The School of Journalism requires its students to maintain at least a 2.7 (B-) grade point average in all journalism classes, in order to remain in good academic standing within the school. Students are required to complete each journalism class with at least a grade of C. Students who fall below a 2.7 grade point average in journalism classes will be placed on probation and must improve according to established terms if they are to remain in the school. Students who have below an overall 2.7 grade point average in journalism classes will not be allowed to graduate with the B.A. in journalism. Journalism majors follow the general education requirements for social science majors in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Print Journalism Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts

Required courses, Lower division		Units
JOUR 201	History of News in Modern America	4
JOUR 205	Newswriting	4

Required courses, Upper division		Units
JOUR 307	News Editing	4
JOUR 310	Investigative Reporting	4
JOUR 462	Law of Mass Communication	4

one course from:

JOUR 400	Interpretive Writing	4
JOUR 435	Writing Magazine Non-Fiction	4

one course from:

JOUR 440	Specialized Reporting	4
JOUR 441	Sports Reporting	4
JOUR 443	Business Reporting	4
JOUR 447	Arts Reporting	4
JOUR 448	Governmental Reporting	4
JOUR 449	Reporting Los Angeles	4
JOUR 474	Interviewing and Profile Writing	4
Plus three upper division journalism electives approved by an advisor		12

Public Relations Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts

Required courses, Lower division		Units
JOUR 201	History of News in Modern America	4
JOUR 205	Newswriting	4

Required courses, Upper division		Units
JOUR 350	Principles of Public Relations	4
JOUR 351a	Public Relations Media	4
JOUR 351b	Public Relations Media	4
JOUR 450	Advanced Public Relations	4
JOUR 463	Research and Analysis	4
Plus three upper division journalism electives approved by an advisor		12

Majors wishing to emphasize advertising may choose their electives from JOUR 340, 341, 342 and 343.

Broadcast Journalism Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts

Required courses, Lower division		Units
JOUR 201	History of News in Modern America	4
JOUR 205	Newswriting	4

Required courses, Upper division		Units
JOUR 300L	Principles of Television Production	4
JOUR 310	Investigative Reporting	4
JOUR 320	Broadcast Newswriting	4
JOUR 405	Non-Fiction Television	4
JOUR 462	Law of Mass Communication	4

one course from:

JOUR 402	Broadcast Reporting	4
JOUR 403	Television News Production	4
Plus two upper division journalism electives approved by an advisor		8

Journalism/East Asian Area Studies Combined Major

Students admitted to the School of Journalism may elect to follow a combined Journalism/East Asian Studies major. The major consists of six journalism classes, six East Asian classes and four semesters of an East Asian language. Majors will be required to fulfill the general education requirements for the Social Sciences. Students must complete the 48 units required in Journalism and East Asian Studies courses with at least a B- (2.7) grade point average and no grade lower than a C (2.0) to be awarded the B.A. degree in Journalism/East Asian Studies.

Required journalism courses		Units
JOUR 201	History of News in Modern America	4
JOUR 205	Newswriting	4
JOUR 307	News Editing	4
JOUR 462	Law of Mass Communication	4

one course chosen from among:

JOUR 400	Interpretive Writing	4
JOUR 435	Writing Magazine Non-Fiction	4
JOUR 440	Specialized Reporting	4
JOUR 441	Sports Reporting	4
JOUR 443	Business Reporting	4
JOUR 447	Arts Reporting	4
JOUR 448	Governmental Reporting	4
JOUR 474	Interviewing and Profile Writing	4
Plus one upper division journalism elective approved by an advisor		4

The East Asian requirements are a choice of either EASC 150 or EALC 110 to fulfill the Non-Western class requirement for General Education; five upper division classes from the East Asian Studies list (one of which must be from the history department); and a fourth semester of an East Asian language. (The first three semesters of East Asian language study satisfy the university's language requirement.)

Students meeting the School of Journalism graduation requirements will be awarded a B.A. degree in Journalism/East Asian Studies.

Journalism-Russian Combined Major

Students admitted to the School of Journalism may elect to follow a combined Journalism/Russian major. The major consists of six journalism classes; four classes in literature and culture from the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures; two electives from a selected list of history, international relations, political science, Slavic literature and culture, and sociology courses; and four semesters of Russian. Majors will be required to fulfill the general education requirements for the Social Sciences. To be awarded the B.A. degree in Journalism/Russian, students must complete the 48 units required in Journalism and Slavic Languages and Literatures courses with at least a B- (2.7) grade point average and no grade lower than a C (2.0).

Required journalism courses		Units
JOUR 201	History of News in Modern America	4
JOUR 205	Newswriting	4
JOUR 307	News Editing	4
JOUR 350	Principles of Public Relations	4
JOUR 462	Law of Mass Communication	4

one course chosen from among:

JOUR 300L	Principles of Television Production 4
JOUR 351a	Public Relations Media	4
JOUR 400	Interpretive Writing	4
JOUR 435	Writing Magazine Non-Fiction	4
JOUR 440	Specialized Reporting	4
JOUR 441	Sports Reporting	4
JOUR 443	Business Reporting	4
JOUR 447	Arts Reporting	4
JOUR 448	Governmental Reporting	4
JOUR 474	Interviewing and Profile Writing	4

The Slavic Languages and Literatures requirements are SLL 330; four semesters of Russian (SLL 120, 150, 220 and 250), the first three of which satisfy the university's language requirement; plus three classes chosen from among SLL 200, 210, 300, 302, 303, 344, 345, 348, 378, and 400; plus two classes chosen from among History 320, 324, 328, 415, 416, 424; International Relations 370, 445, 483; Political Science 464; SLL 301, 321; or Sociology 462.

Students meeting the School of Journalism graduation requirements will be awarded a B.A. degree in Journalism/Russian.

Minor in Journalism

The minor in journalism enables majors from other disciplines to understand how American media systems function, how news is gathered, analyzed, written and reported, and how careful investigation, critical skills and strategic planning enable broadcasters, print and public relations professionals to present news, information and ideas to a wide range of audiences. It is the intent of the minor to provide a logical sequence in fundamental journalism curriculum as well as flexibility when students choose courses from the three sequences of broadcast, print and public relations.

Any student attending USC may apply to minor in Journalism if he or she (1) has been admitted to regular standing in a specific major other than journalism (no "undecided" majors will be considered); (2) has completed 24 USC or transfer units with a minimum 3.0 GPA and with a minimum grade of "B" in Expository Writing 101 and 102; (3) must maintain a 2.7 GPA in all journalism classes (the lowest acceptable grade in a journalism class is "C"); and (4) is not under any type of departmental, academic or university disqualification. Journalism minor applications are evaluated by a panel of faculty members. Admissions are made for the fall and spring semesters.

Application Procedures

To be considered for admission to the journalism minor program, the applicant will be required to submit the following materials: (1) departmental application; (2) academic records, including USC transcript, official transcripts from all institutions attended, current transfer credit statement.

Admission Information

Admission information may be obtained from the USC School of Journalism, Office of Student Services, ASC GL07, University Park, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0281, or telephone (213) 740-8182.

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