Journalism (BA)

This program is offered by the School of Communications/Communications and Journalism Department and is only available at the St. Louis home campus.

Program Description

The journalism major prepares students to work as professionals in the field, and they will learn the essential elements of reporting, writing and producing news and features for a variety of media, including print, broadcast and online. Students will complete two semesters in a student-run news organization, including the university’s award-winning Journal and may elect to complete an internship with a professional news organization.

Learning Outcomes

Successful graduates of this program will be able to:

• Identify and evaluate potential news stories that will impact, inform and engage a defined audience.
• Construct the most compelling and effective ways to tell a story based upon an analysis of purpose, audience and available media. This includes taking advantage of multimedia to tell stories in a global context in more complete and meaningful ways.
• Gather and evaluate the validity and reliability of information as well as to evaluate the veracity of the sources from which information comes through:
  • The process of interviewing.
  • Research and public records search.
  • Database-driven, computer-assisted reporting.
• Evaluate and comprehend the ethical and legal implications of one’s journalistic publication decisions.
• Apply entrepreneurial and relationship-building skills in order to compete effectively for professional employment opportunities.

Degree Requirements

For information on the general requirements for a degree, see Baccalaureate Degree Requirements under the Academic Policies and Information section of this catalog.

• 48 required credit hours
• Applicable University Global Citizenship Program hours
• Electives

Required Courses

• MDST 1010 Media Foundations (3 hours)
• JOUR 1020 Introduction to Media Production for Journalists (3 hours)
• JOUR 1030 Fundamentals of Reporting (3 hours)
• JOUR 2110 Production Techniques (3 hours)
• JOUR 2140 Advanced Reporting (3 hours)
• MDST 2200 Ethics in the Media (3 hours)
• JOUR 2170 Multimedia News Editing (3 hours)
• MDST 2800 Media, Diversity and Society (3 hours)
• JOUR 3300 Newspaper Production Workshop (3 hours)
• JOUR 3600 Multimedia News Production (3 hours)
• MDST 3300 Media Law, Ethics & Policy (3 hours)
• JOUR 4700 Professional Development in Journalism (3 hours)
• MDST 4950 Internship* (3 hours)
  or JOUR 4620 Senior Overview* (3 hours)

*Capstone Course

In addition to the above required courses, students must choose 9 credit hours from the following:

• COAP 2000 Introduction to Web Programming (3 hours)
• JOUR 2300 Journalism: Layout and Design (3 hours)
• JOUR 2850 Radio-TV News Reporting (3 hours)
• JOUR 3050 Sports Reporting (3 hours)
• JOUR 3060 Community Reporting (3 hours)
• JOUR 3080 Global Journalism (3 hours)
• JOUR 3090 Covering Global Conflicts (3 hours)
• JOUR 3130 Feature Writing (3 hours)
• JOUR 3750 Environmental Journalism and Communications (3 hours)
• JOUR 4170 Investigative Journalism (3 hours)
• JOUR 4390 Magazine Production (3 hours)
• FTVP 1000 Introduction to Film, Television, and Video Production (3 hours)
• INTM 1600 Introduction to Interactive Media (3 hours)
• PHOT 2500 Photojournalism (3 hours)
• PHOT 3190 Digital Photographic Imaging (3 hours)

Portfolio Review for Journalists

Seniors majoring in journalism must complete a portfolio review with a panel of faculty within the School of Communications after taking these classes:

• JOUR 1020 Introduction to Media Production for Journalists (3 hours)
• JOUR 1030 Fundamentals of Reporting (3 hours)
• JOUR 2110 Production Techniques (3 hours)
• JOUR 2140 Advanced Reporting (3 hours)
• JOUR 3300 Newspaper Production Workshop (3 hours)

Students' online digital portfolios are judged on both the quality and presentation of the material. Faculty members consider accuracy, creativity, content and technical expertise in the work presented, and the professionalism of delivery.