2008-09 Undergraduate Catalog
Majors
The Department of Journalism consistently ranks among the best journalism programs in the United States. It is housed in a college professionally accredited by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. The department's mission is to teach the art and craft of excellent journalism and to foster an appreciation for accuracy, fairness, truth and diversity.
The courses allow students to develop their storytelling talent - in words or pictures - and prepare them for careers as writers, photographers, editors or designers. The flexible curriculum allows students to work in magazines, newspapers and online publications. Excellent writing skills are essential. Graduates of the program work with major organizations in the field and have won prolific honors, including the Pulitzer Prize.
In this curriculum, core courses offer students basic preparation and professional electives allow students to develop strengths in one or more areas.
At the beginning of the junior year, journalism majors meet with their assigned faculty adviser to plot the last two years of courses. Students select a capstone course from one of these areas: editing, design, magazines, online media, photojournalism and reporting. The capstone course is taken in the last semester. With the faculty adviser, the student maps a two-year program leading toward the capstone course.
One of the requirements of the capstone course will be submission of a professional portfolio.
Selecting an area of emphasis does not preclude students from taking courses in other areas. Students are able to create personalized degree plans in collaboration with a faculty adviser.
A minimum grade of C is required in journalism courses.
To graduate with this major, students must complete all university, college and major requirements.
For semesters 7-8, students must complete two professional courses.
* C or better required in these courses
** Students may need additional hours of electives to meet the 124 hours to graduate.
Only three hours of professional internship credit can count toward graduation, regardless of the department granting the credit.
Special training and supervised research are available for journalism teachers and others interested in working at the high school level. Students seeking state certification in journalism should contact the Department of Journalism or the Office of Student Services, College of Education.
The state headquarters of the Florida Scholastic Press Association is located in the College of Journalism and Communications. A summer institute for high school teachers and journalism students is conducted in cooperation with the Division of Continuing Education.
Students take core courses, an area in methods of teaching journalism, 26 hours of education courses and a minor in English or speech. Students seeking state certification in language arts should contact the Department of Journalism.
| Journalism |
| College: Journalism and Communications |
| Degree: Bachelor of Science in Journalism |
| Hours for the Degree: 124 |
| Minor: No |
| Combined-Degree Program: No |
| Website: www.jou.ufl.edu/academic/jou/ |
The Department of Journalism consistently ranks among the best journalism programs in the United States. It is housed in a college professionally accredited by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. The department's mission is to teach the art and craft of excellent journalism and to foster an appreciation for accuracy, fairness, truth and diversity.
The courses allow students to develop their storytelling talent - in words or pictures - and prepare them for careers as writers, photographers, editors or designers. The flexible curriculum allows students to work in magazines, newspapers and online publications. Excellent writing skills are essential. Graduates of the program work with major organizations in the field and have won prolific honors, including the Pulitzer Prize.
In this curriculum, core courses offer students basic preparation and professional electives allow students to develop strengths in one or more areas.
Core Courses (all journalism majors)
| JOU 1100 Introduction to Journalism | 1 |
| JOU 3101 Reporting | 3 |
| JOU 3110 Applied Fact Finding | 3 |
| JOU 4201 Newspaper Editing | 3 |
| JOU 4700 Problems and Ethics of Journalism in Society | 3 |
| MMC 2100 Writing for Mass Communication | 3 |
| MMC 4200 Law of Mass Communication | 3 |
At the beginning of the junior year, journalism majors meet with their assigned faculty adviser to plot the last two years of courses. Students select a capstone course from one of these areas: editing, design, magazines, online media, photojournalism and reporting. The capstone course is taken in the last semester. With the faculty adviser, the student maps a two-year program leading toward the capstone course.
Capstone Courses, by Areas of Emphasis
| Editing: JOU 4202 Advanced Editing and Design |
| Design: JOU 4412 Advanced Design |
| Magazines: JOU 4445C Applied Magazine Publishing or JOU 4311 Advanced Magazine Writing |
| Online Media: JOU 4946 Applied Electronic Publishing |
| Photojournalism: JOU 4605 Advanced Photojournalism 2 |
| Reporting: JOU 4946 Applied Journalism or JOU 4181 Public Affairs Reporting |
One of the requirements of the capstone course will be submission of a professional portfolio.
Selecting an area of emphasis does not preclude students from taking courses in other areas. Students are able to create personalized degree plans in collaboration with a faculty adviser.
A minimum grade of C is required in journalism courses.
To graduate with this major, students must complete all university, college and major requirements.
Critical Tracking and Recommended Semester Plan
Semester 1:
- 2.8 GPA on all work at all institutions
Semester 2:
- 3.0 GPA on all work at all institutions for semesters 2-4
- 2.0 GPA required for all critical-tracking coursework for semesters 2-4
- Complete 2 of 6 critical-tracking courses: AMH 2010, AMH 2020, POS 2041, approved English elective, MMC 2100, one of the following: POS 2112, INR 2001 or CPO 2001
Semester 3:
- Complete 2 additional courses
Semester 4:
- Complete 2 additional courses
To remain on track, students must complete the appropriate critical-tracking courses, which appear in bold.
Recommended semester plan
| Semester 1 | Credits |
| AMH 2010 United States to 1877 (GE-H) | 3 |
| ENC 1101 Expository and Argumentative Writing (GE-C) * | 3 |
| POS 2112 American State and Local Government (GE-S) or INR 2001 Introduction to International Relations or CPO 2001 Comparative Politics | 3 |
| JOU 1100 Introduction to Journalism | 1 |
| Physical or Biological Science (GE-P or GE-B) | 3 |
| Mathematics (GE-M) * | 3 |
| Total | 16 |
| Semester 2 | Credits |
| POS 2041 American Federal Government (GE-S) | 3 |
| AMH 2020 United States Since 1877 (GE-H) | 3 |
| English elective * | 3 |
| Mathematics (GE-M) * | 3 |
| Foreign language * or quantitative option ** | 3-5 |
| Total | 15-17 |
| Semester 3 | Credits |
| English elective * | 3 |
| MMC 2100 Writing for Mass Communication * | 3 |
| Elective outside college | 3 |
| Physical or Biological Science (GE-P or GE-B) | 3 |
| Foreign language * or quantitative option ** | 3-5 |
| Total | 15-17 |
| Semester 4 | Credits |
| JOU 3101 Reporting * | 3 |
| JOU 3110 Applied Fact Finding | 3 |
| ECO 2013 Principles of Macroeconomics or ECO 2023 Principles of Microeconomics (GE-S) | 3 |
| SPC 2600 Introduction to Public Speaking or ORI 2000 Oral Performance of Literature 1 * | 3 |
| Electives outside college | 6 |
| Total | 18 |
| Semester 5 | Credits |
| JOU 4201 Newspaper Editing * | 3 |
| JOU courses * | 6 |
| Outside concentration | 3 |
| Elective outside college | 3 |
| Total | 15 |
| Semester 6 | Credits |
| Outside concentration | 6 |
| Elective outside college | 3 |
| JOU courses * | 6 |
| Total | 15 |
For semesters 7-8, students must complete two professional courses.
| Semester 7 | Credits |
| JOU courses * | 6 |
| JOU 4700 Problems and Ethics of Journalism in Society * | 3 |
| Outside concentration | 3 |
| Elective outside college | 3 |
| Total | 15 |
| Semester 8 | Credits |
| JOU course * | 3 |
| JOU capstone course * | 3 |
| MMC 4200 Law of Mass Communication | 3 |
| Outside concentration | 3 |
| Elective outside college | 3 |
| Total | 15 |
* C or better required in these courses
** Students may need additional hours of electives to meet the 124 hours to graduate.
Only three hours of professional internship credit can count toward graduation, regardless of the department granting the credit.
Journalism for Teachers
Special training and supervised research are available for journalism teachers and others interested in working at the high school level. Students seeking state certification in journalism should contact the Department of Journalism or the Office of Student Services, College of Education.
The state headquarters of the Florida Scholastic Press Association is located in the College of Journalism and Communications. A summer institute for high school teachers and journalism students is conducted in cooperation with the Division of Continuing Education.
Students take core courses, an area in methods of teaching journalism, 26 hours of education courses and a minor in English or speech. Students seeking state certification in language arts should contact the Department of Journalism.