continued

Bachelor of Journalism

To be awarded the degree of Bachelor of Journalism, the candidate must complete 120 semester hours of coursework and must fulfill the University-wide graduation requirements in chapter 1, the college graduation requirements in this chapter, and the special requirements, prescribed work, and major requirements below.

Special Requirements

To become a journalism major, a student must apply for admission to one of the five areas of concentration within the department; these are the four professional skills sequences--news and public affairs, magazine journalism, photojournalism, and broadcast news--and media studies. The student should apply for admission to a concentration upon completion of Journalism 312. Admission decisions are made by the Journalism Undergraduate Selection Committee. The student may not take the upper-division introductory course(s) in a professional skills sequence unless he or she has been admitted to that sequence; these courses are Journalism 322 for the news and public affairs sequence, 327 for the magazine journalism sequence, 324K and 325 for the photojournalism sequence, and 320R for the broadcast news sequence.

The student may not take any upper-division journalism course unless he or she has been admitted to one of the five areas of concentration. Students who register for upper-division journalism courses without having been admitted to an area of concentration will be dropped from those courses, normally before the twelfth class day.

To enroll in upper-division journalism courses, a student must have a University grade point average of at least 2.25 and a grade point average in courses in the College of Communication of at least 2.00. Students who do not fulfill this requirement will be dropped from upper-division journalism courses, normally before the twelfth class day. This requirement is waived for the transfer student during the first semester of coursework, while he or she is establishing a University grade point average.

Passing scores on the College of Communication Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation Test and the Department of Journalism Word Processing Test are required for admission to most journalism courses. Students who do not fulfill this requirement will be dropped from these courses, normally before the twelfth class day.

Additional information about the preceding requirements is available from the Department of Journalism at (512) 471-1845 or http://www.utexas.edu/coc/journalism/.

A student majoring in journalism may not register for more than nine semester hours in journalism in one semester or summer session.

Any student enrolled in a journalism course who does not attend the first class meeting or laboratory session may be dropped from that course.

A student with a major in journalism must have a grade of at least C in each course taken in the College of Communication that is counted toward the degree; if the course is offered on the pass/fail basis only, the student must have a grade of CR.

Prescribed Work

1. English 306, 316K, and a three-semester-hour course taught in the Department of English.

2. Two courses certified as having a substantial writing component, both of which may be taken within the College of Communication. Courses with a substantial writing component are identified in the Course Schedule.

3. Three semester hours of coursework in the College of Communication dealing with the study of communication issues concerning at least one minority or nondominant group within the United States. Courses that fulfill this requirement are identified in the Course Schedule. They may also be used to fulfill other degree requirements. A partial list of these courses is given in this chapter.

4. Three semester hours of fine arts, chosen from courses in art (including art history, studio art, visual art studies), fine arts, music (including music, instruments, ensemble), and theatre and dance.

5. Students must complete four semesters in a single foreign language. These courses may not be taken on the pass/fail basis. The usual course sequence is 406 or 506, 407 or 507 or 508K, 312K, and 312L. Some language departments use different course numbers to designate the first four semesters of coursework; such courses may be used to fulfill this requirement if they are designed to provide first-semester-level through fourth-semester-level proficiency. Any part of this requirement may be fulfilled by credit by examination.

   Students who enter the University with a foreign language deficiency must take the first two semesters in a foreign language without degree credit to remove the deficiency. Students must then complete two semesters beyond those courses in the same language to fulfill the foreign language requirement.

   An extensive foreign language testing program is available at the University. Students with knowledge of a language are encouraged to take appropriate tests both to earn as much credit as possible and to be placed at the proper level for further study. Students should consult the Measurement and Evaluation Center or the department concerned for information on testing.

6. Fifteen semester hours of social science, consisting of six hours of American history; six hours of American government, including Texas government; and three hours of anthropology, economics, geography, linguistics, psychology, or sociology.

7. Three semester hours of mathematics.

8. Nine semester hours of natural sciences, of which six hours (and no more than six) must be taken in one field of study. Courses must be chosen from the following fields: astronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, computer sciences, geological sciences, marine science, microbiology, physical science, physics, and zoology. Students may fulfill this requirement by completing nine hours of coursework in the fields that are part of the Division of Biological Sciences--biology, botany, microbiology, and zoology; no more than six hours may be in a single field. For this requirement a student may take three hours of mathematics beyond those used to fulfill requirement 7.

9. For students in the photojournalism sequence, two or three semester hours of visual design or drawing and three semester hours in survey or history of the visual arts. These courses may not also be used to fulfill requirement 4 above.

10. At least thirty-six semester hours of upper-division coursework.

11. No more than twelve semester hours of transfer credit in journalism may be counted toward the degree.

12. Enough additional coursework to make a total of 120 semester hours. No more than thirty-six semester hours in one subject may be counted toward the degree, except as indicated under "Major Requirements" below.

Major Requirements

1. Thirty-three semester hours of journalism.
2. Journalism 310, 310K, 312, 360, and three additional hours of journalism. Journalism 310, 310K, and 312 are prerequisite to other skills courses.
3. One course in journalism perspectives chosen from the following: Journalism 323, 329K, 332, 352, 359, 363, 376, and 378.
4. Fifteen semester hours in one of the following areas of concentration. Admission to some areas requires testing, an interview, or other procedures; information about these requirements is available from the departmental adviser.
   1. News and Public Affairs: Journalism 314, 322 (introductory course), 324, 336, and 361.
   2. Magazine Journalism: Journalism 314, 327 (introductory course), 336, 368, and 375.
   3. Photojournalism: Journalism 311K (introductory course), 324K, 325, 325K, and 370K or 371K.
   4. Broadcast News: Journalism 322 (introductory course), 320R (Topic 1: Specialized Reporting), 320R (Topic 3: Problems of Radio News Coverage), 321K, and 343R.
   5. Media Studies: Two courses chosen from the other areas of concentration, including at least one introductory course; and three courses in journalism perspectives in addition to the one used to fulfill requirement 3 above.
5. At least six semester hours of coursework must be taken in the College of Communication but outside the department. Students concentrating in media studies must use Communication 360 to fulfill part of this requirement. A student may count up to forty-two hours (including transfer credit) in College of Communication coursework toward the degree, if these hours include at least one course in communication sciences and disorders or speech. Otherwise, no student may count toward the degree more than thirty-nine hours (including transfer credit) in College of Communication coursework.
6. No College of Communication course to be counted toward the degree may be taken on the pass/fail basis, unless the course is offered only on that basis.

Order and Choice of Work

First Year

1. The student must take three courses from the following group each semester:
   1. English 306.
   2. Courses to be counted toward requirements 6, 7, and 8 of the prescribed work above. Students who plan to concentrate in photojournalism are encouraged to take courses in chemistry, physics, and mathematics to fulfill requirement 8.
   3. Courses in a foreign language.
2. Enough additional coursework (if only three of the courses under item 1 above are taken) to raise the student's course load to fifteen or sixteen hours each semester. Courses should be chosen with the guidance of a college adviser.

First-year students may not take two beginning language courses in the same semester. First-year students may not take more than eight semester hours in one department.

Second Year

1. The student must take three courses from the following group each semester; four are recommended:
   1. English 316K and any three-semester-hour course taught in the Department of English.
   2. Courses to be counted toward requirements 6, 7, and 8 of the prescribed work, including courses in American government or American history.
   3. Courses in the foreign language, unless the language requirement has been fulfilled.
2. Journalism 310, 310K, and 312. Students who plan to concentrate in news and public affairs or magazine journalism should take Journalism 314 as well.
3. Enough additional coursework, if needed, to raise the student's course load to fifteen or sixteen hours each semester. Basic courses in accounting and computer sciences are especially recommended.

Third and Fourth Years

1. Two courses certified as having a substantial writing component.
2. Any outstanding requirements included in the prescribed work.
3. The remaining courses listed as major requirements for the student's area of concentration.
4. Upper-division electives chosen to support the major. Students in the concentration in news and public affairs, for example, normally emphasize government, history, English, sociology, or psychology. Students planning a specialty, however, should select courses to support that specialty: science courses, for example, would support a specialty in science news reporting; courses in fine arts would support a specialty in critical writing. Students seeking teacher certification should consult the teacher certification officer, College of Education, for information about the courses required.

Bachelor of Science in Public Relations

The degree program in public relations is interdisciplinary, drawing on the Departments of Advertising, Journalism, Radio-Television-Film, and Speech Communication. Students complete forty-five semester hours of coursework in the College of Communication.

To be awarded the degree of Bachelor of Science in Public Relations, the candidate must complete 120 semester hours of coursework and must fulfill the University-wide graduation requirements in chapter 1, the college graduation requirements in this chapter, and the special requirements, prescribed work, and major requirements below.

Special Requirements

To enroll in upper-division public relations courses, a student must have a University grade point average of at least 2.25 and a grade point average in courses in the College of Communication of at least 2.00. Students who do not fulfill this requirement will be dropped from upper-division public relations courses, normally before the twelfth class day. This requirement is waived for the transfer student during the first semester of coursework, while he or she is establishing a University grade point average.

In addition, a student with a major in public relations must have a grade of at least C in each course taken in the College of Communication that is counted toward the degree; if the course is offered on the pass/fail basis only, the student must have a grade of CR.

A passing score on the College of Communication Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation Test is required for admission to all public relations courses and to most other courses in the major. Students who do not fulfill this requirement will be dropped from these courses, normally before the twelfth class day.

A student majoring in public relations may not register for more than nine semester hours of public relations in one semester or summer session.

Prescribed Work

1. English 306, 316K, and a three-semester-hour course taught in the Department of English.

2. Two courses certified as having a substantial writing component, both of which may be taken within the College of Communication. Courses with a substantial writing component are identified in the Course Schedule.

3. Three semester hours of coursework in the College of Communication dealing with the study of communication issues concerning at least one minority or nondominant group within the United States. Courses that fulfill this requirement are identified in the Course Schedule. They may also be used to fulfill other degree requirements. A partial list of these courses is given in this chapter.

4. Three semester hours of fine arts, chosen from courses in art (including art history, studio art, visual art studies), fine arts, music (including music, instruments, ensemble), and theatre and dance.

5. Students must complete four semesters in a single foreign language. These courses may not be taken on the pass/fail basis. The usual course sequence is 406 or 506, 407 or 507 or 508K, 312K, and 312L. Some language departments use different course numbers to designate the first four semesters of coursework; such courses may be used to fulfill this requirement if they are designed to provide first-semester-level through fourth-semester-level proficiency. Any part of this requirement may be fulfilled by credit by examination.

   Students who enter the University with a foreign language deficiency must take the first two semesters in a foreign language without degree credit to remove the deficiency. Students must then complete two semesters beyond those courses in the same language to fulfill the foreign language requirement.

   An extensive foreign language testing program is available at the University. Students with knowledge of a language are encouraged to take appropriate tests both to earn as much credit as possible and to be placed at the proper level for further study. Students should consult the Measurement and Evaluation Center or the department concerned for information on testing.

6. Fifteen semester hours of social science, consisting of six hours of American history; six hours of American government, including Texas government; and three hours of anthropology, economics, geography, linguistics, psychology, or sociology.

7. Three semester hours of mathematics.

8. Nine semester hours of natural sciences, of which six hours (and no more than six) must be taken in one field of study. Courses must be chosen from the following fields: astronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, computer sciences, geological sciences, marine science, microbiology, physical science, physics, and zoology. Students may fulfill this requirement by completing nine hours of coursework in the fields that are part of the Division of Biological Sciences--biology, botany, microbiology, and zoology; no more than six hours may be in a single field. For this requirement a student may take three hours of mathematics beyond those used to fulfill requirement 7.

9. At least thirty-six semester hours of upper-division coursework.

10. No more than twelve semester hours of transfer credit may be counted toward the major requirements given below.

11. Enough additional coursework to make a total of 120 semester hours. No more than thirty-six semester hours in one subject and no more than forty-eight hours in the College of Communication may be counted toward the degree.

Major Requirements

1. The following courses: Communication 360, Journalism 312, 321K, 363, Public Relations 333, 348, 367, 377K.

2. Twenty-one semester hours chosen from the following courses, including at least three hours in theory courses and three in skills courses. At least six of these hours must be in upper-division courses.

   Theory courses: Advertising 318J, 319, 334, 335, Journalism 360, Radio-Television-Film 309, 312C, Speech 310K, 315M, 332K, 350K.

   Skills courses: Advertising 348, Journalism 314, 324, 327, 336, 375, Public Relations 374, Radio-Television-Film 317, 318, Speech 305 or 319, 331K, 332.

3. No College of Communication course to be counted toward the degree may be taken on the pass/fail basis, unless the course is offered only on that basis.

Order and Choice of Work

First Year

1. The student must take three courses from the following group each semester:
   1. English 306.
   2. Courses to be counted toward requirements 6, 7, and 8 of the prescribed work above.
   3. Courses in a foreign language.
2. Six semester hours to be counted toward major requirement 2 above.
3. Additional coursework, if needed, to raise the student's course load to fifteen or sixteen hours each semester. Courses should be chosen with the guidance of a college adviser.

First-year students may not take two beginning language courses in the same semester. First year students may not take more than eight semester hours in one department.

Second Year

1. The student must take three courses from the following group each semester; four are recommended:
   1. English 316K and any three-semester-hour course taught in the Department of English.
   2. Courses to be counted toward requirements 6, 7, and 8 of the prescribed work, including courses in American government or American history.
   3. Courses in the foreign language, unless the language requirement has been fulfilled.
2. Journalism 312.
3. Six semester hours to be counted toward major requirement 2 above.
4. Enough additional coursework, if needed, to raise the student's course load to fifteen or sixteen hours each semester.

Third and Fourth Years

1. Two courses certified as having a substantial writing component.
2. Any outstanding requirements included in the prescribed work.
3. Required major courses, in the following order:
   1. First semester, third year: Communication 360, Journalism 363, and Public Relations 333.
   2. Second semester, third year: Public Relations 348, 367, and a three-semester-hour theory or skills course to be counted toward major requirement 2 above.
   3. Fourth year: Journalism 321K, Public Relations 377K, and any remaining courses listed as major requirements.

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Undergraduate catalog

Contents  |  Chapter 1  |  Chapter 2  |  Chapter 3  |  Chapter 4
Chapter 5  |  Chapter 6  |  Chapter 7  |  Chapter 8  |  Chapter 9
Chapter 10  |  Chapter 11  |  Chapter 12  |  Chapter 13
Texas Common Course Numbering System (Appendix A)
Appendix B

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