Journalism

Andrew Mendelson, Ph.D., Department Chair
316 Annenberg Hall
215-204-7433
journ@temple.edu

www.temple.edu/sct/journalism/

The curriculum for Journalism is based on developing critical thinking in students for a multimedia, urban, journalistic environment. This requires a broad educational background coupled with rigorous professional training. The curriculum emphasizes subject matter from other disciplines, particularly those in the traditional liberal arts. The department also believes that effective writing is central to communication and is, therefore, integral to the department curriculum. 

Graduates of the program will develop:

1.  Strong skills in reporting, writing, photography, audio/video newsgathering, print and web editing and design.

2.  The ability to analyze critically past and present trends of journalism and to help craft alternative forms of journalism for the future.

3.  A strong sense of ethical responsibility and the knowledge necessary for ethical decision-making.

4.  An understanding of digital and interactive media technologies.

5.  The ability to provide information in multimedia formats.

6.  A culture of collaboration through team reporting....

7.  ...in order to tell stories emanating from a diverse urban environment.

8.  A keen understanding of the increasingly-global nature of today's journalistic environment.

9.  An appreciation of free expression and awareness of legal constraints guiding responsible journalism.

Students need to meet the department’s foundation requirements as well as 18 credits of journalism electives, forming an area of emphasis. A capstone experience, Journalism 4196, combines urban community journalism with multimedia storytelling. This capstone produces the online news site, PhiladelphiaNeighborhoods.com.

Students who major in Journalism enter a variety of careers, including those as web reporters and producers, newspaper reporters and editors, photographers, radio and television reporters, and magazine writers and editors.

Although students must ultimately be responsible for their own academic programs, freshmen and first-semester transfer students will first meet with a School of Communications and Theater academic advisor. During the sophomore and junior years, a student must meet at least once each year with a faculty advisor who is knowledgeable about the sequence of study the student is following. 

The department has a chapter of the national journalism and mass communication honor society, Kappa Tau Alpha. Additionally, every spring the department awards thousands of dollars in scholarships to deserving majors.  

There are also active student organizations affiliated with national professional organizations. Temple’s Journalism Department is one of the only two programs in Pennsylvania accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC).

Degree Requirements

The degree of Bachelor of Arts may be conferred upon a student majoring in Journalism by recommendation of the faculty and upon satisfactory completion of a minimum of 124 semester hours of credit with a cumulative average of 2.0 overall and in the major.

Students must meet:

1. University requirements:

• New students starting in the 2010-2011 academic year are required to complete the General Education (GenEd) curriculum.
• All students must take a minimum of two writing-intensive courses. The specific writing-intensive courses required for this major are listed below and identified with the code "WI" in the RCI column.

2. School of Communications and Theater requirements
3. Major requirements in the department

Requirements for the Major

The following university-wide courses are required of Journalism majors:

Of the 124 semester hours required for graduation, at least 80 semester hours must be in courses outside Journalism; 65 of those credits must be in liberal arts and science courses. This limits students to a minimum of 15 the number of credit hours taken from other departments in the School of Communications and Theater, Education, Business, etc., if the student plans to graduate with no more than 124 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 Secondary Education 0317, Topical Studies, lower-level credits in Military Science, or the Extern Program.

Only 8 semester hours will be accepted from Kinesiology courses. No more than 30 hours may be taken in any single CLA department or other SCT department without special written permission from the Department of Journalism. These requirements are to ensure a broad-based liberal arts education for each major.

Students required to take English 0701 must complete that requirement before enrolling in Journalism 1196.

Specific Major Requirements

To receive the degree of Bachelor of Arts, students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 124 credit hours in the university, with at least 43 credits in Journalism (depending on the sequence) but no more than 44 credits in Journalism. Students are cautioned to plan their program so they do not exceed the 44-credit hour limit that is set by our accrediting body.

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

A maximum of 12 semester hours of Journalism-related coursework may be transferred from a program accredited by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Students transferring from all other institutions will be allowed a maximum of 9 semester hours of Journalism-related transfer credit, including Journalism 1111 (Journalism and Society) and Journalism 1196 (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 majors must receive a grade of C or higher in all required department courses and electives for them to count for the major 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.

Departmental Requirements for the Major

Notes: Students placed into English 0701 must pass (with a C or better) the two-credit Mass Media Writing Style Lab, Journalism 1101. Completion of Journalism 1111 and 1196 with grades of C or better is required before students enroll in any Journalism classes numbered higher than 1111.

A maximum of 3 credits may be earned for internships and a maximum of 3 credits for independent studies. If students plan to take multiple internships for credits, it is recommended that students register for 1-credit internships.

Please take notice of all prerequisites.

Suggested Semester By Semester Plan

Please note that these are suggested academic plans. Depending on your situation, your academic plan may look different.

Bachelor of Arts in Journalism

Requirements for New Students starting in the 2010-2011 Academic Year