DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM

Patricia Bradley, Ph.D., Department Chair:
316 Annenberg Hall
215/204-7433
journ@temple.edu

The basic curriculum for Journalism, Public Relations, and Advertising (JPRA) is designed with the conviction that proficiency in the field requires a broad educational background coupled with rigorous professional training. The curriculum, therefore, emphasizes subject matter from other disciplines, particularly those in the traditional liberal arts and sciences. The department prepares students for both careers in communication and lives as informed, productive media consumers. Department requirements provide a solid foundation for students who are likely to shift directions as they and communication industries change. The department also believes that effective writing is central to communication and is a common theme in the department curriculum.

Students need to meet the department’s foundation requirements, as well as the requirements of their chosen sequence. The JPRA sequences are: Advertising, Broadcast Journalism, Magazine, News-Editorial, Photography for the Mass Media, Public Relations, and Multimedia.

Students who have majored in JPRA have entered a variety of careers including advertising account executives, copy writers, media planners, news anchors, producers, writers, magazine editors, photojournalists, special events planners, and broadcast, newspaper and online reporters.

At the heart of the JPRA program is a strong academic advising system. While students must ultimately be responsible for their own academic programs, freshmen and first-semester transfer students will first meet with a SCAT Academic Adviser. During the sophomore and junior years, a student must meet at least once each year with a faculty adviser who is knowledgeable about the sequence of study the student is following.

The department has a chapter of the national journalism and mass media honor society, Kappa Tau Alpha. Additionally, every spring the department awards thousands of dollars in scholarships to deserving majors. Once a year, the department holds an induction ceremony for the outstanding majors. 

There are also active student organizations affiliated with national groups such as the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), and the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA). Temple’s JPRA department is one of the only two programs in Pennsylvania accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACE

Requirements for the Major (MINOR, CERTIFICATE, CONCENTRATION)

The degree of Bachelor of Arts may be conferred upon a student majoring in Journalism, Public Relations, and Advertising by recommendation of the faculty and upon satisfactory completion of a minimum of 126 semester hours of credit with a cumulative average of 2.0 overall and in the major.

Students must meet:
1.University Core requirements
2.School of Communications and Theater requirements
3.Major requirements in the department

Degree Requirements

The following University-wide courses are required of JPRA majors, some of which also count toward the University Core Curricular requirements:

Plus one of the following:

Total: 21 credit hours

Of the 126 semester hours required for graduation, at least 80 semester hours must be in courses outside Journalism, Public Relations, and Advertising; Film and Media Arts (FMA); and Broadcasting, Telecommunications, and Mass Media (BTMM), and 65 of those credits must be in liberal arts and science courses. This limits to 15 the number of credit hours taken from Education, Business, etc. if the student plans to graduate with no more than 126 credits.

The remaining semester hours required outside the department may be taken in any department of the University except Business Education. The department also does not count towards graduation credits earned through Sec. Ed. 0317, Topical Studies, Military Science, or the Extern Program.

Only eight semester hours will be accepted from Physical Education courses. No more than six hours total of courses in Psychoeducational Processes (PEP) may be taken, and no more than 30 hours may be taken in any single CLA department or other SCAT department without special written permission from the Department of Journalism, Public Relations, and Advertising. These requirements are to ensure a broad-based liberal arts education for each major.

Students required to take English 0040 must complete that requirement before enrolling in any Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising 0150.

Specific Major Requirements

To receive the degree of Bachelor of Arts, students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 126 credit hours in the University with at least 36 credits in JPRA but no more than 46 in JPRA, the Department of Film and Media Arts (FMA) and the Department of Broadcasting Telecommunication and Mass Media (BTMM). Students are cautioned to plan their program so they do exceed the 46-credit hour limit that is set by our accrediting agency.

It is the student's responsibility to meet all course prerequisite requirements.

A maximum of 12 semester hours of JPRA-related coursework may be transferred from a program accredited by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. (This includes classes in public relations and advertising.) Students transferring from all other institutions will be allowed a maximum of 9 semester hours of JPRA-related transfer credit, including JPRA C055 (Journalism and Society) and JPRA 0150 (Writing for Journalism). Under no circumstances will credit be allowed for duplicate courses.

The department does not award credit for academic or life experience. Students with extensive experience may present evidence and petition for a waiver of department course requirements.

Journalism, Public Relations, and Advertising majors must receive a grade of C or higher in all required department courses and must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the department as well as the 2.0 overall average required by the University to qualify for graduation. Students who fall below a 2.0 average for a semester, for all department courses or in their overall University courses, will be placed on probation or academic warning, the first step toward dismissal.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR (MINOR, CERTIFICATE, CONCENTRATION)

SELECT ONE

OR

Total: 12 or 14 credit hours

JPRA 0051, Mass Media Writing Style Lab, a two-credit course, may be required of some students as preparation for department writing courses. However, students placed in English 0040, 200 or higher may test out of it based on standardized test scores. 

And, an additional course from the following list:

Note: Students placed into English 0040 must pass (with a C or better) the two-credit Mass Media Writing lab, JPRA 051 must take the following. Completion of JPRA CO55 and 0150 with grades of C or better is required before students enroll in any JPRA classes numbered 200 or higher.

All JPRA majors must have a capstone course in the sequences of their choice. Capstone classes can only be taken when the appropriate prerequisites have been taken.

The following capstone classes are offered: