The Major

The Journalism major has a distinguished, award-winning faculty including winners of the Pulitzer Prize and the Freedom Forum Journalism Teacher of the Year Award. It draws a diverse group of students who graduate to jobs in newspapers, magazines, television, online journalism, and other fields requiring skills in reporting and writing. The major emphasizes both the theory and practice of journalism. Students receive a thorough grounding in the ethics and traditions of journalism as well as the nuts and bolts of reporting and writing. Although graduates of the program end up in a variety of fields including law, government, public relations, and teaching, the major is geared for students who want to work in journalism: daily or weekly newspapers, magazines, online publications, and broadcast media. Alumni work at the New York Times, the Boston Globe, National Public Radio, Dateline NBC, The Associated Press, and dozens of top media outlets around the world.

Requirements

1. JOURNAL 300 Newswriting and Reporting (4 cr), plus at least one advanced writing course offered by the program.
2. Any two of the following six courses: JOURNAL 312 Journalism and Law; JOURNAL 320 History of American Journalism; JOURNAL 345 Media Criticism; JOURNAL 460 Journalism Ethics; JOURNAL 450 Freedom of the Press; and JOURNAL 493 Literary Journalism in the 20th Century.
3. At least four additional elective courses from the department, numbered 200 and above, for a total of at least 26 credits in Journalism courses. Neither Pass/Fail credits nor internship credits may be counted toward these requirements. No more than three credits of independent study may be applied to the major.
4. A formal minor or certificate from outside the Department of Communication, or, when no formal minor exists, 15 credits in courses numbered 200 or above in an individual concentration, with the approval of the Chief Undergraduate Advisor.
Students are encouraged to consider studying at a university outside the United States whenever possible, or completing an internship. International study and mastery of a language other than English enrich the academic experience, and internships enhance career opportunties in journalism and related fields.

Sports Journalism Concentration

The Journalism major offers a special Sports Journalism Concentration. The Concentration includes four courses and an internship. These courses cover beat writing, blogging, column writing, multimedia, sports photography, the study of sports in film and literature, and more. Admission to the Concentration is by application. Students interested in taking the Concentration should contact Professor Steve Fox ( stevejfox@gmail.com ) in the Spring semester of their sophomore year.

Requirements for the Sports Journalism Concentration

The four-course sequence begins in the Fall semester of junior year — with students taking one course in the Concentration over their last four semesters. Students looking to focus on sports journalism are also urged to do an internship in sports journalism.

The course sequence:

1. JOURN 393S Sports Journalism

2. JOURN341 Images in Sports

3) Either JOURN425 The Politics of Sport or JOURN 428 Sports in Film, Journalism, and Literature

4) JOURN392T Issues in Sports