the two Capstone courses required must be taken outside the School of Journalism.

H. Diversity (3 units)

Refer to the “Diversity” section of the Core Curriculum  chapter of this catalog. 

II. Additional School Requirements (37-41 units)

Courses used to fulfill Core Curriculum requirements may not be reused in Additional School Requirements except for a few Diversity courses.

A. Foreign Language (4-8 units)

Must demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language equal to a second-semester course level by:

(a) completion of a second-semester college course in a foreign language, 
(b) placement examination or other means through the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

Note(s):

  1. First-semester foreign language courses are prerequisites for the courses listed above. 
  2. Four years of high school foreign language instruction does not satisfy this requirement.

B. Liberal Arts and Sciences Requirements (15 units)

At least 65 of the 120 required units must be taken in the Liberal Arts.

Economics (3 units)

Literature (3 units)

Political Science (3 units)

Select two of the following for another 6 credits:

Note(s):

The number of units required in the Liberal Arts and Sciences Requirement varies based upon the minor or second major selected by each student.  Many students must complete more than the minimum 12 units required here to complete the 65 units in the Liberal Arts requirement.  

Choose additional Liberal Arts and Sciences courses from any of the following prefixes: AM, ANTH, ART, AST, BASQ, CHEM, CHI, CH, COM, DAN, ECON, ENG, ENV, ETS, FLL, FREN, GEOG, GEOL, GER, HGPS, HIST, HON, IAFF, ITAL, JPN, MATH, MUS, PHIL, PHYS, PSC, PSY, RST, SOC, SPAN, THTR, & WMST.

Students may also be required to complete some general elective coursework to reach the 120 total units required for graduation.

C. Outside Field of Study (18 units minimum)

All Journalism majors are required to complete one of the following:

  1. A minor field of study
  2. A dual major

III. Major Requirements (36 units)

The 36 Journalism major units include:

  • 21 Journalism Core units
  • 15 Journalism Elective units

12 of the required 36 units must be earned in courses numbered 400-499.

A. Journalism Core (21 units)

B. Journalism Electives (15 units)

Any upper-division journalism course, not in the Journalism Core, may apply here. At the time they declare the major, students are invited to select an emphasis specializing in a particular professional field (e.g., News, Strategic Communication, Visual Design). Students are strongly recommended, but not required to select one of these emphases. Overall, students must complete 5 upper-division classes, TWO of which must be at the 400-level.

News

a. Required Courses (9 units)
b. Elective Courses (3 units)

Choose at least ONE of the following courses (this course may be taken in conjunction with the second of your 300-level news classes).

Strategic Communications

a. Required Courses (9 units)
b. Elective Courses (3-6 units)

Based on their performance in these prior courses, students may be invited to participate in one or both of the following courses (faculty permission is required):

Visual Design

a. Required Courses (12 units)

Other Upper-Division Electives

Many other upper-division electives are taught semester-to-semester. Please check the schedule of classes on the RSJ website for a list of those courses taught in a given semester. For a complete list of journalism courses, visit the Course Descriptions  section in the online catalog.

IV. Minor Requirements

See “C. Outside Field of Study” above in “Section II. Additional School Requirements”.

V. Electives (0-11 units)

VI. Total Units (120 units)

VII. Recommended Schedule

Due to the sequential nature of the prerequisites for many upper-division courses, students who begin their journalism courses after the second freshman semester are advised that completing the journalism curriculum may delay their planned date of graduation, especially if following a career emphasis.

A. First Year

First Semester (18-19 units)

Second Semester (14 units)

B. Second Year

First Semester (12 units)

Second Semester (15 units)

C. Third Year

First Semester (15 units)

Second Semester (15 units)

  • JOUR Emphasis course (3 units)
  • JOUR Elective (3 units)
  • Minor course (3 units)
  • Literature course (3 units)
  • Core Curriculum Diversity or General Elective (3 units)

D. Fourth Year

First Semester (15 units)

Second Semester (15 units)

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